"Get in the Game" podcast host Scott Linebrink with MLB player Brett Phillips. (Photo courtesy of Scott Linebrink)
THIS IS THE GET IN THE GAME PODCAST
WITH SCOTT LINEBRINK
Brett Phillips is a six-year veteran of Major League Baseball, spending time with the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles. In January, he signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
That contract was a major blessing, as he shares in this week’s episode of “Get in the Game” with Scott Linebrink. After being released by the Rays last year, struggling with the Orioles and being designated for assignment, Phillips was searching for answers as to why he couldn’t find success at the plate. He struggled even in the minors until a private hitting coach helped him unlock some new ideas. He’s now confident and ready to see what God has in store for him with the Angels.
In this conversation, he shares what he learned through those struggles and what his relationship with God looked like during that stretch. He also talks about his heart for service and missions work.
THIS IS THE GET IN THE GAME PODCAST
WITH SCOTT LINEBRINK
Ray Wright serves with Richard Childress Racing as the pit crew manager and is the founder of Pit Stops for Hope. In college at LSU, Wright was a part of the 2000 College World Series championship team with the Tigers.
Today on the “Get in the Game” podcast, Ray shares about his journey from being a championship baseball player at LSU to transitioning into NASCAR, the importance of work ethic and faith in his life, and the impact of his nonprofit on child hunger in North Carolina. Ray shares personal stories and insights on serving others, maintaining identity, and the lessons learned through his experiences in sports and life.
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.
