The outfield at Yankee Stadium is sacred ground for baseball fans — a historic stretch of turf where Ruth, Dimaggio, Mantle and other pin-striped icons plied their trades. For Brian Banks, it was a spot to talk Church.
You read right, talk Church.
He was a rookie with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1996, preparing to play his first game at the famed Bronx field in New York. While snagging fly balls in the outfield during batting practice, Brother Banks began discussing his faith with a few Brewer veterans.
A returned missionary, he was accustomed to speaking to others about the Church. Still, the surroundings made for a memorable, surreal chat.
"There I was, at Yankee Stadium, talking about the Church," he marveled.
On Oct. 19, he scratched out another Yankee Stadium memory, playing against the home team in the opening game of the 2003 World Series. A first baseman with the Florida Marlins, he was at the center of the American sports stage for baseball's fall classic.
For a guy who grew up with big league dreams, playing in the World Series is overwhelming. "I don't think it will hit me until I'm back home in Arizona after the series," he told the Church News between games.
It's been a remarkable season for the lifelong Church member. The Marlins surprised baseball watchers in 2003 with their winning record, earning a bid to the playoffs. In the opening division series, the Marlins defeated the favored San Francisco Giants and advanced to the National League Championship series.
(Now a warning. LDS Chicago Cubs fans might want to stop reading here.)
Enlisted to pinch hit in the fifth inning of the series' final game, Brian Banks faced Cubs ace Kerry Wood. The Marlins were down two runs and desperate for base runners.
"I was just trying to get a rally going," recalled the LDS player. "I just wanted to be patient."
His diligence was rewarded as he reached first base on a walk. A teammate would later drive him home. Brian Banks' run would help secure a win for Florida and break the hearts of long-suffering Cub followers everywhere.
It was a moment many baseball scouts would not have predicted. After a stellar 1989 senior season at Mountain View High School in Mesa, Ariz., Brian was told a full-time mission was a bad, bad idea. Two years of proselytizing, the scouts warned, was two years away from baseball.
But after a year at Brigham Young University he made "the tough decision" to go. In 1991, he began serving in the Washington Seattle Mission. It was a "great experience," but Brother Banks realized his talent might not return with him to BYU.
In his first season back "I didn't feel like I missed a step." He earned All-American honors and was drafted by the Brewers.
His recent success has thrilled the hometown Mesa folks. The family of Jason Tabone are perhaps most touched whenever they see number #22 come to the plate. Brian and Jason were teammates and buddies in high school. Jason wore #22 on his Mountain View baseball jersey. When he was killed in a car accident the day after Christmas in 1988, the Tabone family asked young Brian to be a pall bearer. Later, Brian played a role in teaching the gospel to Jason's siblings.
Now he wears double-deuce "in memory of my teammate."
The pro-ball-player-life prevents Brother Banks from enjoying a Church calling during the baseball months. But in the off-season, he and his wife, Tarrah (they recently became parents), have enjoyed teaming up to teach Sunday School to a group of 11-year-olds.
Some wonder if Brother Banks might soon be wearing a World Series title ring to class.
E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com
