Baseball, Catholic faith converge in new DVD

By Rebecca Bostic, The Catholic Sun
April 5, 2007

Baseball is filled with champions who perform well on the field. But it is also packed with what Tom Allen and Jose Morales have dubbed “champions of faith.”

Allen, president and editor in chief of Catholic Exchange, and Morales, host of the “Catholic Exchange Today” radio program, decided to seek out Catholics in baseball a few years ago. The result is “Champions of Faith: Baseball Edition.” The movie premiered March 25 in Phoenix and the DVD was to be released at the beginning of the 2007 baseball season April 1.

“We wanted to make a film that would appeal to the lukewarm Catholics, the majority. The ones that are out there more intent on watching ESPN and Fox Sports than on going to confession regularly or going to Mass,” Allen said at the premiere. “We’re honoring God, we’re honoring the Catholic Church and we’re also honoring these amazing guys who speak so courageously, beautifully, eloquently and powerfully about their Catholic faith.”

Major League Baseball players Mike Piazza of the Oakland Athletics, Jeff Suppan of the Milwaukee Brewers and Mike Sweeney of the Kansas City Royals attended the premiere of “Champions of Faith.”

“We are all going to be in heaven someday because of Jesus Christ and this is a tool we can use to give to our loved ones so that we can share eternity with them,” Sweeney said of the film. “We have to be proud of our faith.”

The 60-minute DVD focuses on only a handful of the more than 20 players, coaches and managers featured — highlighting a difficulty each faced as a person or player and how their faith helped them manage that problem. These extremely personal stories are broken up with spiritually-themed montages of quotes from players regarding baseball and their faith.

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said he immensely enjoyed the film and hopes it will help Catholics overcome the too-common gap between their faith and daily life.

“I was especially impressed by the witness to their Catholic faith given by Mike Sweeney, Mike Piazza, Jeff Suppan and others,” Bishop Olmsted said. “As an avid baseball fan, it was fun to get an inside story on some of my favorite players. And as a bishop, it was heartening to see such great athletes speaking candidly about their love of Christ.”

Robert Escobedo, a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, also enjoyed hearing the testaments of faith from the athletes in the film, admitting that he was surprised by the faith of those featured.

“I am such a big Mike Piazza fan and followed him ever since he left the Dodgers and I wasn’t aware he was as into his Catholic faith as he obviously is,” Escobedo said. “I’m a big baseball fan, I’m Catholic and I love my faith, but I was really impressed with the way they tied the two together. It was very inspirational.”

Allen and Morales hope that people are sufficiently inspired by “Champions of Faith: Baseball Edition” to support a possible second movie in the “Champions of Faith” series. Allen especially hopes that men will be inspired by this film.

“The principal issue of our time in the Church is a crisis of faith among men. It goes right to that and speaks to men and boys, because at this moment in time men are not the leaders of their families in prayer, faith and Mass attendance,” Allen said. “Hopefully, ‘Champions of Faith’ can start a movement.”

For more information or to purchase “Champions of Faith” visit www.championsoffaith.com.