Whether Pittsburgh Pirates short stop Jacob Gonzalez goes 0-for-4 or 4-for-4, he’s going to praise God.
“Before the game, I always tell myself, ‘Lead me to gratitude, like you have,'” Gonzalez said in a video with Jesus Over Baseball. “Every time I do bad, and I catch myself being mad about something, I just think like this game’s not that important. Like, obviously, I want to do good and use this game to spread the word and lift up Christ. So God’s going to love me either way. If I go 0-for-4 or 4-for-4, if I’m living the life He’s chosen for me, that’s enough for me.”
The athlete who plays for an “Audience of One” began his career with the Detroit White Sox. However, his time in Detroit was brief. Gonzalez made his MLB debut on May 31, 2026 and was shortly traded to the Pirates on July 10.
Despite the sudden change, Gonzalez kept his heart in a posture of gratitude.
“Being able to live out a dream that started before I even stepped on a field is a blessing,” he wrote in a post on Instagram.
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He then added Psalm 28:7, which reads, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”
Playing for the Pirates gives him a chance to team up with pitcher Paul Skenes, another athlete who vocally shares his faith.
His glove has 2 Timothy 1:7 inscribed on it – “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
“God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear. I think that’s the biggest one,” he told CBN Sports when asked about why he chose that verse. “You know, power and love of a sound mind but, when you’re out there pitching, why be scared? Why not — He’s given us the ability to think clearly, to go out there and compete in His image, and not letting anything get in the way of that, so why should anything get in the way of that?”
“That’s kind of how I think about it. I’m Paul Skenes who plays baseball, not Paul Skenes the baseball player,” the pitcher added.
Whether it’s Gonzalez finding gratitude regardless of his stat line or Skenes pitching without fear because he has rooted in his identity in Christ, both Pirates find that their faith, not their performance, defines who they are on the field.
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