Arizona Diamondbacks rookie pitcher Brandon Pfaadt will take the mound Monday in Game 3 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers.
Pfaadt is coming off his NLCS Game 7 start, in which he helped the Diamondbacks beat the Philadelphia Phillies to punch their ticket to the World Series. Ahead of that game, Pfaadt was pictured reading a leather-bound book that many people assumed was the Bible.
The photo caught the attention of a range of social media users, reporters and even Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who praised Pfaadt on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
Did Brandon Pfaadt read the Bible before Game 7 of the NLCS?
On Thursday, Will Dawson of CBS News asked Pfaadt if he was indeed reading the Bible before Game 7 of the Diamondbacks-Phillies series.
Pfaadt admitted he wasn’t reading the Bible. He said the book was actually the scouting report journal he’s “had all year.”
“Uh no, that was the scouting report,” he said. “I am a man of faith, but it wasn’t a Bible.”
The Bible-reading idea didn’t come completely out of left field. Pfaadt attended a Catholic high school, Trinity High School, and university, Bellarmine University, according to Fox News.
He mentioned his belief in God to Louisville, Kentucky’s WDRB ahead of the 2020 MLB draft when the Diamondbacks selected him in the fifth round.
“There’s a lot of anxiety coming up to this moment,” he said. “But I think you gotta just keep working hard no matter what, and then whatever happens, happens. God has a plan, so just keep working hard every single day, and hopefully, your dream will come true.”
How well has Brandon Pfaadt pitched this season?
Monday will be the 25-year-old’s fifth start of the postseason, during which he has a 2.70 ERA, according to Arizona Sports. The Diamondbacks won each of his four starts. He has had to face the likes of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
Prior to the postseason, Pfaadt had a 5.72 ERA and gave up 63 runs on 109 hits in the 19 games he’s played — 18 of which he started — per ESPN.
In May, Pfaadt made his first major league start — against the Rangers of all teams. He is most likely looking for a better result Monday. In his debut, he gave up seven runs, including four home runs, on nine hits against the Rangers, according to CBS Sports.
With Game 3 being his fifth postseason start, Pfaadt will tie the record for most postseason starts by a rookie in MLB history, according to a post by OptaStats on X. He could break the five-way tie if he starts a potential Game 7 on Saturday.
What baseball players are openly Christian?
WJZ’s Mark Viviano talked with several Baltimore Orioles players this season about their Christian faith and beliefs. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson told Viviano that the players have weekly Bible studies together and “have chapel on Sundays.”
“A lot of guys prioritize that,” pitcher Danny Coulombe told Viviano. “Obviously for me, and most the guys, it is the most important thing in our life, even more than baseball. We’re Christians first and baseball players second.”
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has also been vocal about his faith. He announced the return of the team’s “Christian Faith and Family Day” on X, following the controversy of the Dodgers honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on Pride Night.
“It’s our opportunity to be able to kind of share our testimony of what we believe in and why we believe in it, and how that affects our performance on the field,” he told the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris. “It’s a great opportunity to see the platform that Jesus has given us and how to use that for his glory and not ours.”