Tonight, Kansas City Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie will start in the most important baseball game of his life, game seven of the World Series. But Guthrie, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recognizes that baseball is not life. He once gave it up for something he considered more important.
“He left everything behind. His family, his friends, his girlfriend, his glove,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Chen wrote in his feature on Guthrie published this morning. “He packed his bags for Europe, walked away from the game, and was prepared to never come back. It was 1999, and Jeremy Guthrie, having just finished his freshman year at BYU, was off to Spain to serve a mission for the Mormon church, and over the next two years, he did not pick up a baseball — he barely even thought about baseball.”
For most athletes and sports enthusiasts, such a hiatus is unheard of. At 19 years old, Guthrie was drafted by the New York Mets and faced the biggest decision of his life. In an interview from 2013 with Utah Valley Magazine, Guthrie recalled a meeting with the Mets’ general manager.
“I told the general manager that I wanted to follow the example of McKay Christensen who had been allowed to go on a mission after being picked first round — and he got a $1 million signing bonus,” Guthrie said. “He told me it was impossible for a pitcher to sit out for two years and I’d have to choose between a mission and the Mets. He asked what it would take to keep me home. He offered me $500,000 and then he asked if I’d stay for a million dollars.”
Although people all around him sought to influence his decision, he ultimately turned to the only one whose opinion really mattered to him.
“I stopped asking people what I should do because I knew what the Lord wanted for me,” Guthrie told Utah Valley Magazine. “I believe if the Lord wants you to play baseball, you will still play baseball after a mission. But if you pass up a mission, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. It’s a service to your brothers and sisters.”
So he left and expected nothing in return.
“It wasn’t one of those things where I prayed one night and said, ‘Lord, if I do this, you promise [to do this for me],” Guthrie said in a World Series press conference last week. “It was not that way. It was, ‘I'm going to give this up, and I know whatever happens will be the best for me.’ ”
Post by Dani Welniak.Guthrie considers his experience on a mission influential, noting that it has lasting effects.
"So in life, in baseball, everybody has a story," mlb.com reported Guthrie as saying. "I'm no different. But what I learned as a missionary in those two years away are the foundation for everything that happens to me in my life."
Guthrie is an unlikely candidate to be the Royals go-to pitcher in game seven, but perhaps it is the maturity that Guthrie gained on his mission that makes him the man for the job.
“He’s a guy that doesn’t get fazed by much,” Royals relief pitcher Tim Collins said. “On his start days, he’s ready. He’s a guy that’s extremely focused. He’s a big-game guy.”
Win or lose, Guthrie feels he is prepared and that he will cherish the opportunity to play on baseball’s biggest stage.
“I feel that whatever I bring to Game 7 will be my best,” Guthrie said, according to Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area. “Hopefully it’s good enough, but if not, all the preparation, all the work has paid off thus far, and that’s what I trust. … What can we control? Put yourself in a position to be successful and accept the results and be grateful for the opportunity.”
Email: mjones@deseretdigital.com