Baseball Powerhouses Face Off in 2017 World Series

There are two games in the books – and still a lot of baseball left to be played as the Series shifts to Houston. If the Dodgers can pull this off, it’ll mark their first championship since 1988.  If the Astros win, it’ll be their first – ever.

Emotions are running high on both sides  -- but players from each team say, above else, their focus is on Christ.

3-time Cy Young Award winner  Clayton Kershaw has been  key to helping the dodgers make it this far.

“I grew up a Dodger and got drafted by the Dodgers and I didn’t know a ton of Dodger history at the time but coming up it kind of gets ingrained in you, which is a good thing. There’s not a lot of organizations that have the type of history that the dodgers do so, it’s been a pretty special thing and I hope after this weeks over we can start talking about 2017 more and 1988 a lot less. But yeah my faith’s very important to me and I wouldn’t be here with out it,” said Clayton.

During the regular season, the Dodgers endured a brutal eleven game losing streak. Veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson says that during the ups and downs, it’s important to remember that god has a plan.

“It’s one of those things where you obviously can’t forget to thank the Lord for the good and the bad. PU So trust in the process, believe in the faith, keeping the faith. All of those different things continues to get me to this point and hopefully will continue to carry on in the future,” said Curtis.

“One of my mentors in college said, Witness always and when necessary use words. So, I’m sure a lot of people have heard that, but living it out is a huge part of my purpose… is to try to point people in the right direction. And also to glorify Him with what I do and the effort I put forth to prepare the right way and to have the right attitude when I play. I think that’s really important. It’s definitely a huge part of staying grounded…staying rooted in faith and not letting it get the best of you,” said Dodgers reliever Josh Fields.

The Houston Astros had to overcome challenges to get to the World Series – and not just ones on the baseball diamond. When Hurricane Harvey ripped through Houston, the city was left both devastated and underwater. But it seemed that just as soon as the floods receded, hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico –home to five players on the Astros roster. With a heavy heart, All-Star Carlos Beltran set up a relief fund, and contributed the first million.

He says it’s his faith alone that has given him the strength to continue playing strong through the season.

“The faith is the most important thing. I believe that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes we don’t understand why things happen but at the end of the day, all my life in baseball I have dedicated my career to God. And he has really (been) keeping me in this game for twenty years. I believe in Him, and I believe He’s use us to do things on behalf of His name,” said Carlos.

Jose Altuve stands just 5 feet 6 inches, and was told he’d never make it in the big leagues. Now he’s playing in his first world series. He gives all the glory to the lord and says it’s a testament of how you can overcome any obstacle through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

“I grew up in a family that always believe in God. And I feel like every morning when you wake up you have to thank Him for just for another day. I do it every day, you know. I try to be a better person and live under His legacy. And talking about Houston, it’s been a city that’s been going through lot of things this year talking about the hurricane. And now we are in the World Series. We want to win this World Series for them because they deserve it and because they’ve been true fans all year long,” said Jose.

“With what our city went through and seeing it first hand and visiting with the families and praying with the families, and praying for the families, There’s people working on their house every night don’t have power and they have a radio on and they are listening to our games. It’s an escape for the grind that their going through everyday. And when you think about that you’re like, wow and didn’t know that baseball could help people in that way. And putting Jesus first for us is something that’s consistent. He’s always there. And reading His word as much as you can and having a relationship with Him, you’re going to see the fruit of that in your life,” said Astros reliever Will Harris.