Six former MLB players will be honored as 2018 inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend.
But baseball players aren’t always the only ones being honored in Cooperstown.
That may not have been demonstrated more clearly than by Paul Molitor and the late Gary Carter.
Both men were inducted years ago — Molitor in 2004 after more than 3,300 hits with the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins; and Carter in 2003 after 19 years and 11 All-Star Games as “The Kid” with the Montreal Expos, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. And both overflowed with humility during their own induction speeches, honoring God for their Hall of Fame careers.
“Above all, I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Carter said in his address. “A great verse that spoke to me while writing my speech and kind of explains what it’s all about comes in Psalm 18: ‘I love you, Lord. You are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my Savior. And my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the strength of my salvation and my stronghold. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy of praise.’ I praise the Lord, my God, my best friend, for giving me the ability, the desire, the love and the guidance that brought me here today. Without You, I would be nothing.”
Molitor, who has since returned to the Twins as an award-winning manager, echoed Carter’s dedication to Christ.
“I’d like to thank God for His many many blessings in my life, including my salvation that He’s allowed me through his son Jesus,” he said. “I know the gift that I have to play this game came from Him. Why someone could hit a 95-mile-per-hour fastball and someone else can’t certainly isn’t something you can take credit for. So Lord, I give You all the glory for the things You’ve allowed me to accomplish, including being inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
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