When Paul Bush, a former professional baseball pitcher, dealt with injuries that ended what could have been a five- or six-year career, he had an identity crisis and a major pity party before returning to his faith.
“It was really hard to deal with that because it was a lot of ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ I deserved to have my dream come true because I worked hard,” he recalled.
Bush’s baseball dream began at about 6 years old. Seeing former New York Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly hit a grand slam and hearing the crowd’s reaction, he knew he wanted that for himself.
He started T-ball the next year.
Bush became a standout in high school and his freshman year in college. Then in his sophomore year he stalled.
Advanced training and mental exercises with a new coach helped him progress from his former top pitching speed of 89 mph to 95 mph. As 90 mph was the beginning point for professional pitchers, it began to look like his dream might become a reality.
Drafted by Atlanta Braves
Drafted in the 24th round by the Atlanta Braves for the 2002 season, with a $1,000 bonus and $800 per month salary in his contract, he left for minicamp. There he saw the others’ talent and realized that to stand out, he had to “work harder and be better.”
Over the next few years, he bounced around the different levels of MLB. At times he didn’t take it seriously and had to work to get back in shape. Once a muscle pull caused him to drop down a level.
However, Bush progressed each year and in 2005, he made it to a Double-A team and was chosen for the Arizona Fall League, a top prospect league. In 2007, Bush was invited to join major league spring training. He had a 1.7 ERA and was pitching really well. His performance review at the end of training camp was promising.
“I talked to Bobby Cox and he said, ‘We’re going to send you back to Triple-A, but we like the way you threw the ball. You’ll probably be one of the first guys we bring up if we need somebody. Stay ready.”
Low point
Another setback, injuring his arm that May, meant surgery and a year of recovery. Even though Bush was raised in a Southern Baptist church and was saved at 15 years old, only being required to complete one hour a day of rehabilitation left a lot of time for partying and drinking.
His low point came at the end of that year when he watched his former team play for the Triple-A championship on ESPN and drank an entire bottle of Bacardi to deal with the pain of not being able to compete.
Bush had major decisions to make in 2008. After being released from the Braves organization, he talked with his pastor and decided he wasn’t finished with baseball. He knew he had to focus on it instead of partying.
He fought his way back and pitched five games in the 2009 season before breaking his arm and needing more surgery. Thinking it was the end, he was still signed by the Yankees in 2009.
After once again battling his way back, Bush developed bone spurs and needed a third surgery. At that point, there was no fighting back. He was done.
New path
However, he remembered the quote, “Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose.”
“Baseball could be taken away from me. Any of these other things, like if I have a bunch of money, can be taken away from me. But the only thing that can’t be taken away from me is my salvation.
“I was 31 years old, so it wasn’t like my life was over. I was still young enough. I knew baseball wasn’t always going to be my career. It wasn’t always going to be my job,” he said.
Bush got married and graduated college with a business degree, wanting to coach college baseball. He applied to more than 100 schools and got only one interview. The next season had the same result.
It was a Sunday School friend, the district executive for the financial services company BBVA, who asked if he might want to go into finance.
“I’m pretty good with numbers and I like to talk to people, so yes, I’ll give it a shot,” Bush told him.
“For some reason, I took to it like a fish to water,” Bush said.
Church life in Birmingham
This led to a career that he loves, helping people with investments at Raymond James, an investment banking company. He attends Meadow Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham, where he is on the praise and worship team and teaches a class on finances. He also has a wonderful wife and two daughters.
“It got easy to see God’s hand in my life through all the things that I thought were bad — how they ended up being part of God’s will,” Bush said. “I’ve been able to trust that because I’ve seen it in my own life.
“He is always there, always constant, always consistent. I can always rely on Him. He always has the best intentions for me.
“My identity is not what I do; it’s who I am — and that’s a child of God.”
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