THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST
WITH JON ACKERMAN, FEATURING KYLE GIBSON
Kyle Gibson is a starting pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals. Drafted in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins, he made his big-league debut in 2013 and pitched seven seasons with Minnesota.
In 2020, he signed with the Texas Rangers, and in 2021 made the American League All-Star team. After being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, he was a member of the 2022 National League champions and pitched in the World Series. Last year with the Baltimore Orioles, he notched a career-high 15 wins and helped the team to 101 victories and the AL East championship. Then in November 2023, he signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals for the 2024 season.
Today on the podcast, Kyle Gibson shares about the growth he’s made as a pitcher and as a man of God, and why he’s embraced becoming a mentor at this stage of his MLB career. He’s also featured on the cover of the Spring 2024 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine.
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca connects for an RBI single in the 12th inning of Game 4, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Center fielder Jonny DeLuca said last week he hopes the World Series provides a platform for people to see God through how he plays. Thanks in large part to his game-tying base hit in the bottom of the 12th inning of Game 4 on Tuesday, he and the Tampa Bay Rays will have at least one more game to do just that.
Shortly after DeLuca’s RBI single, Ben Williamson chopped a base hit into right field with the bases loaded, scoring Nick Fortes and helping the Rays come back to beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3, and stave off elimination. Milwaukee leads the series, 3-1.
After both bullpens hung zeroes for six straight innings, Milwaukee shortstop Cooper Pratt hit a solo home run in the top of the 12th inning to break the deadlock and give the Brewers a 3-2 lead, putting them just three outs away from a sweep and the franchise’s first-ever World Series win. Instead, the two teams will meet Wednesday night for Game 5 again in Tampa as the Rays stay in pursuit of their first World Series title.
“Today, we’ve just been playing so free,” DeLuca told reporters after the game. “Go out there, there’s really nothing to lose. So go out there, balls to the wall and compete. … It’s a special opportunity that we have. We’re going to take it one day at a time and be in the moment.”
With the win, Tampa Bay became just the fifth of 26 teams that fell behind 3-0 in the World Series to win Game 4. The Rays also ended an eight-game winning streak by the Brewers, who were looking to become just the second team to sweep a League Championship Series and the World Series.
DeLuca was just 2-for-11 at the plate in the World Series heading into Game 4, and he had just the one hit in five at-bats Tuesday night. But he made it count. While the bat hasn’t been as hot, he’s played solid defense throughout the series for the Rays.
DeLuca is in his fourth major league season and third with the Rays after playing his rookie year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 27-year-old batted .266 with 11 home runs, 50 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in a career-high 112 regular-season games this year. He collected four hits, drove in three runs and stole a base against the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series.
Through it all, he’s been guided by God.
“It’s a blessing to be here and I owe it all to Him,” DeLuca told CBN Sports before the World Series started. “I’m trying to give glory to Him as I play. It’s been a foundational part, having my identity be rooted in Jesus. This baseball game is super fun and it’s rewarding, but it’s a very bad god and it’s going to disappoint you every time. So being able to put my faith and trust in Jesus, it gives me a lot of peace. I’m just very blessed and thankful.”
He recently told Travel Chapel that he accepted Christ at age 11, but it took him a while to fully grasp everything about the Christian faith. At age 16, he suffered a serious injury playing baseball and had to have part of his kidney removed. That was a pivotal moment for him to realize that anything can happen and he’s not in control of his life.
Now, his faith “means everything” to him.
“Growing up in a Christian home, being able to go to church and worship God at an early age has been foundational for me,” he told CBN Sports. “Having pastors and teachers and people pouring into my life, praying for me, encouraging me, has been so huge. And obviously that’s the biggest part of my life.”
No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a World Series, but the Rays will look to keep their hopes alive with a Game 5 win to continue that pursuit.
For DeLuca, winning a World Series would be an incredible accomplishment. Getting the chance to play Major League Baseball and compete on the sport’s biggest stage was always something he dreamed of, just like virtually any other baseball player. But even reaching that pinnacle doesn’t guarantee the fulfillment he once expected.
“There’s still an emptiness of like, ‘Oh, this is it. There should have been more,'” he told Travel Chapel. “So you’re kind of expecting more there. And that’s a perfect lead-in to that Christ will fully satisfy you.”
DeLuca said that doesn’t mean he wants to stop working hard or making the most of the opportunities God has given him. Rather, his faith reminds him that his ultimate hope isn’t tied to what he can accomplish on a baseball field.
“Obviously, you want to work hard and you want to use what the Lord has given you,” he told Travel Chapel. “But at the same time, the Gospel is completely contrary to that in that the work has been done on the cross, and now we get to have the blessing of receiving Christ in our life and the blessing of not necessarily living an easy life, but having the hope of eternal life with Jesus.”
First pitch for Wednesday’s Game 5 is set for 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field, with the game being broadcast on Fox.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST, FEATURING RYAN JOHANSEN
Ryan Johansen played 13 seasons in the NHL, spanning from 2011 through 2024. He was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010 and made his NHL debut in 2011. After five seasons with the Blue Jackets, he was traded to the Nashville Predators and helped them to their first-ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2017. After seven seasons with Nashville, he was traded to Colorado in 2023 and spent one season with the Avalanche. He officially announced his retirement in March 2026 after a 905-game career.
Today on the podcast, Ryan Johansen joins former NHL player Nate Prosser for a conversation on faith, hockey and marriage. Ryan shares his incredible story of coming to faith in Jesus and why it’s never too late to give your life over to God.
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
It’s fitting that pitcher Drew Rasmussen will start at some point for the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. After the season and postseason he’s had, he’s become Tampa’s ace. But for him, the reasons for why this is so meaningful go far deeper than just baseball.
He credits his strong faith in God for enduring the arduous, injury-riddled, somewhat roundabout journey between both organizations.
The Rays drafted him in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of Oregon State, but he failed his physical and never signed. He suffered an elbow injury in 2016 that required Tommy John surgery, but returned in 2017 to pitch in eight games and make four starts.
That was enough to convince the Rays to select him, but a subsequent physical revealed that his elbow wasn’t quite fully healthy. Instead of starting his pro career, he needed another Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in September 2017. He missed the entire 2018 season while rehabbing and didn’t have a chance to pitch again to help his draft stock.
“I would say 2017 was when it really hit me that everything the world promises to you is temporary. It’s fleeting,” Rasmussen said recently in a video with Travel Chapel. “There’s no long-term joy. When you lean on the things of this earth, you’re just going to find empty promises. They might bring you momentary happiness, but it’s not everlasting joy.”
He was crushed when he had to go back to school, but the next two years allowed him to mature in his faith.
Even though he grew up going to church and youth group every week, he wouldn’t have considered himself a “man of faith” or someone “searching after God” when he arrived at Oregon State. One of the campus leaders for Fellowship of Christian Athletes started pouring into Rasmussen regularly during his freshman year, inviting him to his house and other events, but Rasmussen said he doesn’t remember taking him up on an offer even one time.
But during his sophomore year, Rasmussen got more curious about God and started digging into the Bible at the “ground level.” Then the first injury came.
“I do think God does a lot of His best work in your life when things are going poorly,” Rasmussen told Travel Chapel.
That injury and the second elbow surgery, along with the disappointment about not being able to make the jump to the pros, is what led him to dive even deeper into his faith.
Despite the injury and time away from the mound, the Brewers drafted Rasmussen in the sixth round of the 2018 draft. He returned to the mound and spent all of 2019 in the minor leagues. He then made his MLB debut in August 2020 during the COVID-shortened season, appearing in 12 games and posting a 5.87 ERA with 21 strikeouts across 15.1 innings pitched.
He started the 2021 season in the bullpen, but the Brewers traded him to the Rays in May 2021. It was disorienting for both him and his wife, Stevie, whom he married in 2020. The Brewers were all they knew in pro ball, and they loved the people in the organization.
“It’s funny looking back on things. What can seem so hard in a moment, God is actually using for something significantly better,” Rasmussen said.
He’s since found a home with the Rays. He’s been selected to the American League All-Star team the last two seasons, and this year he’s been Tampa Bay’s ace all year long. He led the team with 16 wins and 174 strikeouts in the regular season — both career highs — and posted a 2.67 ERA. In the postseason, he leads the team with 21.0 innings pitched and 23 strikeouts to go with two wins and a 1.29 ERA. He won’t pitch Game 1, but will be plenty rested for Game 2 or 3.
But baseball aside, he’s also felt at home in the clubhouse and has connected deeply with team chaplains and his teammates.
“The guys in the clubhouse were exactly what I needed, and God knew He had to put me in the Tampa Bay organization to be surrounded by guys like Ryan Thompson, Jalen Beeks, the year later Jason Adam,” Rasmussen told Travel Chapel. “These are all great men of faith and people I aspire to be like. Although they’re teammates, they’re friends. They’re further on in their walk than I am, so He’s put me in a place where I’ve had great role models and people that are living out their faith on a daily basis.
“He took something my wife and I thought was so negative and He’s turned it into the biggest blessing and the biggest positive in our lives.”
Rasmussen pitched well in 2022 and was off to a good start in 2023 until an elbow injury required him to undergo an internal brace procedure, which ended his season after just eight starts. Before that, he could tell he was starting to “drift” spiritually. The forced slowdown of recovering from surgery allowed him and Stevie to grow even stronger in their faith.
“I think God truly used that time to just say, ‘Hey, look, I’m always here,'” Rasmussen said. “I’m not perfect. I’m nowhere near it. Thank God, because He’s accepting, and the gift of salvation is something I don’t deserve. As I started to drift, I think He put some guardrails in my life, and I think He’s done it two or three other times.”
Stevie even got baptized while he was rehabbing.
“Seeing her evolve is also one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Being here in Tampa has been unbelievable. And just the people we’ve been surrounded by here, it truly has been amazing. It’s been a blessing. Compared to the miracles of the Bible, I don’t know if you could call it that, but it’s a miracle for Stevie and I.”
Rasmussen and the Rays are on the road to start the World Series. Game 1 is set for 8 p.m. ET Friday on Fox.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST, FEATURING JOSH LINDBLOM & SCOTT LINEBRINK
On today’s Sports Spectrum podcast, former MLB pitchers Josh Lindblom and Scott Linebrink discuss the topic of identity and finding our purpose and worth outside of sports.
