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Waiting for call
from Above
 Edmonton Trapper Patrick Lennon was out of control until he let God take charge of his life.
by Dale Bochon
Some people wear their heart on their sleeve, but the Edmonton Trappers' Patrick Lennon wears his on his glove.
He has drawn the Christian fish symbol in dark felt pen on the back of his glove to serve as a reminder of just Who's in charge of his life.
Knowing who's in charge these days is important, because for a long time, Patrick Lennon thought that he was in control.
He grew up in a Christian home in North Carolina but his focus was on athletics, rather than faith. He was voted best High School Athlete in North Caroline in 1986, the same year the Seattle Mariners made him their first round pick, 8th overall, in the '86 draft. He figured he had it made.
"I was your typical athlete," says the 6 foot 2 inch, 200 pound Lennon. "I'm not bad mouthing athletes, but sport sometimes made me feel I was going to live forever. My life was really out of control - and I couldn't see it."
Out of control for Patrick Lennon meant a battle with booze, chasing women, going from team to team (6 in all) and never really living up to his athletic potential. He even landed in jail for two months back in 1989 while with a Double A team, after firing a handgun into the air during an altercation between a teammate and a local resident. He was charged with reckless endangerment and illegal possession of a firearm.
"No matter what I did, though, baseball was always there for me," he remembers. "But then one morning I woke up and realized something wasn't right. I was just coming off a three day binge (after being released by the Colorado Rockies in 1993) and I stopped caring for baseball. I knew something was wrong because I had always love the game."
Little did he realize the change that was coming into his life.
After being let go by the Rockies at spring training camp in Phoenix in 1993 Lennon got behind the wheel of his car and began driving back home to North Carolina. About 200 miles into the Arizona Desert, he experienced the supernatural presence of God.
"Out of nowhere I just started crying. I was like my life was being shown to me," says Lennon.
As Lennon continued to drive through the desert, he couldn't stop crying. "I must have cried for 500 miles," he said. "I pulled over to the side of the road, stared up into the sky and asked God what was going on. After realizing how out of control my life was, I said 'Jesus, come into my life'."
Patrick Lennon made a commitment to Christ right there in the Arizona Desert.
The words of the popular Footprints poem, which talks about Jesus carrying his children through the bad times, came to his mind.
"All this time God was carrying me. It was at that time that I said, 'I don't just want You to carry me and me not know it. I want to be aware of your presence, and to follow in Your footsteps'."
Patrick Lennon made it back home to North Carolina and soon the phone started ringing with offers from different organizations. But it's been hard for him to work himself back into the major leagues.
"I tell people, 'Just because you say you're a Christian doesn't mean things are going to be glorified and there will be no more problems'," he says.
His own life is proof of that, as, in the last three years he's had stints with Boston, Minnesota and Cleveland. Although he landed a job with Kansas City Royals at the beginning of this year, they cut him loose on April 28th and he was signed as a free agent with the Oakland A's, who assigned him to the Trappers on June 1st.
Today however, big league success isn't the most important part of his life. "The biggest thing in life, I feel, is being a Christian," he says. "People are being influenced by your goodness and the word of God."
While in Kansas City, Lennon was able to give public testimonies during interviews on radio and TV. People were writing to tell him how they'd heard his story, and how it affected them. Churches were also inviting him to speak to their groups.
"Then God spoke to me and told me my work was done," he says. "I was trying to work out a deal with God to stay there, but I knew He was moving me on. Sure, I want to be back in the big leagues but God has me doin' what he has me doin' here in Edmonton for right now."
Lennon has been a major part of the Trappers successful drive to the PCL playoffs. He put together a 17-game hitting streak back in June, the longest hitting streak by a Trapper since 1994, and as of press time is bating .322 with 10 home runs and 35 runs batted in.
Even though he has settled in with the Trappers for now, he's also hoping to get the call from Oakland.
"I'm waiting patiently for the break," he says.
"But I know God still wants me here, he has me here for a reason."
Only God knows what's in store next for Patrick Lennon. And that's okay by Lennon. Because now God is in control. The fish on the glove reminds him of that.
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