Elul 22/September 6

When the Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles in extra innings on Tuesday, August 11th, it might have seemed like nothing special, just the end of a game between two teams having mediocre seasons.  But it turns out that the win made August 11th a historic day in baseball.  It is the first time that all 15 home teams won their game on the same day.  (For the purists, something similar happened when the home teams went 12-0 in 1914, but that included the Federal League, and it happened in 1989 when the 11 home teams won.  This is the first time since the league expanded to 30 teams.)  Without taking into account the talent of the teams, the odds of this happening are approximately 1 in 33,000.

I realize that this is not the most earth-shattering miracle one might witness. Nevertheless, it is a remarkable moment for the millions who follow the sport.  Those who were at the games that day witnessed history, and probably didn’t know it.

Sometimes the commonplace is a part of something remarkable.  Day to day interactions take place, but we might not understand the impact they have on others.  We hear the news of a baby being born and feel excited, but may not realize the incredible miracle inherent in childbirth.  In the New Year, perhaps we can recognize the miraculous, the holy, the special in the everyday.