Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Richie Palacios is one of the hottest hitters in Major League Baseball, and he’s leaning on the Lord through it all.
According to Sports Spectrum, Palacios is “hitting .364 in the month of August (8-for-22) with one home run, five RBIs and a stolen base. His RBI single in Wednesday’s game started off a two-run second inning as the Rays went on to beat the Athletics 8-4 and close out their road trip.”
So far this season, the second baseman is hitting .238 on the season with five home runs, 35 RBIs and 10 stolen bases, which is the best season of his career.
While fans see him as a talented baseball player, Palacios knows he has an even more important identity.
“…for me, I’m just a man of Christ,” he said in an interview with Billy Pinckney.
In an interview with Jesus Over Baseball, Palacios described baseball as a “vehicle” to share Christ. He said he leans on Colossians 3:23, which states, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
Related: More Than a Game: Tampa Bay Rays Star Puts Faith Over Baseball
“So, when I’m playing this game, I’m not playing this game for the fans. I’m not playing this game to get recognition. I’m playing this game because God’s told me that this is the vehicle that He wants to use in my life to affect people and share His word,” the second baseman said.
In the same interview, Palacios said his stats don’t affect him because he knows who his identity is in.
“For me, it’s just, you know, when I wake up in the morning and pray to God and just know that everything that’s going to go on through this day, that He’s in control, and I’m able to be free with that,” he explained.
“So, when I do go 0-4, I don’t become a different person now,” he continued. “I don’t become an angry person. I still have the faith of God within me. I still have the joy of the Lord in me.”
“So, whether I go 0-4 or 4-0, I can still go and say, ‘Thank you, God, for what you’ve done for me, for who you are and the ability to be able to impact the people around me positively, whether I do good or don’t do good,’” Palacios emphasized.
As Palacios plays his best baseball, he also continues to put his faith at the center, because he knows that life with God is so much better.
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