For two months in 1988, Orel Hershiser was perhaps the best pitcher ever. From late August through the World Series, he had an ERA of 0.60 and led the Dodgers to an improbable world championship. A Christian for only a few years, Hershiser spoke of his Savior in interviews and knelt on the mound in thanks after one World Series victory.

But this wasn't the first time Hershiser had thrown so well. While pitching in the minor leagues at San Antonio a few years earlier, he had also fashioned a 0.60 ERA going into June.

"I got caught up in the scouting reports, what I read in the papers, and the phone calls from the Dodgers," he recalls. "I stopped praying. And I stopped listening to God. I started going out with the guys and not really having a focus on what I was supposed to be doing."

By the time he was done with his next three pitching assignments, Hershiser's ERA had ballooned to 8.60.

"It was like God had come down from heaven and hit me over the head and said, 'You dummy. Remember Who got you here. Remember where your abilities come from.'"