Sometime awhile ago, I heard that former Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano became a Christian.
Actually, it turns out he always was - he grew up in the faith - but toward the end of his time in Major League Baseball, God convicted him:
I heard God's voice saying, 'Carlos, you are a good person. Your heart, it's good. I like it. You sacrifice a lot of things for other people. You sacrifice yourself for your family. I sent you to the big leagues for a mission, and you haven't done anything that I told you to do. You did the opposite of what I told you. You are in the big leagues to glorify my name. You are in the big leagues to let people know that I exist. I brought you here. It wasn't in your strength, it was mine. And now you are doing things that you are not supposed to do. What are you doing with your life?' He said, 'I like the way that you sacrifice things for other people, but when is it going to be you that is sacrificed. When are you going to be at the table sacrificing for me and die so that I can live in you and you can do the purpose that I send you for?' "
I'm sharing the quote because, yet again, it's a conviction for me, especially that last line. (Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Luke 9:23, NKJV) Fact of the matter is, I myself am still failing to do this. It's not for lack of opportunity; it's for lack of my walking with a proper attitude.
I haven't really talked much about the Cubs teams from the 2000s, but Zambrano was a major fixture on those teams. I remember him as supremely talented, but a hothead, and thus was not too sad when the Cubs moved on from him after the 2011 season. However, reading his redemption story, for his sake (laying aside the MLB career and how it went) and for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is very heartwarming. [One word of caution: it is clear that the author of this article I linked to earlier this paragraph is not saved, given the last paragraph in the article. My exhortation: please pray for said author.]
One of my prayers has been the salvation of various big-sports athletes in the US, especially since I spent many years following their games, teams, and leagues. I praise God that Big Z is a believer. Lately I've been coming across Sammy Sosa videos, though. From what I've seen of his life, though, I'm not sure he's saved. In fact, I suspect he isn't. I pray he gets saved, receives Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and leads the rest of his family to salvation as well.