Shattered: Struck down, but Not Destroyed

Riassunto di Shattered

1. 1

   When the Fastball Comes Back at You

   

   00:00

   00:00

   The line drive left Steve Sax's bat at 132 miles per hour. Frank Pastore had less than an eighth of a second to react. His arm shot up instinctively, protecting his face but absorbing the full impact of the baseball. As he cradled his shattered elbow on the mound at Dodger Stadium, feeling bone fragments shift "like broken cookies in a bag," something unexpected happened. This 26-year-old Cincinnati Reds pitcher-who didn't believe in God-found himself screaming at Him anyway. That moment in 1984 wasn't just the end of a baseball career. It was the beginning of a complete life transformation that would take Pastore from the pitcher's mound to seminary classrooms to one of Christian radio's most compelling voices. His journey reveals a profound truth: sometimes our greatest disappointments aren't detours from our purpose-they're the pathway to it. What looks like the end might actually be the most important beginning we'll ever experience.

2. 2

   Growing Up in a House Built on Lies

   Inizia ad ascoltare

   Frank's mother constructed their reality on lies-starting with claiming his conception happened on her wedding night when she'd actually gotten pregnant before marriage. From age four, Frank raised himself as a latchkey kid with an imaginary friend and a junk food diet. He didn't learn to brush teeth until third grade, accumulating 21 cavities. His mother's philosophy: failure was always someone else's fault. When Frank auditioned for fifth grade talent show singing "Born Free," the judges' horrified expressions revealed what she'd never told him-he couldn't sing. The family moved twelve times by high school, staying ahead of his mother's unraveling lies. She once had him deliberately flood their house for insurance money. Living with her resembled witness protection: never get close, never reveal too much, don't make real friends. Yet this environment didn't create a recluse-it shaped Frank into someone desperately hungry for authentic connection and absolute truth, qualities that would later make him particularly receptive to Christianity's claims about unchanging reality.

3. 3

   Baseball as Sanctuary and the Path to Reinvention

   Inizia ad ascoltare

   In Frank's chaotic childhood, baseball was the only constant. His father, a former semipro player whose career ended in a barroom fight, shared a wordless bond with his son through the game. At 10, after Frank struck out with the bases loaded, his father pulled him off the bench: "Get your head up. There's no crying in baseball." That lesson in emotional resilience would serve him for decades. His talent emerged quickly-five no-hitters at 12, and by 13, he threw so hard he injured his father's hand. "This hurts like hell," his father grinned, "but I am so proud of you!" Baseball offered more than athletic achievement-it provided social acceptance and clarity his chaotic home never could. You either hit the ball or you didn't. In a childhood defined by lies and manipulation, baseball's straightforward meritocracy felt like oxygen. At 13, after pitching excellently against a Hispanic team, four players cornered Frank in a bathroom and deliberately beat his pitching arm black and blue, ending his season. This violence led to enrollment at Damien High School, a Catholic institution his family couldn't afford. The solution? Lie. Frank and his mother "became Catholic," deceiving priests through weekly meetings-another lesson in situational ethics. At Damien, severe acne earned him the nickname "pizza face," but baseball brought redemption. His pitching success transformed him from embarrassing kid to "Frank Pastore, pitcher." Reinvention came naturally to someone raised in what he called his personal witness protection program. History teacher Mr. Steck became a surrogate father, encouraging Frank to become senior class president. Yet this pattern reveals something troubling: he was building his identity entirely on external achievements and others' validation.

4. Capitolo 4

   The Kiss That Changed Everything and the Journey to the Majors

   By senior year, Frank had transformed from "ye olde marshmallow" into a golden boy-popular athlete, class president, Stanford scholarship recipient, and top high school pitcher. At graduation, 13-year-old Gina Pignotti surprised him with an electric kiss that revealed "the man I wanted to become." Days later, the Cincinnati Reds drafted him in the second round. Despite wanting Stanford, he impulsively accepted their $50,000 offer-the team's largest bonus ever. His professional journey began in Billings, Montana at age 17, where he quickly learned baseball's unwritten rules and embraced tobacco to fit in. What began as a promise to take 15-year-old Gina on her first date transformed Frank's life. Their Thanksgiving 1976 burger date turned into three hours of effortless conversation. With Gina, he could drop his facades-she cared about who he truly was, not his baseball career. When Mr. Pignotti refused Frank's marriage request due to Gina's age, they eloped to Nashville using spy novel techniques. They married in a courthouse ceremony with two handcuffed armed robbery suspects as witnesses, their chains clanking as they signed the license. This relationship represented Frank's first authentic human connection.

   Capitolo 5

   The Hollowness of Material Success

   Frank's Major League career delivered everything material success promises-the Porsche, Mercedes, house, condo, designer clothes, savings, and family. Yet he always hungered for more, embodying materialism's insatiable appetite. Johnny Bench became his unexpected mentor, ordering the youngest player to learn bridge and showing him that setting up hitters was like playing cards-knowing strengths, weaknesses, and planning ahead. The dark side included organized crime connections and widespread drug use. After putting "Uncle Tony" and his Italian friends on his pass list for a Cubs game, federal agents questioned Frank about Tony's labor union activities. Amphetamines or "greenies" were common in the majors, especially among veterans. Despite professional success, Frank noticed that the only teammates who seemed genuinely "together" were the religious players he mockingly called "Jesus freaks." For five seasons, these Christian teammates persistently invited him to Bible studies, which he deflected with intellectual challenges. When his son Frankie was born four weeks premature with only a 50-50 survival chance, Frank faced an impossible choice: stay with his critically ill newborn or pitch in a nationally televised game. He chose to pitch, though he remembered nothing except wanting it to end. Despite achieving his childhood dream, Frank remained unsatisfied, and the stability of the Christian players began challenging his materialistic worldview.

   Capitolo 6

   The Bathroom Stall Conversion

   After Steve Sax's line drive shattered his elbow, four Christian teammates prayed over Frank in the training room. Despite doctors claiming "just deep bruising," Frank knew something was wrong. He returned to pitching 11 days later and got hammered repeatedly. Teammate Tommy Hume invited him to a Bible study where Frank unleashed a tirade against Christianity. Wendel Deyo challenged him to disprove three books: C.S. Lewis's *Mere Christianity*, Josh McDowell's *Evidence That Demands a Verdict*, and a book on science from a Christian perspective. Instead of disproving them, Frank devoured them. Lewis challenged everything he believed - he'd dismissed Christianity without understanding it. On August 25, in a Pittsburgh clubhouse bathroom stall, Frank read McDowell's argument that Jesus was either a liar, lunatic, or Lord. Right there, he prayed: "Lord, I want to be on Your team." By spring 1986, manager Pete Rose released him, railing: "This God s- isn't going to help you!" This shattering of his baseball dream created space for something new - a purpose beyond personal achievement.

   Capitolo 7

   At Peace with the Pieces

   When Frank's ministry dream shattered-betrayed by Christian leaders who destroyed his reputation-the pain cut deeper than losing baseball. He stopped attending church, furious with God and disillusioned with His people. Friends urged him into counseling with "Dr. G," who taught him about "mirrors"-how we look to others for reflections of who we are. Nine months of therapy connected his dysfunctional childhood to present attitudes. Though painful, it gave him a more accurate mirror of reality. His family noticed the changes-he became more emotionally present, empathizing better, listening more deeply, asking open-ended questions instead of offering quick solutions. In spring 2001, Terry Fahy from KKLA offered Frank the afternoon drive-time show. His program became "the intersection of faith and reason," demonstrating that Christianity engages science, history, and current events with wisdom. Live radio reminded him of pitching-when the red light flashes, it's game on. Frank concludes he's finally "at peace with the pieces." As a young man, he wanted everything-always more, trying to satisfy some inner hunger. Now he's free to savor every bite of life, bitter and sweet-even the shattered pieces-because he knows he's in God's hands. Your broken dreams aren't failures. They're invitations to discover what you were actually made for all along.

   Continua a leggere