The Catholic Baseball Player
Prioritizing God as a professional athlete
Even though I have yet to talk about it much online, the Christian faith is a huge part of who I am, the core of my identity. However, I will confess that this was not always the case.
For nearly 2 years I have been looking inward at how I can be a better Catholic, trying to live the way Christ commands us to do. I endured long periods of introspection, growth, struggle, and doubt, ultimately trying to find out who I really was.
What is my actual purpose?
I hadn’t really opened up about my Christian beliefs or prayer life online at all. I openly talked about the Catholic faith for the first time on TikTok just a few days ago, and the response and effect it had on people was overwhelming. People told me I inspired them to go to adoration, which brought joy to my heart.
So I decided I would deviate from my usual posts and actually open up about what it’s like to actually practice the Catholic faith as a professional athlete. It has taken me nearly 2 years to build up the confidence to share this online, mostly because I felt I wasn’t ready or qualified yet.
Hopefully now I can use my platform to inspire others.
It’s very easy to put being a pro baseball player and all the worldly perks that come with it above God. This was something I dealt with for a long time, and didn’t even realize until I had drifted so far away. The pro athlete lifestyle has its many challenges for a practicing Catholic, but it also has its perks. Let’s get into it:
The Challenge: Sunday Mass Obligation
The typical weekend schedule for professional baseball, especially in the minor leagues, involves Saturday night games followed by a Sunday game at 12pm. This makes the Saturday Vigil and most Sunday Mass times impossible. The only options are early Sunday and Sunday night.
For home games, I go to a 6pm Sunday night Mass, so I can slow down and enjoy it without worrying about my schedule. For away games, Sunday afternoon/evening is when we get on the bus and travel back home. So I’ll do some research and find the earliest Mass time near where we are staying and catch an Uber ride from the hotel to the parish. After Mass I’ll Uber again straight to the stadium.
I’m bouncing around to different parishes at different times every week. Sure the stability and consistency of a 10am at the same parish every week would be nice, but that is not an excuse to miss Mass. Ultimately my comfort and convenience doesn’t matter, the point of Sunday Mass is worshiping the Lord.
In a way, I actually find joy in the struggle of finding an Mass time that I can get to. Makes every Sunday feel like a pilgrimage of sorts.
The Benefit: Open Mornings
While my unique schedule can sometimes have it’s challenges, it has also brought me so many blessings. For a typical night game, I’ll report to the stadium some time between 12 and 2pm. This leaves the whole morning at my disposal, much of which I enjoy by spending time serving or glorifying Christ.
Frequent Daily Mass & Confession: Receiving the Sacraments regularly has helped me feel His grace and has strengthened my desire to serve and glorify Him. It also holds me accountable for how I choose to live my life.
Adoration: This is something I overlooked for most of my life until recently. I was fortunate enough to meet this amazing woman who gave me access to her private chapel. Now many mornings I find myself sitting in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, sometimes over an hour, before I head to the stadium. Being able to actually sit with Him in solitude has helped me to actually hear His voice.
Volunteering & Community Service: I have been volunteering with my local parish because it’s a good thing to do to serve the community and the Church. I am also required to get community service hours, so I figured no better way to do it than through my local parish community. My availability in the mornings has allowed me to be involved in ways that are not possible for everyone.
Was I always like this? NO
I’ve been a Catholic my whole life, but it wasn’t until roughly 2 years ago I started to actually pursue him above all things. Looking back, I definitely put worldly things like the game of baseball above Him. I would use my demanding baseball schedule as an excuse to miss Sunday obligations. And from there, it was a slippery slope. The desire to go to daily Mass, confession, adoration, and be involved in the parish community won’t be there if I can’t even fulfill my minimum basic obligation to worship Him.
I always believed in God, but I endured periods of just going through the motions, feeling like an empty vessel, like something was missing. As a result, I was always overthinking. Stressed about my direction in life, baseball, career, future plans, how others perceived me.
When you actually submit to His will and trust in Him, all of your worldly concerns will be met with peace. You will see the world in ways you never had before.
Professional athletes are constantly trying to improve their mental performance. From my experience, nothing has brought me more peace, confidence, and focus in my endeavors than fulfilling my desire to seek God.
For me, when I put my baseball career above God, it would not bear good fruit, but rather add stress, difficulty, and even evil to my life. When I finally put God above everything, suddenly it finally starts to bear fruit. Not just in success on the field. My journey in my baseball career has introduced me to so many amazing people who I have been able to share the faith with, or who have been able guide and nurture my growth.
If we worship the game, the thirst of our soul will never be quenched. But if we worship the One who gave us all these blessings, we are free to enjoy them to their fullest.
From the wise words of St. Augustine,"To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement."
If you feel far from God, just know that he is always right there, waiting for you.
- MT
