Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout hits a solo home run, Aug. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The Seattle Mariners hoped three-time AL MVP Mike Trout would be a little sleep deprived, or at least a bit off his game, when they hosted the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. Trout and his wife, Jessica, had their first child late Thursday afternoon, and Mike spent the next four days with his family.
But he returned to the lineup Tuesday, faced the Mariners’ Mike Dunn in the first inning, and sent a 2-2 pitch 407 feet into the empty concourse in left-center field — his first home run as a father.
Trout said it was “really, really, really hard” to leave Jessica, and that he had called her “probably about 30 times already today.” But he arrived in Seattle in time to help the Angels (4-7) to a 5-3 victory.
The Trouts named their son Beckham Aaron Trout. In announcing the birth on social media over the weekend, Trout said, “Our greatest gift from above, we are so in love!”
Our greatest gift from above • we are so in love! 🤍
The boy’s middle name, Aaron, is in honor of Jessica’s younger brother, and Mike’s best friend, who committed suicide in 2018. Last month, the Trouts announced a partnership with Tiny Turnip, an MLB and MLBPA licensed apparel brand, who designed some clothes as part of a campaign called “Your Game Isn’t Over Yet” to bring hope and awareness to the tragedy of suicide.
“We hope and pray this collaboration touches the lives of even just one precious soul,” Mike said on Twitter.
The Trouts’ design is a baseball over a glove, forming the shape of a semicolon, which is a symbol of suicide prevention. The stitches on the ball are words of encouragement, and underneath the ball is James 4:10. That verse reads, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Aaron Judge is doing Aaron Judge things — again.
As the calendar turns to May, the New York Yankees captain is off to strong campaign to win another American League Most Valuable Player award. Judge currently leads all of Major League Baseball in an eye-popping list of offensive categories: batting average (.427), on-base percentage (.521), slugging percentage (.761), OPS (1.282), hits (50), total bases (89), and WAR (2.7). He’s also tied for the MLB lead in home runs (10) and RBIs (32) after hitting a home run and driving in three runs on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
This is the version of Judge that took home the AL MVP award in 2022, when he broke the American League home run record with 62. He claimed MVP honors again last season, when he clubbed a league-leading 58 home runs and 144 RBIs (also a career high).
But even amid another potentially historic run, Judge remains grounded in his faith in God as he hopes to lead the Yankees to a second straight AL championship. New York (18-13) is off to another strong start, sitting atop the AL East by 1.5 games.
“That’s where it starts for me — the foundation, where I get a lot of my strength, and being able to do what I do on a daily basis, it all comes from that,” Judge told CBN Sports during the 2024 All-Star Game, his sixth overall and fourth consecutive appearance at the mid-summer classic. “I never would’ve imagined I’d be in this position — getting drafted, working my way up to the major leagues, then getting the chance to be in an All-Star Game is surreal. It all starts with faith.”
Judge’s talent and larger-than-life presence on the field at 6-foot-7 has made him a unique figure in professional sports: an elite athlete who leads with both excellence and faith. And as he leads baseball in virtually every offensive category, his witness is as loud as his bat.
He often cites 2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV) — “For we walk by faith, not by sight” — as his one of his favorite Bible verses, and he has it displayed at the top of his X page as his banner photo. He also proudly proclaims himself as a Christian in both his X and Instagram bios.
In a 2019 visit to Fresno, California, where he attended Fresno State University and near where he grew up in Linden, Judge dropped by the announcer’s booth during a Fresno State football game to discuss his career and his formative years. He also discussed his work with the All Rise Foundation, a nonprofit he launched with a goal to inspire youth to become responsible citizens in their communities. Earlier that week at an event in Fresno, he unveiled a personal painting he created, showing key moments from his life and baseball journey. The artwork featured logos from the Yankees, Fresno State Bulldogs, and his high school team, the Linden Lions.
The piece also mentioned 2 Corinthians 5:7.
“I try to live my life by it, and always trust the Man Above and what He’s got in store for us,” Judge said on the radio broadcast. “We never know what’s around the corner, but if we have faith in Him, He will lead us in the right direction.”
His formative years were also largely shaped by the nurturing of his adoptive parents, Patty and Wayne Judge, who adopted him on the second day of his life, along with his older brother, John. During a 2024 World Series media session, CBN Sports asked him about his adoption and how adoption imagery in the Bible has helped him better understand God’s love.
Scripture speaks often of God adopting His people as His own children — choosing and loving them and giving them a new identity through Christ (Ephesians 1:5, Romans 8:15).
“His love is incredible. It has no ends,” he told CBN Sports. “The position I was in, being adopted by my parents, for them to pick me, choose me, put me in their lives, it’s incredible. If you would’ve told me back then when I was 5 years old that I’d be in the World Series with the Yankees, that I’d be the captain of the Yankees, I probably never would’ve believed you. But just having His blessings, keeping the faith through good times and bad times knowing He’s always with me, that’s definitely helped me get to this position.”
After dropping two of three games in Baltimore this week, the Yankees return home for a three-game series with Tampa Bay starting Friday.
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Austin Hays, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
It’s been a whirlwind couple of seasons, but outfielder Austin Hays is finding solid footing once again — this time with the Cincinnati Reds. After missing the first 16 games due to a calf strain, he’s provided a jolt to the Reds offense, hitting .361 with three home runs, nine runs batted in and a stolen base over nine games.
In his debut with the team on April 15, he went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, including a three-run home run against former Reds pitcher Luis Castillo during a four-run fifth inning that propelled Cincinnati to an 8-4 come-from-behind win.
Hays picked up where he left off in spring training, where he finished with a .310 batting average to go along with three home runs and a team-leading 14 RBIs over 16 games.
“It doesn’t always work that quickly when a guy comes back, but I think we just missed him,” Reds manager Terry Francona said following Hays’ debut.
Hays was the only player the Reds added via free agency this past offseason when he signed a one-year contract for $5 million. He not only provides an extra source of power and production in the lineup, but at 29 years old and in his eighth season as a big leaguer, he provides a steady veteran presence for a young, energetic roster hungry to make it back to the postseason.
But Hays’ journey to Cincinnati has been anything but linear.
In 2023, he was named to the American League All-Star team as a member of the Baltimore Orioles, ultimately slashing .275/.325/.444 with 16 home runs and 67 runs batted in. He not only brought consistent offense but shined defensively as well, recording six defensive runs saved in left field — good for fourth among all AL outfielders.
But the Orioles dealt Hays to the Philadelphia Phillies at the 2024 trade deadline, aiming to bolster their roster with pitching. Hays, meanwhile, was brought in to help the Phillies counter left-handed pitching, and he delivered when healthy — batting .328 with an .894 OPS against southpaws.
Yet a tough stretch of injuries, including a hamstring strain and what he described as a “mysterious” kidney infection, limited him to just 22 games in Philadelphia, where he hit .256 with two home runs and six RBIs. Members of the Phillies organization praised him for battling through the infection.
Through the ups and downs of baseball, Hays has said his peace comes from his faith in God, which really started to blossom when he and his wife, Samantha, became Christians in 2020.
“During the 2020 season, we were here at our home and just felt like something was missing,” he said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in March 2024. “We had just completed the first full season in the big leagues, felt like we were finally established, have everything you could want materialistically, and we just didn’t feel whole.”
They attended a Pro Athletes Outreach event in 2020, heard the Gospel and were saved.
“Couldn’t really describe what that feeling was like and the connection Sam and I had together,” he said. “We were looking at each other and asking, ‘Is this real? Are we both feeling this right now?’ We finished the three days there and just really felt like we were completed and we were whole and we had accepted Jesus into our lives.”
Wanting to make sure they weren’t just riding the high of the event, they got plugged in with a church near their home in Florida and continued to grow in their faith. Eventually, he and Samantha were baptized together.
“It’s been a great three years since that day,” he said in 2024. “We’ve grown a lot in our faith and continue to grow every day.”
Now, Hays hopes his play on the field can reflect the peace he’s found through a relationship with God.
“I can take everything that comes with baseball, I can take it to God,” he said. “I don’t have to do it myself. I don’t have to manage it myself and feel like I have to be in control of everything because, ultimately, baseball is a very difficult sport.”
“I can take everything that comes with baseball, I can take it to God.”
He noted how much failure is a part of the game of baseball, even for the best players. A career .263 hitter, he fails nearly 75% of the time, which would be unacceptable in most lines of work. But with baseball, it’s all about perspective.
“With that much failure, I can’t go at it alone,” he said on the podcast. “I can’t go at it by myself. You’re not equipped to do that as an individual. To be able to take it all to Christ and say, ‘I don’t want to do this alone and I don’t want to have to go about it by myself. I want to glorify You in everything that I do on the field.’
“Whether I play good or play bad, I’m alive in Christ and my identity is known from within. It’s known in front of the Lord that I’m living my life the way I was intended to no matter how my game is going on the field that day.”
Hays and the Reds (12-13) are off Thursday before starting a three-game series in Colorado on Friday.
Skip Schumaker in December 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
THIS IS THE GET IN THE GAME PODCAST
WITH SCOTT LINEBRINK
Skip Schumaker is a former MLB player who spent eight years with the St. Louis Cardinals (2005-12, helping them win the 2011 World Series), one season with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2013), and his final two years with the Cincinnati Reds (2014-15). He later got into coaching and became the manager for the Miami Marlins in 2023, winning NL Manager of the Year honors that year, before stepping away from the role after the 2024 season.
Skip joins the show today to discuss his journey through baseball, including defining moments in his career, the importance of leadership and communication, and the impact of faith on his coaching style. He shares insights on transitioning positions, the significance of servant leadership, and how he finds purpose after retirement. The conversation highlights the importance of relationships in baseball and life, and the impact of giving back to the community.
St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
The season is young, but the St. Louis Cardinals have been one of the hottest-hitting teams in the major leagues. A big reason for that has been second baseman Brendan Donovan, who is hitting .380 entering Thursday, which ranks third in MLB. In 71 at-bats, he’s collected 27 hits with two home runs, 11 runs batted in and two stolen bases.
The Cardinals are in the MLB’s top five in hits, RBIs, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging percentage, and they lead the majors in batting average. Donovan, who is hitting in the No. 3 hole for the Cardinals, extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a hit in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over the Houston Astros. He enjoyed a four-hit game on Monday.
“Every day is so different up here,” Donovan told reporters following Wednesday’s game. “Everyone is trying to attack you so many different ways. Your body feels different each and every day. But, for me, I think my routine has been pretty consistent. I think the recovery aspect is something that I’m leaning more into as of this past year.”
Donovan had surgery in August 2024 to repair a partial UCL tear in his right elbow, which he credited for a renewed focus on daily recovery in an effort to stay as sharp as possible. He’s begun to focus even more heavily on his preparation as well, he said.
Teammate Lars Nootbaar, who has also enjoyed a strong start to the 2025 campaign, credited new Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown for implementing new approaches this season that have paid immediate dividends. One of those new tactics is for hitters to be more aggressive when they’re ahead in counts.
“The pressure’s on them, right?” Donovan said, referring to opposing pitchers. “I think we’ve done a good job making them come into our zone of, ‘What am I looking for? Where do I want it? And where do I want to hit it?'”
Donovan made his major league debut in 2022 and immediately made an impact, winning a Gold Glove Award as a utility player and finishing third in the National League Rookie of the Year race. Now with a career .286 batting average, Donovan has cemented himself as one of the most consistent players in the majors on both offense and defense.
He’s also been consistent in speaking publicly about his faith in Jesus and has credited his regular attendance at team chapel gatherings for helping him stay focused on his faith during the busy season, which often includes day games scheduled on Sundays, making it difficult for players to attend church.
“I think baseball actually does an amazing job. We do chapels in the dugout on Sundays,” he said in February on the “Dealin’ the Cards” podcast. “Last year we tried to go through the whole Bible. I think it’s pretty cool because not only does it bring you closer to your teammates, but it’s the most important thing you can do. It’s your framework or your guideline for how we’re supposed to live.”
Donovan was also a part of Christian Day at the Ballpark in July 2022, where he shared about the influence guys like former teammate Paul Goldschmidt and other veterans had on him during his rookie season. Donovan showed up to chapel shortly after he arrived in St. Louis and Goldschmidt immediately added him to their group text message thread.
That helped the rookie feel welcomed and encouraged right away, especially when it came to his faith.
“Going through the Word, going through chapels on the road, having our own Bible studies, it was immediate,” Donovan said during Christian Day. “The minute I got here, they pulled me in, and I’ve just been hooked since. To have those mentors out on the field and in the clubhouse that have great faith is just truly a blessing.”
Playing for an organization like the Cardinals, where winning is expected, can bring a lot of pressure, especially from a restless fanbase eager to see the team reach the playoffs for the first time since 2023. But Donovan has maintained that regardless of the pressure or platform he might receive as part of playing for the Cardinals, he intends to steward his position well.
“All of us are given these blessings and this platform to show faith, to show what kind of people we are and how we can impact others,” Donovan said during Christian Day in 2022. “To have success out here, we get to use that platform and we get to promote our faith. Obviously, we want to have success out here, but people remember you for what kind of person you are, so that’s how I try to view it.”
St. Louis opens a four-game series against the Mets in New York on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET.
