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Professional baseball players are notorious for curating complex habits and superstitious routines in order to perform as consistently as possible. But for many players who have committed their life to Christ, their routines include prayer, reading the Bible, and attending chapels in hotel rooms, and they affect more than just their life on the field. We’ve highlighted 8 MLB players and their most inspiring quotes about living for God in the spotlight of professional baseball.

Albert Pujols The was started by Albert Pujols to provide for the needs of families living with Down Syndrome. In his , Pujols says, “My life’s goal is to bring glory to Jesus. My life is not mostly dedicated to the Lord, it is 100% committed to and His will. God has given me the ability to succeed in the game of baseball. But baseball is not the end; baseball is the means by which my wife, Dee Dee, and I glorify God. Baseball is simply my platform to elevate Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.”

Mariano Rivera Rivera’s on Beyond the Ultimate says, “I realized that if I ever hoped to reach my goals, I had to turn to Jesus for help and direction. So I asked Jesus to forgive me for my sins and invited Him to take charge of my life. I still like to enjoy myself. But now I’m able to keep everything in perspective, because I know that following Christ is the most important thing in life. If you’re caught up in a lifestyle that leaves you feeling empty, I encourage you to seek out a new life in Christ.”

Mike Piazza In an with , Piazza said, “I truly believe my whole professional career has been a blessing from . And it’s been a great gift. I know I worked hard, and you have to apply yourself, but I still feel that you have to have a lot of blessings from above”

Clayton Kershaw In an with Beliefnet, Kershaw said, “My favorite verse is . “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not man.” I think I am so blessed to have the talent to play baseball and I realize that. At the same time I think God gives us time to work at it so we can get the most out of it to glorify Him with it in everything we do. There are going to days where you don’t want to go to the field and workout and do whatever you have to do. You have it in the back of your head that you’re not doing it for yourself; you’re not doing it for the coach, you’re not doing it for your teammates—you’re doing it to glorify God.”

Carlos Beltran In , he says, “When I was in Kansas City everything was going well for me. My marriage was good and I was very successful in baseball but something was missing in my life. That something was Christ. Every human being is born with a little defect in his heart. That defect is a hole in the heart that can only be filled by Jesus Christ.”

Andy Pettitte CBN’s of Andy Pettitte quotes the pitcher saying, “You know the biggest thing in my life is my relationship with the Lord, and that’s really what I think my life’s all about — trying to spread the Word of Jesus Christ and trying to get people to get saved. The day I got saved I knew there was something changed about me. I knew that I was going to spend eternity in Heaven with Him whenever I pass from this life.”

Josh Hamilton Josh Hamilton shared with , and said, “I said to God, ‘I need help, I’ve been trying to do this so long. I can’t do it anymore. I fail on my own. Do with me what what you want to do with me. But I surrender.’ I started looking through the Bible and caught my eye: ‘Humble yourself before God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’ And that’s exactly what I did.”

Matt Holliday Holliday shares his on Faith in the Game, and says, “Winning is incredibly important to me. My teammates are incredibly important to me. But they are not the most important things to me. Yes, making a good living and supporting my family are important to me. But you can’t take a U-Haul to heaven. We come into this world . When we have our priorities in order, we feel the love God intended us to feel, for Him and for our families.”

Photo Credits:

Albert Pujols – Mike Piazza – AP Photo/Amy E. Conn Carlos Beltran – Getty Images/Jamie Squire Josh Hamilton – Clayton Kershaw – Mariano Rivera – AP Photo/Ted S. Warren Andy Pettitte – Getty Images/Jeff Zelevansky Matt Holliday – UPI/Bill Greenblatt