Cleveland Guardians pitcher Parker Messick has one goal when he’s on the mound: to glorify Christ in all he does.
Every time Messick steps on the mound, joy that radiates through him, and that’s something he prays for all the time.
“’If people see any light in me, Lord, let it be because it’s the light in you shining through me, and allow them to know the true source,’” the athlete shared of his prayer in an interview with CBN Sports. “And I try and live every day like that, and I think that passion stems into the game to where I know I’m out here working for the Lord, and you know I want to win.”
“I want to win for the team and the game and all the earthly reasons. But like this is why the Lord put me here,” he added. “He didn’t put me here just to lose every time. You know I want to play hard. I want to play to the best of my ability because I know who I’m working for, and that’s what I try and do every time I walk out there.”
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Being a pro athlete comes with criticism, but Messick leans on his faith in those moments, too.
“There are people that will constantly just try and tear you down just for the fun of it because they think it’s funny and they think that they can define your worth,” he said on the “Sports Spectrum” podcast. “You know, there’s other fans at the field that think they can yell whatever they want because they bought a ticket to the game and they can define your worth.”
The pitcher reflected: “But you know, there’s a true Lord who calls us and tells us that we are chosen, loved, sanctified, saved, children of God, and there’s no one that can take that away from me.”
For the 2026 All-Star, he doesn’t care about being the best or the “worst pitcher in the world,” because it’s all about Christ.
“I know who I am in Christ, and their words don’t matter to me at all,” he declared on the podcast. “You know, nobody wants to hear them, but I couldn’t care less; those words don’t mean anything to me.”
“I know who my Savior is. I know what He did for me on the cross, and I know what He calls me to be, and I know what He says about me,” Messick emphasized. “So that’s all that matters to me, and you know, I want to share that with as many people as I can.”
Whether he’s silencing critics or celebrating a win, Messick’s message stays the same: his identity and worth are rooted not in the game, but in Christ alone.
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