A funny thing happened to the Oakland Athletics’ hot prospect on the way to the majors: He decided to become a priest.
In its nearly 50 years, St. Michael’s Abbey in south Orange County has welcomed scores of men who believe they were called to the priesthood. Most often they are young men who’ve prepared for this much of their academic lives. Occasionally, they are professionals who’ve chosen St. Michael’s path that leads away from the world — what adherents call "the hidden life" — over the pleasure and glamour of their own lives.
"There have been lawyers and academics," said St. Michael’s Father Ambrose Criste. "We’ve had a licensed cheesemaker; from Wisconsin, of course."
And yet, it’s certain St. Michael’s — run by the Norbertine Order — has never had what it will get this summer when Grant Desme arrives: a man whose life could have been very glamorous and pleasure-filled indeed and who threw all that away before the disbelieving eye of the 24-hour news cycle.
When Desme, 23, a top prospect in the Oakland Athletics’ organization, informed General Manager Billy Beane that he was retiring from baseball to pursue the priesthood, he figured the local media in his hometown of Bakersfield would show some interest. They did. So did countless newspapers, websites, news and sportscasts. A documentary film crew from the Netherlands requested to follow him.