⚾️ Jesus In The Clubhouse: MLB Players Open Up About Their Faith 🔌
Weekend Plug-in 🔌
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ARLINGTON, Texas — In the fourth grade, I discovered Topps baseball cards.
I’d chew the crunchy bubble gum inside each 20-cent pack and memorize the stats of all my favorite players.
Nearly half a century later, I remain passionate about Major League Baseball.
In recent years, my love for the game has inspired me to delve into the trend of MLB teams hosting faith days.
In 2023, I traveled to Southern California to cover back-to-back Christian themes at Petco Park in San Diego and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The next year, I wrote a column about the Baltimore Orioles’ first faith night.
San Diego Padres fans raise their arms as they pray for players and coaches during the team’s 2023 Faith and Family Night at Petco Park. (Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.)
Last year, I explored the history and appeal of Home Plate Detroit, which each year brings together Christian fans of the Tigers.
In my latest story, published by Religion Unplugged today, I detail why the Texas Rangers’ latest Faith and Family Day drew extra attention.
A relevant chunk of that report:
This was not the Rangers’ first Faith and Family Day.
Just last September, a half-dozen players and a coach offered Christian testimonies at a similar postgame event in the team’s Lexus Club.
But for multiple reasons, the latest one became a culture war flashpoint — stirring debate on social media and sparking comments by everyone from Texas’ governor to the local Catholic bishop.
One reason: Texas — the only one of MLB’s 30 franchises without a Pride Day — scheduled the 2026 faith event during June, coinciding with LGBTQ Pride Month.
Organizers typically seek a date when the Rangers play in the afternoon but don’t have a getaway flight afterward. The June date marked the first such availability after the school year ended.
Whether the timing was coincidental or not, the message quickly spread online that the organization had decided to hold Faith and Family Day instead of Pride Day.
Another reason: The Rangers’ event came on the heels of MLB warning three San Francisco Giants players who wrote Bible verses on their caps for the team’s Pride Night.
I’d urge you to check out the story (and click the hyperlinks) to understand the full background and context.
If you read my columns or see my social media posts, you know I’m a longtime Rangers fan.
Texas Rangers players pray before sharing testimonies at the team’s recent Faith and Family Night. (Photo courtesy of the Texas Rangers)
That full disclosure aside, I did my best to report on the faith day controversy impartially. And I resisted the urge to cheer in the press box.
Journalistic decorum trumps fandom. At least for a day.
All that the Rangers said about their Christian journeys didn’t fit in my story.
In sharing their testimonies, multiple players reflected on struggling not to define themselves by their profession.
Third baseman Josh Jung said his pastor, whom he did not name, helps him maintain a proper focus.
“The biggest thing that he always has to remind me is that baseball is what I do, it’s not who I am,” Jung said. “It’s really easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind, letting your value and your worth be in what you do.
“And truly, at the end of the day, that doesn’t really matter,” the 28-year-old added. “It’s all about whose we are. It’s all about the guy that died on the cross for us.”
Fans listen to player testimonies during the Texas Rangers’ recent Faith and Family Day. (Photo courtesy of the Texas Rangers)
Outfielder Evan Carter echoed that sentiment.
The question, Carter said, is, “Where are you going to find your identity?”
“Is my identity going to be for me personally in baseball?” the 23-year-old asked. “Is it going to be found in people’s opinions of me? Is it going to be found in the world?
“As Josh said … the only true thing in life that is unchanging, unwavering and is always going to be there for you is God.”
A daily devotional led by outfielder Brandon Nimmo before hitters’ meetings, regular Bible studies organized by team chaplain Mason Randall and pitcher Cody Bradford, and weekend Baseball Chapel gatherings contribute to the spiritual development of the Rangers’ Christian players, Jung said.
“Those are three things that I know we do in the clubhouse that really help us get connected and get all of us to feel like we’re all in each other’s corner,” Jung said. “Because this is a hard game, and everyone’s going through their own stuff, and when you’re able to sit down and just talk about some real stuff with your teammates, it helps you feel like you’ve got people behind you.”
Outfielder Brandon Nimmo, far left, speaks at the Texas Rangers’ recent Faith and Family Day at Globe Life Field. Other players pictured, from left, are Cody Bradford, Jalen Beeks, Jacob Latz, Evan Carter, Cody Freeman, Josh Jung and Wyatt Langford. (Photo courtesy of the Texas Rangers)
Outfielder Wyatt Langford, who is 24 years old, said: “When Nimmo started doing the devotional every day, that’s really changed my perspective, too. You know, we’re called to be disciples and to teach others, and he’s helped me a lot. … That’s what we’re here to do. We want to see as many people in heaven as we can.”
The Rangers’ faith event came after the team lost three straight games to the Minnesota Twins.
In such circumstances, Jesus provides needed perspective, utility player Cody Freeman said.
“At the end of the day, we’re only trying to please one person,” the 25-year-old said, “and it’s the Lord.
After that day’s game — in which Freeman went hitless — his grandma texted him, as she often does.
“You’re a winner in my heart, no matter what,” she wrote, “because we have the Lord.”
Inside The Godbeat
There’s an old saying, which we’ve cited repeatedly here at Weekend Plug-in, that religion is always in the room.
Faith intersects — often in a significant way — with nearly every major news story, be it about politics, sports, natural disasters or entertainment.
Religion Unplugged’s Bobby Ross Jr. and Clemente Lisi pose for a photo after the Religion News Association’s awards banquet in the Atlanta area earlier this year. (Photo by Aaron Earls)
Religion Unplugged plays a crucial role in helping make sense of those headlines.
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The Final Plug
While covering the Rangers’ faith day, I enjoyed running into two of my former colleagues with The Associated Press in Dallas.
Sportswriter Stephen Hawkins was reporting on the game for AP and retired newswoman Diana Heidgerd was savoring an afternoon at the ballpark with her husband.
Way back in 2003, when I wrote an AP profile of longtime Rangers broadcaster Eric Nadel, Hawkins helped me by getting a quote from Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
Bobby Ross Jr., right, poses for a photo with Stephen Hawkins and Diana Heidgerd, his former colleagues at The Associated Press in Dallas.
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 20 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.