We are excited to welcome a new show to the Sports Spectrum Podcast Network — “Get in the Game” hosted by former major league pitcher Scott Linebrink. He played 12 years in the majors as a relief pitcher, and now works as the stewardship advisor for Water Mission.
This podcast is focused on serving others as God has called us to serve. It will feature conversations with people from inside and outside the professional sports arena, sharing their unique insight on what faith in action, service and giving back look like.
The first two episodes feature conversations with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and former MLB star Andy Pettitte.
Last season, Roberts helped guide the Dodgers to their first World Series championship since 1988. He also won a World Series as a player with the Boston Red Sox in 2004, and was given the National League Manager of the Year Award in 2016.
A former teammate of Linebrink’s, Roberts shares what it means to manage and play professional sports with a servant leadership mentality.
“Being a professional athlete is very difficult,” he said. “People ask and want things. I just really believe that having that sense of that servant mindset to want to help others, it always kind of gets you back to that gratitude piece that we’ve got it pretty good. There are other things outside of baseball. I think that ultimately will make you a better person and a better ballplayer, I really do.”
He also opens up about his faith and how it has guided him through his career, and what giving back does for the heart.
Pettitte is one of the most accomplished pitchers in recent baseball memory, playing 18 seasons — 15 with the New York Yankees and three with the Houston Astros.
He won five World Series championships with the Yankees, was a three-time All-Star, led the American League in wins in 1996, and was the 2001 AL Championship Series Most Valuable Player. He is the all-time leader in postseason wins with 19. His No. 46 is retired by the Yankees and he’s enshrined in their Monument Park.
Pettitte shares with Linebrink how his faith led him through his baseball career, and how he had Godly discernment about when to retire and that coming out of retirement to play again was what he needed to do.
He also talks about what he’s been up to since officially retiring following the 2013 season, how much he’s enjoyed coaching his sons, and how his walk with Jesus has grown. The past few months have been especially challenging to Pettitte and his wife, Laura, mainly due to the fact that she lost both of her parents within hours of each other due to COVID-19. He and his family were also in a bad car accident that left them injured.
“God puts us through trials,” Pettitte said. “He gives us pain, I believe, so we can use that to help others. That goes back to what you’re talking about — serving and trying to figure out what you can do for others. We are in a culture and a world that’s so ‘promote yourself, think about yourself, whatever you can do to lift yourself up.’ That’s so far away from what God’s Word tells us to do.”
Be sure to subscribe to “Get in the Game” wherever you listen to podcasts, and check out the other shows on the Sports Spectrum Podcast Network.
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— THE INCREASE: Andy Pettitte – Tell the Truth
— 5-time World Series champion Andy Pettitte shares his story of sports and faith
— Former MLB pitcher Scott Linebrink shares with pros about the power of their platform
— MLB veteran Scott Linebrink, Water Mission team on ‘the beautiful game,’ joy of ministry
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