Dayton Moore, general manager of the Kansas City Royals, has received national acclaim and numerous awards since rebuilding a struggling small-market team into a World Series champion.
However, what excites Moore as much as success on the field is seeing hundreds of people make life-changing decision during the annual Faith & Family Day at Kauffman Stadium.
“This event is crucial, is vital to our city,” he said. “I encourage you to make this the greatest event in the history of anything we’ve done here in Kansas City.”
Casting Crowns headlines this year’s Faith and Family Event at the Royals.
This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, July 9, shortly following the Royals’ 3:15 p.m. game against the Seattle Mariners. It will feature testimonies by players, performances by Casting Crowns and KJ-52 and remarks by Scott Dawson of Safe at Home. As in the past, Metro Voice is a cosponsor.
The objective of Safe at Home is to combine “America’s favorite pastime with the greatest story ever told”. Moore takes that message to heart, enjoying the team’s success without losing sight of what ultimately matters in life.
“The fact that we won the World Series is great,” Moore said. “The fact that the attendance numbers at Kauffman Stadium have exploded to an all-time record, that’s wonderful. Our TV ratings are the best in all of baseball, in all markets. That’s spectacular. We have World Series rings, we have trophies and the world applauds what we have accomplished.
“But what I’m most proud of as general manager of the Royals is this great game, this game that naturally was put inside me, my DNA, the passion to do this the right way. We have seen families united, the joy that it has brought people, the letters and emails that we have received from families that were broken, families that were suffering from hurt and heartache, the generation gap is bridged, the function has begun to be put together because of the success of our team. And that’s special.”
Moore reflects on how he and the organization have grown since he took over a floundering franchise a decade ago.
“What is special to me as general manager is our entire leadership group,” he said. “We began here at an important time, when our families were very young. Our marriages were still very young. It was a high-energy time, personally and professionally. And after 10 years, this group, these families, their marriages are still strong, their kids are doing well. We have had challenges but have persevered because of prayer, because of having things in perspective, because of understanding our No. 1 team is at home.”
Baseball can be as much of a mission field and opportunity to share the good news as the pulpit.
“My heroes in this world have always been coaches, teachers, pastors and missionaries,” Moore said. “There’s no doubt that we have and will continue to use baseball as a platform to serve, to continue to use our gifts and to try to do our best to glorify God in everything we do. I realize the my importance of my walk with Jesus, and I’m reminded every year how hard it is to be a peacemaker, how challenging it is to be a man of prayer, how difficult it is to be a father and a husband, because I get caught up in the day-to-day grind and the unrealistic expectations I put on myself to be perfect.”
Baseball was designed to teach humility. Even the best hitters fail two-thirds of the time, and championship teams lose at least one-third of their games.
“I am reminded through this game how much I need Jesus of Nazareth,” Moore said. “We serve an awesome God; a big God who I know kept me going. I felt the prayers of the community, and I needed them. I continue to need them.”
For more information on Faith and Family Day at the Royals, visit their website HERE.
By Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
