WATCH — ‘I Wouldn’t Be Here Without Jesus’: MLB Rookie Thanks God While Explaining On-Field Tradition

A rookie Major League Baseball player is crediting Jesus Christ for giving him the talent to play baseball.

After Jackson Holliday played his first game with the Baltimore Orioles recently, he spoke with reporters, the Blaze reported on Friday. They had lots of questions for the young man, who is the son of World Series winner Matt Holliday,

When asked why in the bottom of the first he went behind second base and touched the dirt, the younger Holliday explained that it was routine for him to draw a cross.

“I wouldn’t be here without Jesus, honestly. His love that he’s had on me and blessed me with the ability to play baseball, and to be here today, I probably wouldn’t be anywhere without him,” he said:

He added that “Just kind of a routine that I have before every inning or at the beginning of the game on defense, or before every at bat. Just giving thanks to the Lord.”

During an appearance on the Sports Spectrum podcast in 2022, Jackson Holliday pointed listeners to God’s love for mankind, Deseret News reported Wednesday.

“Jesus died on the cross for our sins because we’re obviously not perfect, and we sin a lot. For Him to love us so much, for Him to send his only Son to die for us, I am forever grateful for that,” he explained.

The report noted that Holliday made his debut with the Orioles on Wednesday in Boston. Video footage shows the moment he got a standing ovation:

Jackson Holliday gets a standing ovation in his home debut pic.twitter.com/N1Mt8sqciR

— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) April 13, 2024

The rookie is on a $740,000 entry-level contract with the team, the Blaze article said. “According to Spotrac,” it added, “he received a signing bonus from the organization in 2020 of $8,190,000.”

In January the Baltimore Ravens won their biggest game since their Super Bowl victory more than a decade ago, and coach John Harbaugh thanked God for it by reading a Bible verse, according to Breitbart News.

“Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor belong to you because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you. The kingdom belongs to you, Lord,” he read.