Sermon on the Mound: Finding God at the Heart of the Game [Hardcover]

Michael O'Connor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

Finding God in the Heart of the Game

God loves baseball. He even uses it for His own good purposes. If anyone would know, it is Michael O'Connor. In October of 1986, O'Connor was watching game six of the World Series. Through a bizarre and unlikely rally, God captured his undivided attention.

Convinced God was orchestrating the New York Mets' phenomenal comeback, O'Connor began analyzing why God would rig a game watched by millions—for his benefit. Why would God care about him?

Sermon on the Mound reveals that God is available to us everywhere—even in our national pastime. "Like God, baseball has always focused on relationship," O'Connor writes. "Owner to manager. Manager to player. Player to fan. It is as simple as fathers playing catch with their sons and as complex as a ball smacking the pocket of a well-oiled glove that echoes and ripples throughout generations."

With baseball stories and reflections that range from the hilarious to the sacred, Sermon on the Mound is the perfect book for anyone who loves the game.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of more sedate sports, such as America's favorite pastime, will enjoy Michael O'Connor's Sermon on the Mound: Finding God at the Heart of the Game. O'Connor, a diehard baseball fan who converted to Christianity when the Boston Red Sox failed to win game six of the 1986 World Series (long story), doesn't write like the rookie author that he is. He is, as they say in baseball, a natural.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"I am not a baseball fan, but the character studies, Christian testimony, and good writing kept me turning the pages." -- Mature Living, Sept. 2001

"Michael paints a moving portrait for anyone who has ever played, or simply loved the game." -- Baseballology.com, Mar. 3, 2001

"This is a book that teaches spiritual lessons without being preachy and would be a great gift to give fans of America's favorite pastime." -- Christian Retailing, Feb. 19, 2001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers; 1st ed edition (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076422395X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764223952
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,284,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author Touches All The Bases, March 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sermon on the Mound: Finding God at the Heart of the Game (Hardcover)

Michael O'Connor has achieved something that rarely happens with christian humor books - he made me laugh! But to call this merely a christian humor book is to reduce the value of what I feel is a very important document. Michael has applied his laser wit and vision to his own life and the roles that God and baseball have played in making him the man he is today. Both have played a vital part in making him a better husband, a better father and a better man. His insight into his own weakness, which he quite painfully exposes to the healing touch of God, leave him stronger than even he can even fathom. A powerful book that will help anyone searching for God in the everyday world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more than baseball, March 31, 2001

By 

Karl Styrsky "Autodidact" (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sermon on the Mound: Finding God at the Heart of the Game (Hardcover)

Curiosity made me purchase this book -- the author grew up in my neighborhood and we attended the same high school. But I was pretty sure I was going to have a hard time connecting with the book because my feelings towards baseball have got to be the antithesis of O'Connor's! I figured that it would appeal to me as much as needlework to a football jock.

What a pleasant surprise "Sermon on the Mound" turned out to be! Yeah, there's a lot of baseball in it, but what touched me the most were the honest reminiscences of the feelings of a boy growing up and of a young man being shaped by the vicissitudes of life. And there's a wonderful love story within for those of us who don't know a designated hitter from a designated driver. But what I enjoyed the most is the picture of God's love Michael paints for us -- could it really be that He is "rooting for everyone and sitting with us at a game in the next seat, leaning back, laughing and cheering"? Baseball is merely Michael O'Connor's pretext for sharing his heart, which he does generously with us throughout the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Sermon on the Mound" and heartily recommend it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the mound to the heart. A superb read., May 2, 2005

By 

School Dad "I Love Sports" (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sermon on the Mound: Finding God at the Heart of the Game (Paperback)

It is hard to imagine a more genuine, boy-next-door, pleasant delivery than O'Connor provides in this heartfelt story of so much more than just a passion for baseball. Though, the baseball memories are bound to tug at the heart of any of us boys who grew up struggling to become the next Mickey Mantle and playing baseball board games as youths when we weren't out on the sandlot. Just as I enjoyed Steve Alford's tales of basketball in his youth in a book I read a few years ago, these stories of youth baseball really brought the memories flooding back. But the stories don't end with baseball. Mr. O'Connor opens up to us the story of meeting and making it work out with his wife. And then there is the connection between baseball and God. He says, "In terms of eternity, I had been risking much sitting up on that fence for so long," and concludes that like the 7th game of the series, eventually we have to choose.