Lest Ye Be Judged
In ESPN The Magazine, Jon Mooallem profiles Dean Esskew, a pastor who ministers to professional baseball umpires. “Pastor Dean, as folks around baseball know him, is the leader of Calling for Christ, a nonprofit ministry that for the past 11 years has tried to ease the anguish of major league and minor league umpires by keeping them close to God,” Mooallem writes. He adds, “When you’re the highest power on the field, you need to kick your troubles up to an even higher power. Maybe only something as big as God can make baseball feel small.”