Adjusting to the big leagues, Braves rookie finds spiritual support

ATLANTA (BP) - Blaine Boyer shares a clubhouse with some of the most recognized faces in baseball.

Chipper Jones. John Smoltz. Andruw Jones. Marcus Giles. Mike Hampton.

As a rookie pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, Boyer also catches his share of abuse from the team's corps of veterans.

"Why him?" Atlanta catcher Eddie Perez - with a smirk on his face and a nod toward Boyer - asked a reporter who was interviewing the young rookie. "He's not part of the team."

Atlanta Braves National League Baseball Club

Rookie faith - Atlanta Braves rookie relief pitcher Blaine Boyer says he hasn't changed "since day one" in the major leagues. "Ever since the Lord's come into my heart, He's given me my personality. He's given me everything that I've got."

In a recent session of "kangaroo court" - a faux courtroom experience in which Chief Justice Smoltz dispenses fines for various infractions - Boyer was fined for being late to batting practice, and for just being a rookie. It cost him $100.

Boyer, 24, absorbs the jabs gracefully. Since being promoted to the Braves in June, he's been doing his best to absorb it all. His major league debut on a Sunday afternoon will always be a memory he will treasure.

"I couldn't feel anything," Boyer said about that day. "I had tons of people in the stands. I remember running out there thinking, 'This is crazy.' I couldn't believe I could even throw a strike. I will never forget that."

But his transition from the small towns, bus rides and relative obscurity of minor league baseball to the glitz and glamour of the big leagues hasn't been entirely smooth. Boyer has sometimes wondered whether he was spiritually ready for such a challenge.

And, ironically enough, though it's the Braves' veterans who sometimes give Boyer a hard time, it's also the veterans - especially Smoltz and Chris Reitsma - who have helped him through his struggles.

Changing positions

"He's a man of God at 27," Boyer said about Reitsma. "He's a guy you can lean on. Smoltzie's the president, but Reitsma's the shepherd here."

As an All-American center fielder at Walton High School in Marietta, Boyer never imagined being a big league pitcher. But prior to the region championship game during Boyer's senior year, an injury sidelined the scheduled pitcher, and nobody on the team was left to take the mound. Boyer volunteered.

He pitched six innings, hitting the mid-90s on the radar gun.

"I pitched lights out," Boyer said. "I was completely blown away, and so were the scouts."

The Braves had seen enough. They drafted Boyer out of high school in 2002 as a pitcher, so he entered the Atlanta farm system to learn how to become one.

He ascended through the system, and this year began the season in Mississippi with Atlanta's Double-A affiliate. Boyer soon decided he wanted more. He was confident he was good enough to pitch in Atlanta and desperately wanted the call.

"I pleaded with God. I pleaded with Him," Boyer said. "I said, 'Call me up. I am ready to do this.'"

Boyer's prayer was answered one day in June, when Kent Willis, his pitching coach in Mississippi, broke the news to Boyer. He was going to Atlanta.

It was what Boyer had been dreaming about. But then reality hit, and the rookie found himself in situations he didn't like. On the field it was no problem. He has confidence in his pitching abilities and knows he's good enough to compete. Off the field is another story.

He had to fight temptation like never before. The reality of life in the major leagues was a shock to him. He began to wonder, "Am I ready for this?"

"When you're at the big league level, there are no parameters whatsoever," Boyer said. "There are no boundaries. You're by yourself a lot. There's obviously a lot of money, a lot of people pulling at you, a lot of people want you to do things."

Veteran accountability

Two people specifically came to Boyer's aid at just the right time. Reitsma was one of them. The Braves' closer, Reitsma has been in the major leagues for a few years now. When he broke in with the Reds, Scott Sullivan and Sean Casey were spiritual mentors to him. Now he wanted to return the favor.

"Anyone who comes to the big leagues for the first time, their eyes are going to be opened," Reitsma said. "I think it's important to set boundaries for yourself in every walk of life. I just encouraged him to have accountability with me or John [Smoltz] or someone where he's not left out by himself."

The two became accountability partners. Reitsma gave Boyer his cell phone number and told him to call anytime he needed something.

The words of John 21, and the story about Peter's restoration, have been especially encouraging to Boyer over the past couple of weeks.

"Even after you do kind of go down this route that you shouldn't be possibly taking, Jesus is still right there, arms wide open and asking for your love," Boyer said. "That was big for me."