Baseball

Dodgers' Michael Kopech, Blake Treinen stay rooted in God's Word ahead of World Series

By Kevin Mercer Oct 24, 2024
Dodgers relief pitchers Michael Kopech, left, and Blake Treinen. (AP Photos)

As the star-studded 2024 World Series is set to begin between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers — two of the top three teams in runs scored per game — both clubs are well aware that a strong bullpen will be crucial to success.

And if the closeout Game 6 of the NLCS was any indication of what’s to come, the Dodgers are feeling confident about who they’ll have on the mound in those pressure-packed moments.

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Twenty-eight-year-old Michael Kopech is usually a reliever but got the rare start in Game 6, pitching the first inning with his noticeably cross-embedded glove. Then 36-year-old Blake Treinen finished the game, pitching the final two innings and relying on his experience to overcome the mounting pressure, record the final out, and send the Dodgers to the World Series.

Kopech joined the Dodgers relatively recently. He came over in a mid-season trade this July with the Chicago White Sox, the only MLB team he had ever known, as part of a swap that also included Tommy Edman. Kopech made 24 relief appearances in a Dodger uniform in the regular season, recording an impressive 1.13 ERA.

Meanwhile, Treinen has been with the organization since signing with L.A. in December 2019. He’s recorded some of his best seasons in Dodger blue despite missing all of 2023 with an injury.

In addition to sharing a clubhouse and soon a World Series mound, Kopech and Treinen also share a belief in God. They both joined legendary Dodgers pitcher and fellow believer Clayton Kershaw at the Dodgers’ “Faith and Family” celebration in September.

“This is a very unfulfilling game,” Kopech said at the event, describing baseball’s ups and downs. “There’s no consistency to it, and that made me realize I needed something deeper.”

In a vulnerable moment, Kopech revealed that he had drifted from his faith because he had replaced God with baseball on the throne of his heart.

“I was living a life of seeking to be sought after. To have life on this level of idolatry,” Kopech told AllCHGO.com in 2022 of that time. “That’s stressful to put that upon yourself because you’re not supposed to live that way. And I truly believe that now.”

Ultimately, it was God who brought him back to Himself through the discipleship of his wife and others. Now as Kopech experiences the joy of a restored relationship with God, who loves him unconditionally, he resonates powerfully with the younger son in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15.

He even sees God’s providence in his trade from Chicago to L.A.

“God has His hand in everything,” Kopech said after being traded, according to MLB.com. “And this move for me right now, it feels like it’s where I’m supposed to be.”

Treinen spoke at the “Faith and Family” celebration of one of his favorite Bible passages as well, Romans 10:9. It says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Treinen said of the verse, “God knows your heart. You can’t just fake it. Faith isn’t about seeking the benefits of Heaven; it’s about genuinely believing in your heart.”

With the platform God has given him, Treinen seeks to steward it for God’s glory, so that others might hear the good news of the Gospel and respond in faith as he has.

“Our job is to humble our hearts and admit we are sinners in need of a Savior,” he said, “and that Jesus paid for it on the cross.”

He did just that following the Dodgers’ win over the San Diego Padres in this year’s NLDS.

“I gotta give glory to God,” Treinen told FOX Sports on the field after the game. “It’s one of the most memorable days of my life. … For God to give me an opportunity to close out a game with the Dodgers against this great team, it’s a true blessing.”

The Dodgers are in for some of the most important games of the players’ lives in the coming days. The eyes of the baseball world will be on them with a World Series title at stake. Yet for Kopech, Treinen and other believers on both teams, they’re certain an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good God is in control of all things.

“I think there’s a sense of peace within, knowing that as big as [MLB baseball] may feel, it’s not even close to the biggest stage,” Kopech told AllCHGO.com. “… It takes a whole load off of myself to realize that there’s something else in control and someone else in control. There’s a lot of rest in that.”

Game 1 between the Dodgers (98-64) and Yankees (94-68) is Friday in Los Angeles. First pitch is set for 8:08 p.m. ET.

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