Trevor Williams
Episode 106
8 FEB 2021
A pitcher getting ready for spring training with the Chicago Cubs. He had been with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 2016-2020, having initially been drafted into Major League Baseball as a second round pick by the Miami Marlins. As a student-athlete he had played his college baseball at Arizona State University. He is also co-founder of an organization called Project Thirty Four. He’s a very dedicated member of the Knights of Columbus too.
Notable guest quotes:
“Born and raised Catholic… I am the oldest of three boys… We grew up going to CCD classes. We grew up going to Mass every Sunday.”
“It wasn’t until high school, for me, it wasn’t really until my Confirmation class in my junior year of high school is where I started taking more serious CCD and the church. And, really, Catholicism was part of my life for so long and it was always there, I just never reached out and dove into it as much as I should have when I was younger.”
“I had an experience where I full gave my trust to the Lord and fully kind of just dove in and made the decision where like, ‘Ya’ know, what is the most important thing in my life.’ It was at an intersection in my life where baseball was becoming real. It was becoming tangible. I was going through some family tragedy, and it was where I just had to kind of look within myself and know, where am I getting this strength and what do I need to look upon and what do I need to do, and it was Christ’s church and the sacraments and making that decision.”
“The first immediate thing is, why did this happen to him? Why didn’t it happen to me? And why did this guy who had such a bright future in baseball, why did this happen to him? And you spiral down those thoughts.”
“It made me reflect that, what is the most important thing in my life, and would I be okay with it if it was taken away from me?”
“It’s a reminder when I put the jersey on every day during the season that this is special and this is a gift and this is something that will be taken away from me, either on my own terms or something else. But, it’s something that I’m constantly reminded of where that this is a gift from Christ and it’s a gift that there’s a reason why I’m still playing and I’m constantly searching for that answer and I’m constantly everyday taking up that cross and saying, ‘Lead me to what You want me to do’.”
“You can find a of parallels to your faith life into sports. Just as sports can teach you a lot about life, I think there’s always stories from the church and our tradition and with saints that have gone through literally everything that we’ve gone through and more.”
“Over the last ten, fifteen years they’ve been pushing to have Mass at every MLB stadium on either Saturdays or Sundays.”
“The prayer I pray before every start is Jesus, I trust in You. And it’s a humbling prayer and it’s a prayer of humility.”
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