The National League West leaders are rounding 3rd and heading for home!  Here it is September 1st and there is only one percentage point separating the leaders.  The Diamondbacks and Padres  are pounding each other like heavyweight prize fighters in the late rounds while the Dodgers and Rockies are lingering within more than reasonable striking distance.  So here comes  September as the doorstep to post season October. 

In the midst of this season’s awesome and intense competition one thing is for sure: the Diamondbacks are for real.  Taking a look at why they are so much fun to follow starts a the top and trickles all the way to the  ground crew.  Everyone I have met or observed with the D-Backs has been first class.  The management team has done more than change the colors, they have radically changed direction.  It is an organization with a winning attitude from the top down.  That is why the Diamondbacks remain  the favorite in the West and beyond.  Derrick Hall, Josh Byrnes, their staff and certainly the managing partners have set the pace.  On the field the strongest contribution to a strong September is Bob Melvin.  His demeanor is steady, intelligent and intuitive.  Manager Melvin has this team positioned for a strong September. 

There are  great kids on this team, but the veterans are anchors.  Tony Clark, Orlando Hudson, Livan Hernandez and the soul of this club, Eric Byrnes consistently provide a passion and platform on how to play the game right.  Brandon Webb,Micah Owings, Stephen Drew and the refreshing Mark Reynolds and the talented Chris Young are all high caliber, mentally tough, great attitude team players.  The whole roster is made up of men who are willing to lay out for the team.  It is no  accident the Diamondbacks are rounding 3rd and heading for home in the burning hot NL West!

The 2007 season is well underway.  Other than the weather in the East, which I am sure has the global warming community more than a little puzzled, the promises of Spring and baseball are being fulfilled pitch by pitch, inning by inning, game by game and series by series.  What is it about this game that brings such joy?  Why does it bring a sence of well being inspite of the striking out, failing to score the runner from 3rd with less than two outs and the losing?  Is it the hope of seeing how fast not-so-good things can turn around?  This week Stephen Drew, the Diamondbacks’ outstanding young shortstop who is off to a "slow start" at the plate, went deep on the Padres’ ace closer Trevor Hoffman for a walkoff, come from behind two run homerun.  Stepping up to the plate with shakey courage, leaving the past failures, helping the team be successful and forging in a new direction are all important principles of life played out in baseball everyday, all across America at every level from T-Ball to the MLB!  Somehow baseball stirs our hearts, contributes to our faith in a God who is really there and can add to our quality of life.  To be sure, baseball, like life, can be full of disappointments and certainly, at times, down right discouraging.  It is, however, the bouncing back, the renewed opportunity, the next inning, at bat or day in baseball that is such an encouraging metaphor of life.

      We all like it when someone says something good about us.  One of the most enjoyable athletic comments made about me came from a local sportswriter while I was a high school football running back.  Writing a preview article of an upcoming Westchester High School (Los Angeles) football game, he referred to me as a "break away threat" at halfback. I enjoyed that comment. One of the highest compliments paid to a baseball player at any level of play is to say that he is the type of player who will "lay out" for his team. "Laying out" is a reference to going horizontal, diving, being willing to give the maximum effort and bodily sacrifice, if need be, for a team victory.  It is also a strong metaphor for those who are willing to go the extra effort for others.  There are those who, regardless of their role, who can be identified as one who is willing to "lay out".   Those who have a well nurtured passion for the game of baseball appreciate, applaud and honor those who "lay out" as a way of life.  These are the ones who inspire us the most. They challenge us, in a positive way, to increase our effort at living well. 

     There are four individuals inspiring me to write Laying Out.  Two I only know from a distance and two I know well.  We move from the least known to the most known with the recognition that all are deeply respected.  Many of us will attest to a great love for the game of baseball.  I am always more than a little uncomfortable with using the same word, love, when describing a game, food and my wonderful wife, Christine!  In English we say we "love hamburgers" and we "love grandma".  It seems shallow and silly.  The ancient Greeks had a solution built into their language.  They had at least four words for "love".  Therefore, the ancient Greek would never say he "loves" the Olympic Games with the same word used to express his "love" for his family.  In fact, the "love" for family and spouse are even distinguished! Respect is a significant component of love, so deep respect for the game is a form of loving baseball. It is clear to me that my "love" for baseball is also relational.  It is the people in the fabric of the game giving the whole experience such passion and significance as well as the dymanics of the game itself.

     The first important person on the Laying Out list is Mr. John Jordan "Buck" O’Neil.  I first "met" Buck O’Neil through Ken Burn’s phenomenal video history on baseball.  Mr. O’Neil’s genuine smile, keen insight and compassion for others were apparent.  From the video series I began to read more and more of Buck O’Neil.  His life and story woven into the fabric of the game of baseball is inspirational.  A talented, motivated and passionate baseball player, Buck O’Neil was excluded from the major leagues simply because of his race.  One would expect that kind of cruel exclusion would leave a man bitter.  Not Buck O’Neil! He said on many occasions, "I was right on time."  Reading his story of life in the Negro Professional Baseball leagues is inspirational. We all need to be more like John "Buck" O’Neil when it comes to baseball and people!   

     The next individual was recently characterized by Tony La Russa as the "toughest player" he has ever managed.  That is an incredible comment!  David Eckstein has made professional baseball a successful career already glittered with two World Championship rings by his consistent laying out.  Eckstein gives 100% all the time.  Watching David Eckstein play reminds me why I enjoy the game so much.  He plays it right.  The fact he was released by the Angels and then  became the World Series MVP makes me wonder about the soul of major league baseball.  Eckstein reminds us how important whole heartedness is, no matter what the endeavor!  I actually had the privilege of meeting David Eckstein while he was playing SS for the Angels.  We were introduced by a mutual friend at a coincidental meeting in a restaurant in San Francisco. Already an established major league player, David jumped up and enthusiastically shook my hand with grace, sincerety and class.  I was the one who had to tell him to please be seated and finish his lunch!  David Eckstein is a first class professional and gentleman who will always lay out for his team. He is the type of grown up man I want my son to become!

     The next initial inductee to the Laying Out web blog is an young man I am proud to call a good friend.  Daron Sutton, a former radio and TV announcer for the Angels and Brewers, has recently come on board with the Diamonbacks.  Having known Daron since his own playing days in high school, college and the minor leagues I can personally testify to his passion for playing the game right. In the present tense I have observed first hand how Daron "lays out" in diligent preparation, careful insight and sincere respect for the game he reports. Daron cares deeply about his family, but he also cares about the people in baseball and the fans.  He earns the respect of the broadcast team working behind the scenes.  Daron treats people with genuine honor, regardless of their rung on the ladder of life and thus has become a vital link between the game of baseball and those who enjoy it. Diamondback fans are in for a terrific treat when Daron goes to work because he makes a habit of laying out to bring his very best to his constituency.

     The last tribute of this posting goes to my favorite of all.  As a matter of fact, he is my all time favorite baseball player!  If he plays, I am there.  Peter Zippi, my eleven year old son, is my favorite baseball player of all time.  Petey is the most singular inspiration for this column.   He throws right, hits left and has a genuine heart and enthusiasm for the game of baseball.  Of course my deep affection for him goes way beyond baseball.  Peter has always been a well of enthusiasm when it comes to hardball and we enjoy something special about the game.  Last Spring, in a crucial game determining second place in our local Templeton Little League with the extra incentive of staying in the hunt for first place, Peter went horizontal in two consecutive innings making diving catches in centerfield with two outs in both innings and the go ahead runners on base.  Although one of only two ten year olds in Templeton’s Major League, Peter laid out twice and help secure his team’s victory.  Laying out says something special about his character.  I am always proud of him, but that day is forever etched in my heart.  Peter and Daron are the reasons I picked the D-Backs header to the web blog.  Daron will announce for the D-Backs and Peter will once again this Spring play for the Templeton Little League Diamondbacks.  Baseball has contributed to the well being of fathers and sons in America for decades.  It is more than a game, it is about important relationships with the one I am blessed with between me and my all time favorite baseball player!

     Four distinct individuals, each one different.  A wonderful African – American man who recently went to be with his Lord, a much younger man who will take his familiar place at shortstop this Spring to help his team defend their World Championship, a dedicated man who will step in front of the camera and behind the mic to bring us the game we enjoy and an eleven year old anxiously awaiting the next time he can put on the uniform to play the game!  What do they have in common?  All that is good, beautiful and true in the game of baseball and life.  Bitterness has no place in the game, heart and determination still rings the bell of achievement, people are important and enthusiasm makes a great teammate! It is not  just the the game we love, it is each other!

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.    Jesus of Nazareth