Dear Miller,
A very happy birthday to you. I love that the theme of your birthday this year is baseball. Some very interesting things have happened on April 27 in Major League Baseball throughout the years and one of them involves me.
1947 – April 27 was Babe Ruth Day at MLB stadiums across America. Babe Ruth. The Sultan of Swat. The Colossus of Clout. The Great Bambino. The Babe was dying of cancer. He had just a little over a year left to live. He had retired in 1935. On April 27, 1947 over 58,000 people crowded into Yankee Stadium to honor the man who many people consider the greatest baseball player in history.
1971 – Hank Aaron became just the third person ever to hit 600 home runs. Babe Ruth and Willie Mays were the other two. Six others since 1972 have also joined the club. But it is still a very elite club to be a part of.
1973 – Rookie Steve Busby, pitching for the Kansas City Royals in Detroit against the Detroit Tigers, walked six batters but gave up NO hits. It was the first no hitter in Royals history. And I was there to see it. We were in Michigan visiting my aunt, uncle, and cousins – and my Uncle Bob, who was a huge Tigers fan, took me to the game.
1983 – Nolan Ryan, pitching for the Houston Astros at the time, struck out Brad Mills of the Montreal Expos, to become the ALL TIME strike out leader, passing Walter “Big Train” Johnson with 3,509 strikeouts. He would go on to strikeout 5714 batters in his career – a record which will likely never be broken.
But even though I love baseball and even though lots of interesting baseball stuff happened on April 27, the VERY BEST thing about April 27 is that you were born. You are only 5 years old but I can already see the Lord’s incredible craftsmanship at work in the masterpiece He is fashioning called Miller William Ferrell. I am so glad that I get to be your Pop Pop and to have a front row seat to watch as the Lord reveals His creative awesomeness in you.
May the Lord fuel you with exuberant joy as you grow up and may His signature be evidenced upon your life as you allow Him to do remarkable things in you and through you.
And never forget that you are very loved,
Pop Pop