Jim Morris’ story didn’t end with “The Rookie” — the Disney movie about his incredible journey from high school chemistry teacher/baseball coach to major-league pitcher. In many ways, the rest of the story is even better than the movie. A member of the Kerrville Church of Christ in Texas, Morris is among the speakers this week at Abilene Christian University’s Summit Bible conference. This afternoon, I had the opportunity to interview Morris about life after baseball, about his faith and about his special relationship with Arms of Hope, a ministry associated with Churches of Christ that serves children and needy single-mother families.

For most of the sellout crowd of 46,179 fans who filled Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, the most exciting moment Friday night — actually, Saturday morning — came when Texas slugger Nelson Cruz led off the 13th inning with a game-winning home run. For three little girls who call Christ’s Haven for Children home, though, the Rangers’ 6-5 win over the New York Yankees was secondary to what occurred before the game. For the second straight year, All-Star third baseman Michael Young designated Christ’s Haven, a children’s home north of Fort Worth that is associated with Churches of Christ, as the recipient of his $7,500 award as the team’s Roberto Clemente Award nominee.

Brad Ziegler once spent six days in intensive care after he was hit in the head by a line drive in the minor leagues. He had his skull fractured again by a deflected thrown ball one offseason, so he’s had his share of frightening baseball experiences. On Friday night, Ziegler — a member of the East Grand Church of Christ in Springfield, Mo. — was struck below the right shoulder blade by a shard of Mike Napoli’s bat when it shattered in the ninth inning. “Just so everyone knows, I’m OK,” Ziegler said on Twitter. “Pretty scary, for the time being, just glad it wasn’t worse.”

The Christian Chronicle published a short item in the August print edition about Church of Christ member Paul Hoilman, an East Tennessee State slugger. Turns out that Hoilman recently won the 2010 College Home Run Derby. Check out the videos.

At the end of August, minister Terry Rush — one of the world’s most dedicated St. Louis Cardinals fans — has a new book coming out. It’s called “MVP,” and Rush says: “‘MVP’ is written for the person who feels they’ve drawn the short straw in life. While it has a baseball flavor due to former Cardinals endorsing it, the book is completely Bible-based, simply targeting the sports world.”

I am at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., to see another brother in Christ play: Oakland A’s reliever Brad Ziegler. You may recall that The Christian Chronicle first featured Ziegler back in 2008 when he pitched an amazing 39 consecutive scoreless innings to start his career — a major-league record. I caught up with Brad in the visitor clubhouse this afternoon.