Standing large at the podium, 6-foot-4 Sid Bream, the former Atlanta Braves first baseman, recalled the story as if it happened just last season.
    “The Pirates led 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning,” he said Tuesday, during the annual fundraiser for the Greater Statesboro Area and Georgia Southern University Fellowship of Christian Athletes. “(Pitcher Doug) Drabek just needed three outs to send the Pirates to the World Series. With the Braves at bat, Terry Pendleton doubled, and David Justice got to base on an error by Jose Lind. Lind had only made six errors the entire season.
    “With Pendleton at third and Justice at first, I came up to bat,” Bream continued. “The crowd was shouting, ‘Sid! Sid! Sid!’ Four pitches later, I walked to first base, and Drabek left the game. Stan Belinda pitched to Ron Gant, and Pendleton scored on a sacrifice-fly ball. Belinda loads the bases with a walk to (Damon) Berryhill. One out, bottom of the ninth, the place is going wild.
    “The fans chanted and did the tomahawk chop; Hunter hit a broken-bat fly ball; second out. Francisco Cabrera hit the ball towards Barry Bonds, and Justice scored.”
    At this moment in the story, Bream paused, grinned slyly and said: “And I’m thinking, ‘How can I make this game more exciting?’ As I round third base, I shift down …”
    Bream took a break while laughter erupted, as most of those in attendance were well aware of Bream’s reputation of being one of the slowest runners in baseball at that time — partially the result of several knee surgeries.
    “Bonds throws the ball to LaValliere, but pulls him off the plate,” he said. “I slide under the tag for the winning run, sending us to the World Series for the second consecutive year.”
    Bream, who played Major League Baseball for 12 years, described the famous slide of the 1992 National League Championship Series with passion.
    But Bream said that even more important than his life as a baseball player — or that winning slide — is his life with Jesus Christ. 
    “I was there to honor and glorify Jesus Christ,” he said. “During a slump in my baseball career, my former Liberty University coach, Al Worthington, helped me see why I was there. I wasn’t there for management, for the other players, for the fans, for me.
    “If it weren’t for that play, I wouldn’t be standing here today,” he continued. “For 20 years now, because of that slide, God has given me an opportunity to go all over the world to tell people about Jesus.”
    Bream encouraged players and coaches in attendance to ask themselves: “How are you acting? Are people seeing Jesus in you?”
    Choking up when speaking of his former Liberty coach, Bream said Worthington taught him about character, integrity and how to treat a lady. Bream pointed out that coaches have great influence on the lives of athletes, and said that the FCA organization is so important for young men and women.
    “The whole idea behind FCA is to equip and encourage coaches and athletes to use their influence for Christ,” said Boyd Green, the Greater Statesboro area director of FCA. “It’s easy to say you’re a Christian, but we want people to live like a Christian in everyday life.”
    Green serves 17 schools in four counties — Bulloch, Candler, Jenkins and Screven — with about 1,200 athletes and coaches participating in student huddles, team and coach Bible studies.
    Matt Wise is the GSU FCA Campus Minister, serving athletes from all walks of life across the college campus.
    “It’s amazing to see what’s happened through the ministry of FCA, but there’s so much more potential,” Green said. “God uses his people to carry out his ministry. We want to expand our ministry, and we need volunteers to help us with that.”
    Several students said they have been blessed by the ministry of FCA.
    “FCA allows us to include Christ in every aspect of our life without the awkwardness of coming up to someone in the middle of school,” said Brooke Jackson, a tennis player at Southeast Bulloch Middle School.
    Ben Roberts, a senior at Statesboro High School who plays baseball and football, recently signed to play football at The Citadel.
“FCA is a way for you to have religion in school and outside school with friends,” he said. “It’s a fun time to celebrate Jesus and God.”
    Georgia Southern football player Manrey Saint-Amour said he appreciates FCA’s presence on campus.
    “I can fellowship with other Christian brothers on the team, and it keeps me accountable. It keeps me going. It drives me,” he said. “We come together and hear the word.”
    After signing baseballs and posing for pictures, Bream slid back to his home near Pittsburgh.