SOMETHING LIKE CRATE DIGGIN'

Over at Baseball Primer's "Clutch Hits," my man Repoz searches the Internet and finds choice stories like Lord Finesse and Diamond D dig in the crates and find ill beats. Yesterday, Repoz linked a little gem on Mudcat Grant. The article is about the influence Grant's mother had on his life:

Grant learned forgiveness from Viola. That’s also where he learned religious tolerance. Before beginning to play pro ball in Fargo, N.D., his mother had a request. Although a Baptist, she wanted him to attend other services. Episcopalian. Jewish. Catholic. Mormon.

“I was the laughingstock of Fargo,” Grant said. “They said, ‘Did that ballplayer come by your church yet?’ ”

After the season, Grant returned home and told his mother about the other churches.

“She said, ‘Do you know why I sent you to do that?’ ” Grant said. “I said, ‘No.’ She said, ‘When you die and go to heaven, if you think that the only people you’re going to see is Baptist, God is going to slap you upside the head.’ ”

Mother knows best.