Scooter GennettScooter Gennett is the all-star second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds. As I write this, he is leading the National League in hitting. On Reds broadcasts, they often mention the four home runs he hit in one game on June 6, 2017. They talk about his clutch hitting that has helped the Reds win games, or the outstanding fielding plays he has made.
But they never talk about his Christian faith. Late last season, I talked with Scooter at length in the Reds dugout about when he became a Christian. He was born in Lebanon, Ohio. When he was nine years old, the family moved to Florida so that Scooter (he named himself after one of the Muppet Babies as a small child) could pursue being a major leaguer. Baseball was his life.
He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009, and his dream was seemingly fulfilled. But he had an emptiness. While playing in the minor leagues in 2013, he had a teammate who challenged him about his faith. That off-season, he sponsored Scooter to go to a Pro Athletes Outreach conference, where baseball players hear about Jesus Christ. Scooter accepted Christ at that conference.
“It was a life changing experience, ” he told me. “I ended up getting baptized. Asking God to come into my life and take over my life was huge.” Scooter’s wife Kelsey also accepted Christ and they continue to grow in their faith. To send a message to others that he knows the Lord, he draws the sign of the fish in the on-deck circle with his bat while waiting to hit. Scooter admitted in that interview that they also found the need to “stay in the Word” in order to further know God’s will.
