THIS IS EPISODE 121 OF THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST
Jon Peters was the first high school baseball player ever to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. In 1989, he set a record with 53 consecutive wins by a high school pitcher. He finished his dominant four-year career by going 54-1.
With dreams of making it to the major leagues, Peters accepted a scholarship to Texas A&M, where injuries would end his baseball career.
In his first book, “When Life Grabs You By The Baseballs,” Peters chronicles his journey from riches to rags and back to riches. Struggling to find value and happiness, he turned to alcohol, and eventually suicide. In the worst place of his life, Peters took a risk, reached out in desperation, and found a God that loved him and cared about him.
In this episode of the podcast, Peters shares his story of struggle, fame, identity and success. A very vulnerable and transparent Peters talks about being on the cover of Sports Illustrated, why baseball was his God, losing it all, and how he was able to find a life full of joy and peace in Christ.
You can order Peters’ book “When Life Grabs You By The Baseballs” on Amazon.
San Diego Padres' relief pitcher Jason Adam, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
In just eight days, MLB’s best from the National League and American League will duel it out at Truist Park in Atlanta in the 2025 All-Star Game. The initial rosters for this year’s Midsummer Classic were released on Sunday, and among the 19 first-time selections is San Diego Padres relief pitcher Jason Adam for the NL.
Adam, at 33 years of age and in his eighth MLB season, is having one of the best years of his career in 2025. He’s posted a tremendous 1.61 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 44 appearances thus far, and he’s allowed 34 hits in 44.2 innings pitched. Thanks in part to his efforts, the Padres have compiled a 48-41 record.
“Hard to explain. Incredibly thankful,” Adam said in an interview in the clubhouse after the rosters were released. “Thankful for the staff here giving me an opportunity to pitch. Thankful for my teammates picking me up on the nights I stunk. I don’t feel like I deserve it but I’m just incredibly thankful. … I’m overwhelmed with thankfulness. Didn’t feel like I could ever deserve this, but I feel blessed beyond measure.”
Later, the pitcher from Overland Park, Kansas, and father of four daughters revealed that he was in church when he got the call that he was an All-Star.
“We try to be good. We try to do everything we can to be the best at our job, “Adam said, “but ultimately, it’s a gift that we get to play this game and there’s a lot of factors beyond my control. So I try to do what I can, but ultimately, it’s a gift that I’m thankful for.”
Padres reliever Jason Adam reacts to being named an All-Star for the first time. pic.twitter.com/46WtT3XIWV
Adam has been outspoken about his faith in Christ throughout his MLB career, and on his Instagram account he describes himself as a “Christ follower” and references the Bible verse Proverbs 16:9. It says, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
“[God’s] good is always better than our good and better than our initial plans,” he said. “Whether it’s a broken bone, a setback. Whatever it is in anyone’s life, He promises to work it for good.”
It took eight years and five different teams, but Adam is finally an All-Star. And when he looks back on the twists and turns of his MLB career that led him to where he is now, he knows it was God establishing every step.
“You can look back on the times that things felt incredibly bleak and the times where it felt like everything was going perfectly, and you just see His hand through it all,” Adam said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in April 2024. “Really, if I’m being honest, those times where things looked bleak, in the long run, are the times I’m most thankful for.”
The 2025 All-Star game is set for July 15 at 8 p.m. ET. More players are expected to be added to the roster in the coming days as some pull out of the game due to injury or other concerns. Meanwhile, Adam and the Padres will host the Arizona Diamondbacks (44-46) on Monday at 9:40 p.m. ET in the first of a four-game home series.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING FRASER ELLARD
Fraser Ellard is a left-handed relief pitcher with the Chicago White Sox. He was selected in the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Draft by Chicago and made his MLB debut in July 2024 against the Kansas City Royals.
Today on the podcast, Fraser Ellard shares about his journey of faith, navigating grief after losing his father at a young age, and how that shaped his understanding of God. He discusses the importance of finding purpose in adversity, the role of spiritual disciplines in his life, and the pressures he faced during his MLB debut.
Ethan Holliday. (Photo courtesy of the Holliday family)
Ethan Holliday is following in some familiar footsteps. Just like his older brother Jackson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Ethan enters this year’s draft as the potential top pick.
And, in a near-mirror image of Jackson, Ethan was recently named the 2025 Baseball America High School Player of the Year — an honor his brother claimed three years earlier. They are the first high school brother duo to each be honored as BA’s Player of the Year.
“It’s awesome, getting to share something like that with your brother, who you are super close with — and we actually got to play together,” Ethan told Baseball America. A shortstop now, he played third base his freshman year at Stillwater (Oklahoma) High School while Jackson played shortstop. “We’ve got a family business in Stillwater, and baseball is kind of just what we love to do. So it’s a real honor to share that with him.”
During his freshman year, Ethan Holliday watched his brother Jackson become Baseball America's High School Player of the Year.
Now, he finds himself in the same position.
The two are the first high school brother tandem to each be honored with the award.… pic.twitter.com/WYYNZl5t4h
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) July 1, 2025
Ethan tallied a .611 batting average with 19 home runs during his senior season despite being intentionally walked a heavy amount by opposing pitchers not wanting to let him do damage. He also played for the Team USA under-18 team in 2024 and the under-15 team in 2022.
The expectations surrounding Ethan go beyond his last name. As the son of seven-time MLB All-Star Matt Holliday and the younger brother of Jackson, he carries the weight of a baseball lineage that’s both elite and visible. At 6-foot-4, 210 pounds with a powerful frame reminiscent of his dad’s, Ethan doesn’t just play the part, he looks it.
Scouts and fans alike can’t help but draw comparisons to Matt’s physicality and presence at the plate, adding another layer to the already lofty projections for him. But Ethan was raised by humble parents, and despite this and the various awards and accolades he’s racked up in high school, he told Sports Spectrum in February that his identity is “100%, no doubt, rooted through Christ,” and it never wavers regardless of what’s going on with his baseball career.
“I feel like in the last three or so years, I’ve gotten to find where my identity really is,” he said. “So many people can get caught up in the game, get caught up in life, losing their identity in sports or things that are worldly. When I truly found where my identity was in Christ, and that’s where I’m centered, that’s who I am, my life has been incredible.
“That’s a peace you can’t explain. That’s a confidence, that’s a way of life you wish everyone can have. Navigating through sports and life, if I didn’t have Christ as my center, I don’t know how I could ever do it.”
He said these past few years have felt like “chaos” at times, but he’s grown closer to God through it all. He’s attended the Pro Athletes Outreach baseball conference the past three years with his family, but the most recent gathering helped him take an extra step in his faith and become a “warrior of the Lord.”
“I knew there were going to be pressures, expectations, but being able to come and find my identity in Christ has taken so much weight off of this journey and I feel free,” he said in the Spring 2025 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine. “It’s a peace you can’t explain. … Navigating through sports and life, if I didn’t have Christ as my center, I don’t know how I could ever do it.”
Pastor David Platt of McLean Bible Church in Washington D.C. spoke at the last conference and mentioned how he puts out 5-7-minute devotional podcasts every day. Ethan immediately baked those into his morning routine to “feel connected with the Lord daily.” After the devotionals, he listens to worship music before getting into his school or training for the day. And he ends the day in prayer for about 10 minutes.
But “sometimes when life gets crazy, it’s an hour, hour and a half, where I shut everything off and it’s just me in my room in the dark, just talking to the Lord and really just feeling the Holy Spirit,” he said. “That’s huge for me. I need that time. I need that time even if it’s traveling for a summer event, or wherever I’m at, I need time with the Lord. I need that peace. I need that comfort and that gets me through days where sports aren’t going good, life gets a little crazy. To just be able to silence that noise with the voice of the Lord, that’s powerful.”
As part of the draft process, Ethan has met with several teams as they gauge his fit with their organization. He sees those conversations as a chance to share his faith.
“I get to do these draft interviews with these guys who we’ve never met and they’ll ask me questions, and I get to share just a little bit about the Gospel,” he said. “I don’t know where they come from, I don’t know what phase of life they’re in, but you never know.”
The 2025 MLB Draft will take place July 13-14 in Atlanta to kick off the All-Star Week festivities. Jackson has a game with the Orioles at 1:35 p.m. ET on July 13, but hopes to travel home in time to share the draft moment with his younger brother. Then Jackson could possibly make his first All-Star Game appearance July 15.
Ethan said he’s always looked up to Jackson since he was a child, and if he’s selected first, the Hollidays would join Peyton and Eli Manning as the only brothers to each be drafted No. 1 overall in American pro sports.
“I’m excited,” Jackson told Sports Spectrum. “He’s put himself in a pretty awesome position. I’m really looking forward to what the Lord has in store for big E.”
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH JASON ROMANO, FEATURING JARED ALLEN
Jared Allen played 12 NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft by Kansas City. Over his career, Allen led the NFL in sacks twice (2007, 2011), was named to five Pro Bowls, and was selected as an AP first-team All-Pro four times. After his retirement in 2016, he was named to the Vikings Ring of Honor, and in 2025 was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Today on the podcast, Jared Allen speaks to Jason Romano at the Arise with the Guys event in Minneapolis, where Tony Dungy named Allen his Uncommon Award winner of 2025. We ask Jared about being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his testimony of faith in Jesus, and playing with Matt Forte in his short stint with the Bears.
