I believe in the Church of Baseball . . . For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary, and there are 108 stitches in a baseball.

Bull Durham, Susan Sarandon

The Church of Baseball

Somewhere buried in a file of “important” papers, there is a certificate with my name on it signifying that I was baptized at a small Catholic Church in Artesia, New Mexico. To be honest, not only do I not remember that day (I was less than 2 weeks old), it took me years to understand the significance of the moment when the priest placed water on my head. You see, on that day, I wasn’t just baptized into the family of God; God claimed me as one of His children.