The baseball gods (theology lesson here if you missed it) certainly have a sense of humor.
How else to explain the timing of the Washington Nationals’ bats going cold over the weekend?
I’m joking (mostly).
But on Friday, Washington Post religion writer Michelle Boorstein had a nice feature on the team chaplain, headlined “‘Bless these bats’: Meet the Nationals’ priest praying for a World Series victory.”
With the Nationals up 2-0 on the favored Houston Astros and headed home for the first World Series games in the nation’s capital since 1933, it was a feel-good profile that opened like this:
As he roams the Washington Nationals’ locker room and batting cages this weekend, Monsignor Stephen Rossetti has two messages for the baseball players he is there to serve.
This: God loves you no matter whether you win or lose.
And also this: Never give up or give in! Pray to win!
“Bless these bats,” the 68-year-old team chaplain appeals to God before games as he makes a sign of the cross and sprinkles holy water on the sporting equipment.
A 10-year veteran of offering spiritual care to Nats’ players, Rossetti is in an unusual way a perfect match for people under intense pressure. A psychologist as well as a priest, he was the longtime head of a key Catholic mental health facility serving sexually abusive priests, has done chaplaincies at the South Pole, worked in intelligence for the U.S. military and dreams of completing a priestly stint at a space station.
I’m used to dealing with people and their humanity,” Rossetti said Thursday outside the park, which was bustling in the sunshine with security, fans and tourists sniffing around the about-to-be World Series venue. “In baseball, if you’re batting .300, you’re a star, and that means the other two times you’re striking out. The point is: Hang in there, stay in the fight. And also — redemption.”
At this point, the Nationals’ World Series redemption — if it comes — will have to happen in Houston.
In losing all three weekend games to the Astros and falling behind 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, the Nationals scored a grand total of three runs. Rossetti might want to try some different holy water before shipping the bats to Texas for Game 6 on Tuesday night.
Seriously, though, Boorstein’s excellent profile makes clear that Rossetti’s ministry is about more than winning or losing:
When the team is in town, Rossetti gets to the park a few hours before games and makes himself available to talk, or give blessings or prayers. On Sundays he celebrates Mass before the game, usually in the press conference room. He visits with players who are injured. Outside the park he does regular priest stuff for Nats players, like baptizes players’ babies, officiates at weddings and tries "to be a positive presence in their lives.”
The normally vaunted place a cleric might have in a parish is a bit reversed in the case of a team chaplain. These are high-dollar professional athletes, and on game day — especially the current game, the World Series — Rossetti says you “try not to get in their way when they’re getting ready, don’t bother them. I try to be respectful, don’t intrude, but be present.”
The Post story ends this way:
For Rossetti, the role of sports chaplain is straightforward: support.
“The challenge for them is: They want to stay in the majors," he said. "The pressure is already on. No one needs to kick them. Someone like me needs to say: ‘No matter what you do, God loves you. I hope you win, but even if you lose, as far as I’m concerned these guys are winners.’ ”
I am curious about how many Catholic players are on the Nationals and whether Rossetti ministers only to them or to a wider group. The Post does point out that he “is just one part of the psychological and religious infrastructure Nats players will tap into, depending on their needs and beliefs.” Also, it would have been nice to hear from a player about Rossetti’s role. However, in the crush of World Series media, I can understand why gathering such quotes for this story would have been difficult.
That nitpicking aside, the story is filled with helpful, precise details and even includes comments from experts about the role of sports chaplains.
I’m resisting the urge to copy and paste other big chunks of Boorstein’s superb piece. In closing, I’d simply urge you to read it all.