Tuesday night as you watch Major League Baseball’s 83rd edition of the All-Star Game, keep an eye out for Cincinnati Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett.
In his second season with the Reds, Gennett has established himself as one of the best second basemen in the National League. Through 92 games, he’s leading the league in hitting with a .326 average. He also has 16 home runs and 63 RBI, to go along with 21 doubles and 59 runs scored in helping his team to 18 wins in its last 26 games.
.@Sgennett2 is all set up and already ready for Tuesday. š“#AllStarGame #RedsCountry pic.twitter.com/T5iC8tn1I2
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 16, 2018
Gennett, 28, was claimed off of waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers right before the start of the 2017 season and has settled in nicely with Cincinnati. He burst onto the national scene in June 2017 when heĀ hit four home runs in a single game, the first Reds player to ever do so and only the 17th player in MLB history to ever accomplish the feat. He also had five total hits and 10 RBI in that game, becoming the first player in the 148-year history of Major League BaseballĀ to ever hit four home runs, have five hits and drive in 10 runners.
.@Sgennett2 is the FIRST player in @MLB history to produce a game with ā¦
5 hits
4 homers
10 RBIs pic.twitter.com/N1tEG6Hv5o— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) June 7, 2017
He would finish last season with career highs in home runs (27) and RBI (97) to go along with a .297 average. Not bad for a waiver pickup.
This year, he’s on pace to surpass all of his numbers from last year. In May 2018, he was named the National League Player of the Month after hitting .398 with eight HRs and 24 RBI.
Gennett shares a deep faith in God and was baptized in 2013. He told Latino Sports last year that the Lord has been vital to his life, especially playing a game like baseball.
“Itās been huge especially in this game thatās a game of failure,” he said. “There are a lot of ups and downs, mostly downs and after I was baptized in 2013, I quickly learned that if my career was over right now, I would be OK. There are other things that I can do in this life.Ā To know that at the end of the day, Heaven is waiting on me and not letting baseball become my god was huge. When you are going through those slumps, a lot of guys are like, ‘If I donāt get out of this, my life is over.’ So knowing that at the end of the day, I could work a normal job, die and go to Heaven thatās great. Thatās the Good News.”
The Reds’ All-Star second baseman says that prayer and communicating with God has helped him through many of the trials he’s faced in his life.
āIāve been through some ups and downs,ā Gennett said in 2015 when he was with the Brewers. āWithout praying and without talking to God, I donāt think I would have gotten through.Ā Godās with me wherever I go. Whether itās on the field or in the locker room, Heās always with me. It all points back to the love of Christ who has a purpose for my life.ā
Listed on Gennett’s social media accounts is the Bible verse 1 John 4:20.
“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannotĀ love God whom he has not seen.” ā 1 John 4:20
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