{"id":1058,"date":"2011-09-05T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2011-09-05T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2011-10-04T22:49:47","modified_gmt":"2011-10-05T02:49:47","slug":"a-conversation-with-san-francisco-giants-pitcher-jeremy-affeldt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/a-conversation-with-san-francisco-giants-pitcher-jeremy-affeldt.html","title":{"rendered":"A conversation with San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
San Francisco pitcher Jeremy Affeldt (Photo by Jason Wise\/MLB Photos via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jeremy Affeldt has experienced the struggles of playing for a small market team (Kansas City) and the joys of playing for a World Series championship team (San Francisco). But the relief pitcher says there\u2019s nothing he can\u2019t handle as long as he continues to rely on his relationship with God.<\/p>\n

Chad Bonham: Tell me about your upbringing.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Affeldt: I was raised in a Christian family and I attended a Christian school. I knew who God was but I didn\u2019t really get too in depth into my relationship with Him. I started reading the Bible and I started going through some thing with the school counselor and it started to come alive to me. I started understanding that Jesus is alive and the Bible is really the living Word. My attitude started changing. I started seeing people as human beings that Jesus loved and since Jesus loved me, I need to start loving them. It was an interesting time in my life and I even apologized to a lot of people in my class for how I treated them.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How does your faith play out in the clubhouse?<\/p>\n

Affeldt: I need to love my teammates and serve them. I have a lot of fun with them too. I hang out with them. I joke around with them. But I also have times where I serve them. If someone wants a bottle of water, I try to go get it for them. I haven\u2019t always been the best at being a servant, but I\u2019m trying a lot harder to do that. I try to show my teammates by loving on them and asking how their families are doing to show them the Gospel. I want to encourage my teammates because this is a game of failure so the more I can do that with the guys, the better off they\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How do you deal with baseball\u2019s daily grind?<\/p>\n

Affeldt: When I go out there, I know I\u2019ve worked really hard at being consistent in throwing strikes. I try my best to know my body and how certain pitches feel out of my hand. If I make a great pitch and the guy hits it, I can\u2019t control that. I can throw a pitch down the middle and the guy might pop it up. I can\u2019t control what happens after I throw a baseball. So I\u2019ve got to believe that God\u2019s given me a talent to be the best I can possibly be and when I go out there I have done everything that I can possibly do to prepare to pitch that day. Everything else is out of my hands. Ultimately as a believer in Jesus Christ, I believe God has my destiny in my hands. The Bible says that hard work brings success so I know that if I work really hard at becoming the best that I can be, I\u2019ve got to believe that those principles are going to come to pass. I\u2019m going to have success. I can only control certain things. I can\u2019t control the outcome of a situation. But I can work hard. I can prepare. I can do everything I can possibly do and then sometimes God\u2019s going to go the rest of the way.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What do you believe is your responsibility as a Christian athlete?<\/p>\n

Affeldt: My responsibility as a believer is the Great Commission\u2014to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Baseball is part of the world. That\u2019s going into the world. Baseball is a huge, worldly, materialistic place. It\u2019s my responsibility to go into that world and preach the Gospel. I have a platform and part of my responsibility is to use that platform that God has given me to bring Him glory. Ultimately, that is who I am. Baseball is what I do. It\u2019s not who I am. I\u2019m a follower of Jesus Christ. I need to use what I do to show people who I am. You can\u2019t compromise your values but you can\u2019t let your values compromise your faith and keep you from spending time with people who don\u2019t share your values.<\/p>\n

Read more from this conversation with Jeremy Affeldt in the upcoming Fellowship of Christian Athletes book Greatest Leader Ever<\/a>. Click on the title to find out how to purchase a copy (set to release November 2011).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeremy Affeldt has experienced the struggles of playing for a small market team (Kansas City) and the joys of playing for a World Series championship team (San Francisco). But the relief pitcher says there\u2019s nothing he can\u2019t handle as long as he continues to rely on his relationship with God. 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