Baseball is back and my favorite story from the weekend involves Colorado Rockies relief pitcher, Daniel Bard, getting his first win since May 29, 2012.

On Saturday against the Rangers, 20 of his 25 pitches were strikes and his fastest throw hit 99 MPH. The fact he made the Rockies’ opening day roster after not being in the majors since 2013 and being retired since 2017 is remarkable, but then to win his first game back is fantastic!

His story is absolutely amazing and I won’t be surprised to see it on the big screen one day.

Bard is a former first-round pick from the University of North Carolina whose major league career started strong with the Boston Red Sox from 2009-2011. Although there were high expectations of a promising career, his pitching began to slip and in 2013 was sent down to the minors.

A pitcher with such speed and control had now lost his command of the ball and seriously struggled from 2013-2017 as he bounced around the minors. Trying to regain his ability to dominate the mound, Bard now admits he was battling the “yips” and decided to retire after the 2017 season.

The yips are hard to explain and it’s difficult for athletes to confess having them, but it comes down to battles of the mind (overthinking, anxiety, and losing confidence) that affect how the body responds physically.

Many athletes aren’t able to overcome this, but sometimes a break from playing and gaining a new perspective is what’s needed most.

Thankfully after retiring, Bard stuck around baseball as a mental skills coach and mentor with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He leveraged his experience and what he studied about the mind to help other players.

Amazingly, through the process, all the coaching and teaching ended up helping him too. While he was playing catch and working with some of the guys in Arizona, they took notice of how well he was throwing again and encouraged him.

Although it was casual initially, Bard began to realize that his throwing began to feel a lot different from the previous five years. He explained, “It felt natural, not forced.”

He started getting his feel back and decided to seriously give pitching one more try. After a tryout that revealed he could still throw, the Rockies pursued him and gave him an opportunity.

As he prepared for the abbreviated 2020 MLB season, Bard seemed to be moving past the yips and knew things felt different. This is what he said on The Fenway Rundown podcast back in May:

“The way I feel now trumps anything I felt from 2012 to 2017 when I retired. It’s hard to describe. It just feels—throwing and pitching feels natural. It feels fun. Body feels free and easy. That’s not to say there’s not still challenges.

“I have some good days and some not-so-good days. But at the same time, the overall feeling is just like, ‘This is what throwing a baseball is meant to feel like.’ It’s the way I felt for my first three years in Boston.”

Bard’s story is one to be inspired by and although we don’t experience what a pitcher does on the mound, I think sometimes we have the “yips” when it comes to our faith journeys. There are times when we hit a difficult season spiritually and our minds fill with doubt, confusion, and questioning.

When we lose “our fastball” (our joy and confidence) and feel like we’re distant from God, we wonder what’s wrong with us. We can find ourselves in a slump, out of rhythm, and that our passion for God isn’t the same as it once was.

Sometimes these “yips” take over because we’re overthinking and trying to control everything instead of living with the freedom and peace that comes from letting go and allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work in us and through us.

Of course, we want to live godly lives, but we can’t get so caught up in trying to do everything perfectly and in our own strength, worrying that we might always be doing something wrong.

Too often we put undue pressure and burdens on ourselves or we force things to happen. Instead, we must rest in God’s grace and lean on Jesus to carry our burdens, so we can live “free and easy” in Him.

Jesus provides us this invitation,“…Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30; NLT).

Today, let’s accept that offer so we can overcome the “spiritual yips,” and be able to say, “This is what following Jesus is meant to feel like.”

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to be my Savior. I pray I’d rest in His finished work on the cross instead of overthinking or trying so hard in my own strength. I desire to live with the ease and freedom He provides, even when life is challenging. It’s in His name I pray, Amen.