There is always a feeling that the younger generation has when in the presence of an older generation. There are times where we feel like we are too young to make an impact or that we lack the experience that the older individuals have and in turn, we feel less equipped to take the stage in the midst of their presence. This is true in various avenues of our lives, whether it be as a writer or a pastor, a teacher or a baseball player. Youthfulness was even something that Timothy would have to deal with in his ministry, but something that Paul told him not to be distressed about.

This issue’s Men of God Spotlight piece is focused on one of the young guns of the Atlanta Braves organization. He would have great success in college but struggled a bit until reaching the Atlanta Braves. Now, he is there and is one of the young leaders on a team that is filled with men who will be in the Hall of Fame. He is Matt Diaz and we caught up with him at Spring Training in Orlando, Florida to get his story about faith and baseball.

His Life

Matt grew up in a Christian home in Florida. His father was a pastor and his mother grew up a missionary. They laid the foundations in the house for what Matt and his brothers would live upon for the rest of their lives. Their parents planted the seeds of faith and then waited for the Lord to bring those planted seeds to the surface.

Q – When did you give your life to Christ?

“I grew up in a Christian home but I honestly didn’t totally turn my life over to Christ until I was nineteen in college, when I was on my own for the first time.”

Q – Who were some of your mentors in the faith?

“Travis Fryman, who played for the Indians, was a friend of my family when I was growing up. The strength coach at the University of Georgia, Dave Van Halanger, who was at Florida State when I was there and we went through the book The Man in the Mirror during my sophomore year in college, which was a big time in my life. I was about to get drafted and was just getting engaged, sot that was a big time of mentoring in my life. My father is a minister and my mother grew up a missionary and she’s a prayer warrior. My older brother, Zack, is a mentor. So, I have quite a few. I have a good support system.

Matt would play baseball at Florida State University, where he would get the opportunity to play in the College World Series. He would get drafted and his journey would begin until he would make it to the Atlanta Braves. God opened that door for Matt to step up to the plate and glorify Him.

His Baseball Life

Matt would be traded to the Atlanta Braves after playing in the minors and having a few appearances for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Kansas City Royals. It was after the trade that Matt’s career would explode, with God making it possible for Matt to get his chance to prove that he could prevail at the Major League level. He would get an opportunity to showcase his talent in 2006 and it continued in 2007.

Q – How much pressure is there for you to be in the spotlight?

“None, you know, none. I felt a lot of pressure in the minor leagues every time our General Manager would come into town, but finally, someone showed me a verse in the Bible where it basically says that I am playing in front of God every day, so why be intimidated by one person coming to see me play? So, that’s what I remember when I come up in the ninth inning. I am playing in front of the King of the Universe, not 40,000 people.”

Q – How has your faith been influential in your baseball career?
“I think that’s been the biggest thing; it’s (my faith) has just taken a lot of pressure off. I realize when I’m working out in the off season, when I’m at home with my wife, when I’m eating, I’m doing it all in front of the King of the Universe, so playing in front of 40,000 people shouldn’t weigh that heavily on my mind.”

Q – So, what is the most difficult part of being a Christian and being in the spotlight?
“Just seeing past the here and now. So much is performance based up here and you get so caught up in how you are doing. We have to step back and remember that when we get to the gates of heaven, none of it is going to be about your big league batting average.”

Q – How does it feel to play for a tradition rich organization like the Braves, with all of their success in the 1990’s and early 2000’s?

“I’m a Southern kid. I grew up in Florida before we had major league teams in Florida, so watching the Braves play on TBS was one of my daily rituals. I’d come home from school and see if that game was still on. Just watching Dale Murphy and Glenn Hubbard and those guys, it means a lot to play for a team with such a great tradition.”

Q – Having Bobby Cox for a manager must be incredible. What is it like?

“Unbelievable. You have a Hall of Fame manager and when he tells you that you have what it takes, you know he’s seen it all. It helps you relax knowing that he thinks that you can do it.”

Q – You are surrounded with Hall of Fame players here in Atlanta. What is it like for you to be playing with John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Chipper Jones?

“I forget which conversation it was, but I was talking with my wife about a goofy go-between, between John Smoltz and I, talking trash back and forth. She stopped me and said, “Now, wait a minute. You said that to John Smoltz?” It’s great. They’re veterans and future Hall of Famers but you’d never know it hanging out with them. They are the nicest guys.”

Q – What has been the highlight of your career thus far?

“The highlight of my big league career was when I had a 10 for 10 streak. While no one is perfect in baseball, going 10 for 10 set a National League record and I never thought my name would end up in any record book. That was kind of nice!”

Q – What are the expectations for the Braves in 2008?

“I think we’ll be disappointed if we don’t make the playoffs. I try not to make too many individual expectations. I think everyone in here (the locker room) is going to pull together and I think we all have the same goal and that is to get to the playoffs.

His Advice

With the state of professional athletes and professional sports today, I wanted to get some insight on Matt’s view of being a role model and see why it is that he chose Christianity over all of the other religions in this world. He told me that his life verse was Philippians 1:6 and that he had it tattooed on his arm so that he would not forget it.

Q – How important is it to you that you are a role model?

“It’s important but it’s kind of scary too. Obviously, the best role models are at home and in the church, but a lot of kids don’t have that. We have to do our best to carry ourselves in a way that is able to be looked up to and do our best not to let the kids down.”

Q – Why God? With all of the other religions in this world, why did you choose Christianity?

“There are a lot of religions where you want to attain godliness. I think Christianity appealed to me mostly because God achieved humanness. He came down in the form of His Son just to bring us up. I think that made a lot of sense to me. Then, once I started to investigate that and go in the science of books like A Case for Faith and stuff like that, it started to make mental sense for me, not just spiritual sense.

He is beginning his third season with the Braves, and at the age of thirty, Matt still has many years of baseball ahead of him. He has shown us how to be courageous in all that we do, regardless of how young we are. He steps up to the plate each day, just as Timothy, the young minister of the New Testament, stepped up to the plate in a ministerial sense, knowing that the God of the Universe was with them and leading them. We do not have to feel unworthy or as if we are not equipped well enough to do things for the Lord because we are young; God is greater than the world we live in and He can do great things through us, just like He is doing with Matt’s life, if we possess an open heart and the courage to step up.

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