David Grimm: His Weights Were Lifted

CBN.com Tampa Bay Devil Ray’s second year shortstop, Ben Zobrist is defying the odds. Ben spent only two years in the minors before he was called up to the big leagues. Considering 90 percent of players who sign a professional contract never make the majors, Ben is on the fast track.

Recalling his big break, Ben says his manager came out and said, "Hey Zobe, you gotta go."

"I’m like, go where," was Ben's response.

"I didn’t know what he was talking about. I had no idea he was talking about going to the big leagues. It was that quick and so crazy, but then, we’re here," he says.

As a kid, Ben had a steady diet of baseball and church but admits his understanding of God was very shallow.

"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."

Ben was a solid player in high school and like any kid, dreamed of playing in the big leagues. But with graduation right around the corner, he had serious concerns about the future.

"I just started thinking about ... what if I make some wrong decisions, and I started worrying about those things and let those things get so worrisome on my heart, that they weigh me down so much that I wasn’t trusting God," Ben recalls.

So he made the big decision to give it all to God.

"That was really where I had to hit my face and pray and just ask the Lord to take all my anxiety on Him, and that gave me peace that I hadn’t really ever experienced before."

Ben accepted a scholarship to play at tiny, Olivet Nazarene University. Then his senior season, he transferred to Division One Dallas Baptist College. Scouts recognized his talent, and he was drafted in the sixth round. From there, it was on to the big leagues -- Tropicana Field -- home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays or as Ben might call it, "The Office." 

He says baseball is his job, but his responsibility is the platform God has given him.

"To be able to experience some of the joys, to see how God as blessed the platform of baseball is one of the greatest blessings I could ever experience in any career. One-hundred years from now, nobody’s going to remember that I played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays -- nobody!"

"The most important thing is that we’re impacting people for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ ... that’s why we’re here."

Ben admits there are challenges to being a celebrity. 700 Club producer, Will Dawson asked Ben who helps him stay focused.

"I think the one that challenges me the most is my wife, Julianna. She’s solid in her joy and lack of complaining in her life, and I’m the opposite sometimes," says Ben. "I get down about the most simple things and can have a bad attitude. But she’s the accountability I think for those things, because I can’t go a day without her encouraging me."

Ben also finds encouragement in his Bible, which reminds him he doesn’t need to accomplish everything on his own.

Galatians 2:20 is Ben's favorite verse and it says, "For I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live in faith in the son of God who delivered Himself for me."

With his entire life and career ahead of him, Ben remains focused on what matters most.

"With all the lights and attention at this level, it’s easy to start thinking about doing certain things with this career. But the most important thing is not all the accolades or whether I rise to a certain level. The important thing is that the character of Christ is shown in my life."