Former Major League Baseball player Doug Flynn shared some of his life experiences and spoke about his relationship with God at the Parkview Warsaw YMCA’s Good Friday service on Friday, April 7.

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By Caleigh Byrer
InkFreeNews

WARSAW —  Legendary Major League Baseball player Doug Flynn shared a powerful message about hardships, marriage and faith at Parkview Warsaw YMCA’s Good Friday service at Christ’s Covenant Church.

Flynn was teammates with Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey and the rest of the Great Eight from the Cincinnati Reds World Series winning team in 1975-76. Flynn has two gold gloves, two championship rings, and many other awards from his career. He also played seven years of professional softball and was a part of the basketball program at the University of Kentucky. Currently, he works as a broadcaster for the university.

Flynn had an unconventional start to his MLB career, as he went into a Cincinnati Reds tryout camp with no expectation of being a stand-out player. “I get there and I’ve got on a tank top, a pair of cutoff jeans, a headband, a borrowed pair of shoes, a borrowed glove. … I knew my dad knew a lot of scouts and I knew a lot of people in baseball but no one had ever told me they thought I could play baseball very well.”

They ended up asking Flynn to return for two more tryouts after his first appearance, and offered him $2,500 and an opportunity to attend a minor league camp.

Over the years, the trades Flynn experienced taught him valuable lessons about connecting with those around him, being grateful for the opportunities he had and appreciating those who helped him along the way.

Flynn noted 1977 was a rough year for him in his career, with the disappearance of his sister. To this day, it’s unknown what truly happened to her. “Boy, did it make me bitter. I didn’t handle it very well. When we were going to spring training in 1977, I was still with the Cincinnati Reds and I went to the club and I said ‘You know I want my parents to be able to come down because we have things going on with the investigation and I want to be with my parents in case something breaks,’ and the Reds, and all their love and concern, said, ‘Well you don’t have years in the big leagues so you have to stay at the hotel with everybody else,’ … so I quit,” Flynn said.

“I got traded to New York after that, and I had a horrible year, and every town you went to there were reporters coming up saying ‘What do you know about your sister?’ and I was not ready for that. I thought that I was spiritually strong because I had the upbringing, but I didn’t realize it that if you’re going to be strong as a Christian you have to practice that like you practice playing ball, and I wasn’t doing that,” Flynn continued.

Flynn won a gold glove in 1980, and believed life could only get better. He noted that he wasn’t interested in getting married because it would ‘mess things up.’

Pete Rose was responsible for introducing Flynn to his future wife at a baseball game, who he married eight months after they met. This February, Flynn and his wife celebrated 41 years of marriage.

“How did we stay together for this many years? I’ll tell you why. … All those years I played ball, I would come home like, ‘Eh you don’t want to know why I’m struggling’ or ‘It’s none of your business.’ My wife was asked to give a testimony, and I said ‘Lord, she’s never given a testimony in front of 4-500 people, let her give her testimony and if she’s nervous or anything, give it to me.’ Well he did, I was miserable. … She gets up and just lays it out there, wonderful testimony, and God said, ‘Done. Now you know what she was going through every time you were out on the field and you would come home and want to know why you were struggling or what was going on and you wouldn’t talk to her. That’s the way she was feeling because she wanted you to do well as much as you wanted to do well.’ God taught me a good lesson about including my wife.”

Flynn made sure to prioritize living his life and being present in his marriage based on biblical principles ever since. He noted that God can reveal things to you that you have read, seen or known but never truly noticed.

Parkview Warsaw YMCA CEO Jim Swanson said, “Not every Y puts the same emphasis on the Christian emphasis that ours does in Kosciusko County. … This morning we come together as a community to connect with one another, to eat, to sing, an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus. To realize a greater sense of purpose.”

Swanson offered thanks to all those in attendance and expressed that he was grateful for all of the support the YMCA receives from the community in their efforts to “maintain the C in the YMCA.”