A's lose prospect to higher calling

[backwardsk]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-athletics-desme&prov=ap&type=lgns

The article said he was the Arizona Fall league MVP.

[weams]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-athletics-desme&prov=ap&type=lgns

The article said he was the Arizona Fall league MVP.

He was a fantastic Prospect. He and Dominic Brown were my two favorites there. He was an extremely hard worker and a very nice young man.

[Frobby]

He was a teammate of the Orioles' prospects this fall. I recall Erbe being interviewed and saying Desme was the best hitter in the league. His AFL numbers belied his performance in the regular season, which were OK but not outstanding for his age and level. Still, this has to sting for the A's.

[olehippi]

When I see/hear/read about someone doing something that might be considered "bizarre" I have an urge to find out why? As a result, I usually tend to believe there is more than meets the eye behind the decision because common sense and normal logic often doesn't apply. And that lack of common sense and logic definitely applies to this decision by Grant Desme.

My sense of logic and common sense (of my lack thereof) tell me that a couple of Desme's mental marbles fell out somewhere along the way. And while I'm not Catholic, nor overtly religious, my sense of logic and common sense tells me that God would understand Desme diverting from his calling to the priesthood long enough to first enjoy what might be a nice 10-12 ML baseball career....during which he could be doing a lot of good, both financially and as a living example of such goodness.

I guess I just hate to see such a promising career cut short by a reason that doesn't make sense....at least to me. Still, I wish him only the best. How can you not?

[Gurgi]

There is more here than meets the eye probably.

Expect to see him in a couple of years.

[Dr. FLK]

There is more here than meets the eye probably.

Expect to see him at church in a couple of years.

Fixed that for you.

[TyCobb]

There is more here than meets the eye probably.

Expect to see him in a couple of years.

Let me say first I am not religious.

The kid wants to be a priest. He doesn't want to play baseball anymore. Let him do what makes him happy.

[RShack]

When I see/hear/read about someone doing something that might be considered "bizarre" I have an urge to find out why? As a result, I usually tend to believe there is more than meets the eye behind the decision because common sense and normal logic often doesn't apply. And that lack of common sense and logic definitely applies to this decision by Grant Desme.

My sense of logic and common sense (of my lack thereof) tell me that a couple of Desme's mental marbles fell out somewhere along the way...

Jeez, he's doing what he wants to do. Nobody can tell him how he's supposed to spend his life. You only get one, and there's no practicing for it, there's no rehearsal. You do whatever you do, and whatever happens happens.

[Mashed Potatoes]

There is no higher calling than professional sports.

Seriously though, if he's interested in making a difference for others he should've stuck with baseball and became a priest later. The fame that comes with being an MLB player would greatly increase his potential audience. Have your cake and eat it too dude.

[Orioles West]

When I see/hear/read about someone doing something that might be considered "bizarre" I have an urge to find out why? As a result, I usually tend to believe there is more than meets the eye behind the decision because common sense and normal logic often doesn't apply. And that lack of common sense and logic definitely applies to this decision by Grant Desme.

My sense of logic and common sense (of my lack thereof) tell me that a couple of Desme's mental marbles fell out somewhere along the way. And while I'm not Catholic, nor overtly religious, my sense of logic and common sense tells me that God would understand Desme diverting from his calling to the priesthood long enough to first enjoy what might be a nice 10-12 ML baseball career....during which he could be doing a lot of good, both financially and as a living example of such goodness.

I guess I just hate to see such a promising career cut short by a reason that doesn't make sense....at least to me. Still, I wish him only the best. How can you not?

It takes about 10 years to become a priest, so my guess is, he wanted to get started sooner, rather than later.

-Don

[byrdz]

When I see/hear/read about someone doing something that might be considered "bizarre" I have an urge to find out why? As a result, I usually tend to believe there is more than meets the eye behind the decision because common sense and normal logic often doesn't apply. And that lack of common sense and logic definitely applies to this decision by Grant Desme.

My sense of logic and common sense (of my lack thereof) tell me that a couple of Desme's mental marbles fell out somewhere along the way. And while I'm not Catholic, nor overtly religious, my sense of logic and common sense tells me that God would understand Desme diverting from his calling to the priesthood long enough to first enjoy what might be a nice 10-12 ML baseball career....during which he could be doing a lot of good, both financially and as a living example of such goodness.

I guess I just hate to see such a promising career cut short by a reason that doesn't make sense....at least to me. Still, I wish him only the best. How can you not?

My best guess is that he wanted this all along and just needed something to push him to make the decision. Perhaps it was the earthquake in Haiti? That obviously affected many people in a deep way.

On a side note, The Priest, would be a sick baseball nickname.

[RShack]

On a side note, The Priest, would be a sick baseball nickname.

Sometimes guys enter the seminary and then find themselves disillusioned and leave. So, there's still a chance ;-)

[GeorgiaBird]

Did anyone catch the wonderful headline Deadspin used for this story? Someone ought to win an award for it...

"As prospect becomes a Padre in hopes of one day joining the Angels" or something similar.

[orioles119]

There is no higher calling than professional sports.

Seriously though, if he's interested in making a difference for others he should've stuck with baseball and became a priest later. The fame that comes with being an MLB player would greatly increase his potential audience. Have your cake and eat it too dude.

So Desme should put worldly fame above his religious calling? It's not about potential audience in the priesthood. That is a shallow reason to go into ministry anyway - for the "audience." Besides, it's not a show that needs an "audience."

[byrdz]

Sometimes guys enter the seminary and then find themselves disillusioned and leave. So, there's still a chance ;-)

Sounds like it's a pretty tough undertaking so maybe you're right.

I think Aaron covered most of the relevant angles on this the other day, but let me throw one more thought out there: the people who are saying "well, why couldn't he have waited until after his baseball career was over to have done this?" don't really have a handle on what becoming a priest really entails.

I'm not talking about the spiritual commitment here -- I'm way out of my depth commenting on that. I'm referring to the academic commitment. The logistics and mechanics of seminary school. As the Columbus Dispatch's Todd Jones* reported in a fabulous six-part series last summer, it is an extremely demanding undertaking. It certainly does not sound like the sort of thing one would be able to slide into easily after several years following some other pursuit.

Upshot: it's more likely that Desme could wash out of seminary school as a result of its rigorous demands and get back into baseball than it would be for him to play out his baseball career and commit to seminary school.