Baseball and the Bible
Fun podcast discussing baseball and baseball training. We will also be getting into the Bible and doing weekly devotionals.
Baseball and the Bible
Walk It Out
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In a world that constantly pushes us toward instant gratification, we're reminded through the example of Juan Soto that true excellence requires patience and discipline working in harmony. The wisdom of Proverbs 14:29 comes alive as we watch a young baseball player who learned to swing at bottle caps with a broomstick, developing not just hand-eye coordination but something far more valuable: the ability to wait for the right moment. Soto's incredible walk record isn't about passivity; it's about knowing what to chase and what to let pass by. This same principle applies to our spiritual lives and daily decisions. We often find ourselves anxious for success, wanting to skip the difficult seasons and jump straight to the blessings. But God's timing rarely matches our impatience. The question becomes deeply personal: Are we forcing doors that God hasn't opened? Are we swinging at pitches outside our strike zone simply because we're tired of waiting? The beautiful truth is that patience isn't wasted time; it's where character is forged and wisdom is developed. When we learn to pause, pray, and discern God's voice before acting, we position ourselves to truly crush it when the right opportunity arrives. The grind isn't something to endure grudgingly but to embrace gratefully, knowing that every moment of waiting is preparing us for what's ahead.
Welcome back to another episode of Baseball in the Bible. I am Record Dotson here with my father, Ryan Dotson, and we're back for another podcast.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, baby. Glad to be back. We're back. It's just us this week. We've had a good run of some some cool guests, but tonight it's just reality. But we got some more guests coming.
SPEAKER_01But it's good to be back, just us.
SPEAKER_00We're going to chat some baseball. And we are in the as we're recording this, World Cup is starting this week.
unknownTrue.
SPEAKER_00So when this airs, we've already had a couple or had USA play one game. So we're in, we're not a soccer podcast by any means, but um we're supporting USA. USA. USA. The World Cup is here in America, so kind of exciting, big deal. It's another opportunity to hang up our world baseball themed jerseys. So uh there we go. But yeah, we're here. Um got some fun things to talk about. What do you want to start with?
SPEAKER_01Um, I think that we will start with uh just a little trip around the league. Okay. Stats-wise.
SPEAKER_00Quick run around the league catch-up. We didn't really cover that last week uh because we had um Troy Johnson on with us, which again we thank Troy for making the time to join us. And if you haven't seen that one yet, uh definitely encourage you to go back and check it out. He was a great, great interview, great guest. Uh we're gonna be back on at some point later. Um, and so we're looking forward to that. But great guy. I'm finding myself cheering for the Rockies a little bit more now, watching their games late at night.
SPEAKER_01So these are the these are the most rocky games we've ever watched in our lifetime.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Um, all right, we'll just we'll go around the league um and just catch up. We'll start in the central as we always do. And uh just so Milwaukee is on fire right now, playing some really good baseball. They had an incredible game uh one day this week, a couple nights ago, with that with the A's 15 to 14 uh was the final. Uh just a fun game there. And they're they're rolling, man. They're 41 and 24 as we're recording this. Um doing good. Um, four and a half up on the cards, who are playing great. Um playing we're in a series with the Mets right now. Uh in New York, City Field won the first game. We're playing as we speak. We're up four to nothing right now, so hopefully that'll stand.
SPEAKER_01And I'm sure as long as Dad's on his phone, he'll be giving us continuous notifications.
SPEAKER_00So the cards are playing great. Um, and uh they're in second place, and the pirates are uh eight back, Cubs eight back, and then the Reds finally we have finally have a team in the division under 500 because the Cards just swept them. So they're under 500, they're scuffling for sure, but it's a long season. So um they're doing good. Atlanta continues to roll in the east, uh 45 and 22. Uh but the Phillies, my World Series pick, they have turned the corner. They're 36 and 31. They're still nine back, but they're playing much better. Uh Harper's starting to come around, Schwarber's killing it, so they're doing good. Washington's uh one game over in third, then you got Miami and the Mets, who again the cards are playing right now and they're struggling still. Um but they're bringing up the rear in the West. You've got the Dodgers, 43 and 24, eight games up on the Padres, Arizona, San Francisco, and the Colorado Rockies. Um of our favorite teams now, but they're not doing so great. Uh in the American League, Tampa is uh still there, but them and New York are basically tied um right now. Uh and so, and then Toronto is starting to show some signs. They're eight and a half back, but creeping toward 500. Baltimore still disappointing, Boston still disappointing. I really thought those teams were gonna be good. Uh the AL Central, uh just the the team of the year right now. As much as the Cardinals are exciting and nobody really expected it from them, I would still say people would be less shocked than they are that the White Sox are now in first place, or they're kind of they're tied. Uh uh the same kind of winning percentage that they both have. Uh Cleveland has played a couple more games than the White Sox. They're 37 and 33, but the White Sox are 35 and 31, so they're basically tied based on percentage, um, which is crazy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no one saw that coming.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no one saw that coming. Um and they had a game, again, as we're recording this today, they had a game last night against the Braves, you know, the team with the best record in baseball, um, and they walked him off. Brayden Montgomery is one of their top, I think he's number two prospect. He's he's one of the top prospects uh for them and in baseball. They called him up, so it's his first game last night. Uh he had an RBI earlier in the game, but then in the um bottom of the tenth, uh the Braves had scored. It was five to four, bottom of the tenth, had a runner on second, the the automatic runner. He hits a walk-off home run in his first ever uh game in the big leagues, and they beat the Braves six to five. So there's some magic, there's some good stuff happening there uh with the White Sox. But I think he's I saw I think he's only like the fifth uh player since 1900 to hit a walk-off in his debut. So I mean it's not something that happens very often. I was looking at the list, not a lot of big names other than Miguel Cabrera is on that list. He did it, which is I mean, he's a Hall of Famer, one of the best ever. But not all of them are household names, so it doesn't necessarily correlate to like becoming a stud, but it's just it's still an awesome moment, no matter what happens in his career. You know, so uh really cool. Again, they beat the Braves. The big news of that, I didn't mention it when we went by the Braves earlier, but the Acunya did leave that game uh with an injury, so we'll have to see how that plays out because that's the big thing with Acunya is is can he stay healthy? Um but the White Sox are you know right there in first place, uh Minnesota, Detroit, Kansas City bringing up the rear there. Uh and in the West, the Mariners have started to do like we thought they would do. Um they're still you know 36 and 32, uh, but starting to turn that. And again, it's a team that we think I can't even remember now. Did I have them in the World Series?
SPEAKER_01Who?
SPEAKER_00I have to go back and watch the city.
SPEAKER_01No, I think you had the Phillies and the I had the Blue Jays, I think.
SPEAKER_00I stuck with the Blue Jays. I think I had the Phillies and the Blue Jays.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that was an interesting pick.
SPEAKER_00I did have the Mariners in the playoffs. I did have them as a wild card. I had the Rangers winning that division, and the Rangers are only three games back. Um, and so see what happens there. Uh A's, Astros, Angels bringing up the rear there.
SPEAKER_01Um so A is not doing so good right now.
SPEAKER_00It is, I think, a little bit more coming to reality. But um again, we had the Braden Montgomery thing. Uh Scherzer this week uh got his 35th 3500th career strikeout, uh heading toward you know at the top 10 and all-time list there. Um just a Hall of Fame career uh for Scherzer, still doing it. Um again, the couple injuries that were big, Acunya going on there with the hamstring strain, uh O'Neill Cruz for the Pirates, uh fractures his hand, so a couple couple key injuries there around the league. And um again, we're in this second week of June here and and and just creeping toward uh getting to the end of June, and then that's you know, you start really thinking trade deadline type stuff as we as we head into July. So season is flying over, it's already a third of the way over, which is crazy. Uh and again, so you're starting to find out. I mean, the teams where they are, by this point you start to think, okay, they are what they are, like it, like the Cardinals, I believe, are good legit. Yeah, it's just you know, I don't think they're gonna be buyers when we come to the deadline because they're still focused on the future. Um, but they've got some pieces now that are doing good that could bring them some other stuff to help for the future. So um, so that's it. Um trip around the league.
SPEAKER_01Oh, and then uh just before we move on, Lars Newt Bar is back for the cards.
SPEAKER_00Lars Newt Bar is back for the cards. Again, it's not a cards podcast, which we can make it back, but we are happy that Lars is back. Welcome back to Newt Bar. It's good to have him back. Um stadium talk, right? And we're trying to pick a stadium each week, have a little discussion about that. We've got some cool things coming up. Uh, we're gonna be going to Bush in a couple weeks. Um so that's gonna we're gonna have some footage of that, and then going to uh Truist Park in Atlanta in a couple weeks to watch the Cards and the Braves. So we're gonna highlight that in a couple weeks. So we're gonna kind of be in L East themed for the next couple weeks. Uh we'll start uh tonight with since the cards are in City Field, we're gonna start with City Field uh for the Mets. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. We've got some cool pictures that we're gonna show of one of the newer ballparks um in MLB. So Citifield again used to play in Shea Stadium. That's what I remember growing up, and uh, but they moved to City Field in 2009. First Mets home run, an obvious one, one of those makes sense for the guy for that time frame. He was the guy around then, David Wright. Yes. Uh great player, third baseman for the Mets. Uh capacity is 41,922. Surface is grass. When the Mets were born in 1962, they inherited pieces of the departed Dodgers and Giants franchises with the smidgen of the Yankees thrown in. Mets caps borrowed their NY insignias from the Giants. The team's blue and orange colors were those of both the Giants and the Dodgers, and their pinstripes mimicked those of the Yankees. What's more, their roster that dreadful first season included cast-offs from all three teams. So when it came to design City Field, which replaced dilapidated Shea Stadium as the home of the Mets in 2009, the team borrowed the face of Brooklyn's Ebbett Field, perhaps the most beloved ballpark ever. And all around City Field, the Mets showed proper reverence to New York baseball history while showcasing modern marvels and providing necessities that were just rumors at Shea. Citifield's 800 million sticker price shocked many New Yorkers, particularly because they would be footing most of the bill. Additionally, the naming rights to the ballpark were sold to Citigroup just before its role in the nation's banking crisis was exposed. Still, most Mets fans, at least those who can afford the expensive tickets, enjoy its comforts, theme park, atmosphere, and amenities. Built in the shadow of Shea Stadium, Citifield is a natural grass ballpark designed by Populous. The stunning venue includes 41,922 dark green seats, all of which face the infield. Fans who arrive on the elevated number seven train pass through a handsomely decorated plaza to the ballpark's numerous arched windows which bend into a grand brick facade. At the main gate is the park signature rotunda, which is named in honor of Jackie Robinson. I've seen that. We used, I think, pictures from that when we were highlighting Jackie Robinson Day. That picture from there. Engraved into the rotunda's 160-foot diameter floor and etched into the archways are words and images that defined Robinson's nine values: courage, excellence, persistence, justice, teamwork, commitment, citizenship, determination, and integrity. Cityfield's spectator-pleasing openness is a product of expansive concourses that open to the playing field and provide peaks of Queens and Flushing Bay. In some spots, fans can even uh spy the Manhattan skyline. The nine-foot apple that rose and lit up for Mets home runs at Shea resides outside of Cityfield, Citifield, while a new, larger model sits poised behind City's center field wall. When a Mets player hits a home run, a giant apple, which has a Mets logo on the front that lights up, rises from its housing in the center fields batter's eye. It's a very famous thing. I'm sure most people have seen that. With fewer seats and a disappointing team, attendance actually fell from more than four million in 2008 to just over three million the first season at City Field. To pay homage to the Giants and the polo grounds, there's an orange stripe that runs along City Field's outfield wall and up the park's foul poles. Otherwise, New York baseball fans who yearn for the good old days have found no links to the Giants in the Mets new stadium. Despite the fact that the Mets' first home game was abandoned by the team that looked New York's that took New York's heart to San Francisco. So it's a beautiful park. But you know, there you go. It's a beautiful park looking at some of these pictures. Um it's a cool, cool place. Haven't I not been there yet, so hopefully we can get by there and check it out. We went to New York, we went to Yankee Stadium, but we did not go in uh this was before when we went, it was before even City Field, so it would have still been the dilapidated, as they said, Shea Stadium. Dilapidated. And that's the one I remember, you know, some of the great games. Cardinals, when they played them in the NLCS in 2006, that was at Shea Stadium. So all right. Yes, then that now we're gonna do devotion?
SPEAKER_01All right, let's do the devotion.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Staying on our uh Mets theme. Yeah. Just read about City Field. Now let's do a devotion on Juan Soto. Because why not?
SPEAKER_00Because why not?
SPEAKER_01So uh the verse is Proverbs 1429. Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick tempered displays folly. What makes Juan Soto isn't his swing. It's when he it's how he knows when not to use it. Soto became uh Soto came from humble beginnings in the Dominican Republic, where he grew up swinging a broomstick at bottle caps his dad tossed his way. To him, it was more than a backyard game. He was training his eyes and learning to wait for a pitch he could crush. The patience and hand-eye coordination he developed paid off fast. At 19, Soto broke into the big leagues and quickly became one of the toughest hitters to pitch to. From 2020 through 2024, Soto led MLB with 582 walks, a lopsided 165 more than the closest hitter. Translation? Nobody earned more trips to first base just by not swinging at pitches outside of the zone. And when pitchers finally gave him something to hit, he didn't miss. In 2024, he blasted a career high 41 home runs. You'll rarely catch Soto chasing a ball outside of the strike zone. He trusts his approach and makes it count when the right pitch comes around. Soto summed it up simply. I've got just I've just got to keep myself in the strike zone. Try to look for a specific pitch. If they don't do that, just walk. But if they throw it, just try not to miss it. Soto's brand of patience isn't easy. We all want things to happen fast. Especially when we're walk or when we're working toward a goal. But rushing can make us chase the wrong pitch both in life and baseball. Some opportunities or friendships can seem right in the moment. But if you jump without thinking, you could get pulled off course. Patience helps us pause and think clearly. Discipline helps us hold that pause until we're ready to make a smart next move. The slow stretches may not feel exciting, but it's where character and wisdom are forged. And when we get the right and when the right moment finally comes, you'll be ready to crush it. Are you rushing into something without thinking it through or praying about it? Ask yourself Am I trying to forge something that might not be ready that I might not be ready for yet? What's one step I can take today to practice patience? And have I invited God into this decision? Or am I just pushing ahead on my own?
SPEAKER_00This is always risky to ask without even discussing this beforehand, but is there anything that comes to mind for you?
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm kind of offended by that comment. We want to, you know, just skip to all the good stuff. And a lot of the time that's not what God has for us, sadly. So I think that just kind of helps uh remind us to you know, it just helps remind us, yeah, those good times, they are rough, but it the payoff at the end will ultimately be greater.
SPEAKER_00Yes, it's human nature to want, we're all guilty of that in some form or fashion, of wanting to get um to the end, so to speak, and be the best at something. And that's where we've talked about this with with Parker, we've you know, with Troy, with some of these guys. I mean, learning to not only learning to enjoy the grind of it. Yes. We're getting we're talking baseball specific, but even in everyday life, it it's we get so focused on the on getting to the end and achieving this that we miss the little moments along the way. Um we're ungrateful for some of those things along the way. Oh yeah. Being patient is very difficult. It's easy to talk about and read about, but it's a difficult thing. Um it's a fruit of the spirit, you know, and so um just it's uh it is a good reminder, but it's something that we have to uh focus on daily.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and I do want to say like patience and discipline are two very different things. Because if you like there are moments where you can be patient, but if you're not disciplined, then your patience will kind of you know.
SPEAKER_00They can go hand in hand, but they are very different. Yes. And again, we're talking baseball, very important attributes to have.
SPEAKER_01For sure.
SPEAKER_00Uh for sure. Very important to have them at you know at the plate. Uh wherever. In the in, you know, yeah, base running. You know about that. So uh into a joke, but but uh yeah, very important to have. So and he is he is well known for that. Uh that's what makes him a tough, a tough at bat because he's not gonna pitch, and he's not gonna give in to anything that you're trying to get him out on. And when you make the mistake, he's ready for it. And he's one of the greats. So we're gonna read a little bit about him. He's gonna be our new school player of the week. Um, obviously, you read quite a bit about him right there, but I'm just gonna touch up a little bit on some of his his accolades. But he is a Dominican baseball player. Uh love watching him in the World Baseball Classic on that team. Uh, it's crazy to me because he's such a stud, he's only He's only 27 years old. He feels like he's been around forever. And he's already on his fourth team, which is also crazy to me because he's so good. But his career batting average at this moment is 281, 1,135 career hits, 257 home runs, 727 runs batted in. And these numbers are just going to continue to skyrocket. Bats left, throws left. Again, was called up, brought up by the Nationals 2018, played with them to 2022. They won a World Series in 2019. Scherzer was on that team, and but that was kind of a flash in the pan there with them. Then he went to the Padres and you pair them up with Machado and Tatis and 22 to 23. And then he goes to the Yankees in 24. And kind of shocked everybody, but he got the huge contract with the Mets in 25 to current. So he's a current, I mean he's a four-time All-Star. He did have the championship in 2019, four-time all-MLB first team, six-time silver slugger, uh batting champion, stolen base leader in 2025, which I did not know that. But again, the amazing thing is he's only 27 years old, uh, be 28 this year, but there's so much more baseball left in this guy, and so his numbers are gonna be uh incredible. But he signed that 15-year $765 million contract uh with the Mets. Um, and so he's gonna be with the Mets for a while unless they trade him.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, isn't there like only one or two contracts higher than that?
SPEAKER_00I think it's the highest outside of Shohay's.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00And even Shohay's, I don't know. I don't shohaze was around the 700 million.
SPEAKER_01It was.
SPEAKER_00So it might be. Oh, there it is right there. The largest contact contract in professional sports history. So it is the number one.
SPEAKER_01And I assume Otani is second.
SPEAKER_00I would assume. Oh, I think Otani is too. I think Otani's was 700, which you know seems like a bargain now if you compare it to Soto. So true. All right, that's our uh new school player of the week, and we are sticking, I guess, Mets themed here. And we're gonna do we picked some cards earlier, some old school baseball cards. You want to hold that up, Riker?
SPEAKER_01Old school.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's an old school Mookie Wilson. Mookie Wilson. Mets card. Yep. He played for the Mets and the Blue Jays over 12 Major League seasons. He is best remembered as a Met, and he's best remembered as the Met who hit the ground ball that rolled through Bill Buckner's legs in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Which I guess they're celebrating. This would be 40 years, which is crazy. This year is 40 years celebrating that that World Series for the Mets. Uh he made his MLB debut September 2nd, 1980 for the Mets and his last appearance, October 6, 1991, for the Blue Jays. Career batting average of 274, 67 home runs, 438 runs batted in, 327 stolen bases. Played for the Mets from 80 to 89, Blue Jays from 89 to 91. He was a coach for the Mets from 96 to 2002, and then again in 2011. Uh, and again, he was part of that World Series team in 86, and he is in the New York Mets Hall of Fame. He's a switch hitter. His attitude and hustle resulted in a Mets fan base with precious few stars to root for when he came up early in the 80s. But he was uh beloved and again placed in the Mets Hall of Fame in 1996. Mookie Betts, old school player of the week, Juan Soto.
SPEAKER_01Mookie Betts?
SPEAKER_00Mookie Betts. Mookie Wilson. Mookie Wilson. Mookie Wilson.
SPEAKER_01Mookie Betts is still playing for the Dodgers.
SPEAKER_00He is still current, yes. All right. Anything else you could think of?
SPEAKER_01I think that's it for this one.
SPEAKER_00Just a little quick update as we head out. Um just so you know, again, we'll see how the game plays out. But it is currently seven to two cards are beating the Mets.
SPEAKER_01What inning are we in?
SPEAKER_00Top of the fifth.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00It's pretty much ours. Jordan Walker just hit a towering. Oh, it's eight to two. Eight to two. This is a beautiful, beautiful game.
SPEAKER_01I love this.
SPEAKER_00All right. I think that's it. Go ahead and pray for us and we'll get out of here.
SPEAKER_01Alrighty. Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you just for another podcast that we can come here and honor you. Lord, I just pray that um we would all uh just at home practice uh discipline and patience because it's something that um uh that everyone struggles with, Lord. And I just pray that you would uh help us get better at that. Uh Lord. I just pray that whoever's watching this would have a good day in Jesus' name, amen.
SPEAKER_00See you guys on the next one.
SPEAKER_01See ya.