Ben Zobrist
We are just so thankful that Christ does not measure us by what we do. God is not measuring us by that, He is measuring us by our faith in Christ.Collection: Faith
My dad used to do it when we were little, and I tried it when we played around in the back yard. Eventually, I got a bat and a real ball and played around to see if I could hit left-handed.Collection: Dad
I had a chance to choose a couple different places and, well, I grew up - I was a small-town kid from Illinois, so No. 1, just trying to win a championship for my home state.Collection: Chance
At the end of the day, you can't control the results; you can only control your effort level and your focus.
Each new day has a different shape to it. You just roll with it.
For me, it's not so much about picking the right position; it's about the team.
There are times when your mind isn't ready to go but your body is, and times when your body is ready to go but your mind isn't. You try to get the two in sync as much as possible.
I'm not the best athlete.
It really comes down to God opening the doors for me, and I'm trying to walk through them doing the best I can.
Occasionally, you have to make adjustments and try different things.
I was kind of a slap hitter, trying to get base hits, hit line drives, stay below a certain trajectory with my ball.
Half the time, I have trouble following our own pitcher's sequence.
The best things happen when you're not overthinking it.
I've been back to the Kansas City area a lot in the past. My sisters went to college in the area. My brother went to college in the area. I've got friends there, so there's some ties to the area.
Like anybody else that goes and does their job, there's a way to do your job with excellence.
I have family and friends who are strong Cardinal fans, and they are having a tough time since I signed. They want to root for me, but rooting for the Cubs is next to a sin.
You just want the highs to start once the playoffs start.
You want to represent Christ well with doing you job, first and foremost, because that's what you're there to do.
It was like a heavyweight fight, man. Just blow for blow, everybody playing their heart out. The Indians never gave up either, and I can't believe we're finally standing, after 108 years, finally able to hoist the trophy.
I never even thought about playing professionally. I didn't think that was a possibility for a little kid from Illinois.
I didn't ever realize that my ceiling would be this high, that I would be able to play at the major-league level. But here I am. I've been doing it for a while now, so it's certainly a blast. It's something that I want to cherish and make the most of.
I didn't realize the ceiling that I had, and I don't think a lot of players understand what they're capable of. Some of them dream of what they're capable of, but you don't really understand until you get in the moment and you give it everything you got and see in the end where you can end up.
As a ballplayer, there is no Christian way to swing a bat. There is no Christian way to swing or throw.
You are either good or you're not at whatever your job is. And it is more important that you understand the grace and love and peace you have in Christ, whether you are good or bad at whatever you are doing every day.
We are perfect. According to God, we are perfect, yet we know that we are sinners. We believe in the fact that we are both saints and sinners at the same time as we live in this world.
We all need grace. We all need Christ.
I was so engrossed in my sport, I wasn't thinking about the future from God's standpoint. I was thinking about just my sporting future.
I hit my knees and I went to him with that and I said God I want to do what you want. I don't want sports to be an idol in my life.
We know that as a Christian athlete, people are watching, and so we want to be the best example we can be and show that we are different - that Christ has changed our lives.
I still have a lot to learn about what the love of Christ is like - that it's not just knowledge... but it's allowing the truth to change you - allowing Christ's message of grace and hope and love through the cross, that that message is the message that changes the way we look at everything in our lives.
You just go through highs and lows as an individual payer and as a team.
My dad was a pastor, so we were in church all the time.
I knew all the right Bible answers and the Sunday school answers.
The most important thing is that we're impacting people for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ... that's why we're here.
One-hundred years from now, nobody's going to remember that I played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays - nobody!
We need to just stay in the moment and stay in our routine.
I grew up in Illinois.
Knowing the opportunity to win a championship here in Chicago, right now, that's the main motivation for me.
I'm just trying to create a working knowledge of my body. So it knows what to expect.
There have been nights I've stayed up late thinking about, 'What's wrong with my swing? What do I need to fix?'
There are different angles you have to work with as a hitter. Figuring out with my body what helps me get into those angles... is a constant discovery.
Hitting is not an exact science.
When you're hot, you try to ride it as long as you can.
We've got to do better at taking care of players and making sure the fans get the best of the players when they're showcasing their abilities.
We've made a lot of strides over the years in making the game better for players to be able to stay healthy and showcase talent.
When the ball was hit, my first reaction as a shortstop was always go in the direction of the ball. You can't do that at first base. You go too far in that direction, and it's hard to scurry back and be ready to pick the throw.
If we just focus on stats, we're gonna eventually not have them.
You have to catch the breaks.
You used to be taught to let the ball go as far as possible and then drop it on the runner, whereas now it might be even more advantageous to direct the ball in front of the bag and get the guy on the leg.
I didn't think I'd be getting a contract at 34. That wasn't in my mind.