Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Subscribe now to get this column delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

(ANALYSIS) The best team in Major League Baseball? It just might be the Baltimore Orioles, who rank No. 1 in MLB.com’s latest power rankings.

The most Christ-focused team in baseball? It also might be the Orioles, if comments from the team’s players are any indication.

“This — baseball — is important, but souls are most important,” injured relief pitcher Danny Coulombe said this week. “This is the most faithful team I’ve ever been around.”

READ: Jesus At The Ballpark: Why MLB Teams Host Faith Nights

The defending American League East champions, who are battling the New York Yankees for a second straight division title, offered the team’s first Faith Night promotion Tuesday night.

In doing so, Baltimore joined a majority of MLB teams — including at least 18 of the 30 franchises last season — that have hosted faith day events, research by Religion Unplugged found.

From “Star Wars” nights to NASCAR days, MLB franchises — which drew nearly 71 million fans during the 2023 season — rely on themed events to boost ticket sales. 

That strategy encompasses faith nights, which typically gain little attention outside the target audience. Organizers generally focus sales pitches directly at church groups and Christian radio listeners.

As Religion Unplugged readers may recall, I traveled to Petco Park in San Diego and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last year to explore “Jesus at the ballpark: Why MLB teams host faith nights.”

READ: New Biography Gives Insight Into Star Pitcher Clayton Kershaw’s Faith

Jonathan M. Pitts, who reports on religion for the Baltimore Sun, covered the Orioles’ inaugural Faith Night. 

Roughly 6,000 fans stayed after the game to listen to a nondenominational church’s band and hear player testimonies, according to Pitts.

The Sun journalist quoted several players, including veteran catcher James McCann:

McCann agreed the team has a strong Christian presence — as many as 15 players attend its Sunday chapel services, he said — but rather than practicing a “Bible-thumping” variety of faith, the group focuses more on “treating other people well” in a way that he says has the natural outgrowth of promoting togetherness and good feeling. “We’re truly 26 guys who love each other as brothers,” he said.

McCann’s testimony might have been the most dramatic. He asked crowd members to close their eyes as he told the story of a young couple who had decided to start a family, only to deliver a child who was stillborn. Taking the risk of trying again, they faced another tragedy when the mother suffered such extreme complications six weeks into her pregnancy that doctors told her their child had only a 1 in 4 chance of surviving — and that if he did survive he would be severely mentally or physically disabled.

When others suggested it might be the best idea to terminate the pregnancy, both parents declined, saying they were instead “putting their faith in God.”

“Open your eyes,” McCann said. “I was that child. From day one, God has been protecting me” — quite possibly including, perhaps, on July 29 when he suffered a broken nose when hit in the face with a 95-mph fastball in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Gunnar Henderson, the Orioles’ All-Star shortstop, was among six Baltimore players who joined the celebration of faith. Henderson has long read daily devotionals and used a Bible app on his phone, the Sun noted.

Even before Baltimore made Henderson, now 23, the 42nd overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft, the future superstar talked about the importance of his faith.

“God has me,” Henderson told Alabama’s Selma Times-Journal five years ago. “He knows what’s going to come. I’ll just put my faith in him, and everything will be fine.”

Baseball writers unanimously selected Henderson as the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year. In his first full season, he hit 28 home runs with 82 RBIs and an .814 OPS.

“First, I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Henderson said in accepting the award. “Without him, I wouldn’t be here tonight, and I can’t thank him enough for just blessing me with the ability to go and accept this award.”

Three-quarters of the way through the 2024 season, Henderson has slugged 31 home runs with 73 RBIs and a .932 OPS.

Writing for Birdland Insider, Brandon Lee Quinones reported that Henderson first participated in a faith night after a game at Target Field in Minneapolis last year.

READ: Q&A: Hall Of Famer Rod Carew Talks Faith And Baseball 

That experience motivated Henderson and other players to bring the idea back to Baltimore, according to Quinones.

“It’s important to me, and I feel like a lot of guys in here, to just express our love for God,” Henderson said. “To be able to incorporate it into our daily lives, which is kind of tough in the baseball world because of the schedule. We’re playing every day of the week, so being able to show that and help bring somebody else who might not know who he is, is important.”

A reminder (this is mainly for my personal enjoyment): The Orioles entered the playoffs last season as a favorite but got swept by my beloved Texas Rangers, who rode a hot streak all the way to their first World Series title.

Inside The Godbeat

Daniel Silliman is celebrating five years at Christianity Today in style.

Silliman is the author of a new book, “One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon’s Search for Salvation.” The Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas did a nice interview with him about it.

And he has earned a promotion from news editor to senior news editor. Congrats, Daniel!

The Final Plug

Are unauthorized political signs placed on the property of houses of worship a problem?

I had never considered this, but then I noticed the sign below outside an Oklahoma City church. It made me wonder.

Anyone else come across a sign like that? If so, I’d love to know the details.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for Religion Unplugged and serves as editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 18 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.