Braves’ First-Year Coach Bobby Magallanes Reflects on Christ’s Faithfulness, Winning World Series
By Movieguide® Staff
In 2021, assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes signed with his first MLB team, the Atlanta Braves.
The promotion came after spending time as a player in the minor leagues and overseas until 2002, when Magallanes went to coaching minor league teams for the Angels, White Sox, and Guardians.
Magallanes and the Atlanta Braves won the World Series in his first Major League season, defeating the Houston Astros.
Throughout Magallanes’ 31-year journey to the major leagues and then the World Series, he confessed that he had his doubts about ever coaching at the highest level.
But now, as the Atlanta Braves gear up for the 2022 season, Magallanes thanked God for his sovereignty over his story.
“Words can’t describe that feeling,” he told Sports Spectrum of his World Series win. “It’s what you dream of when you’re a little kid. It’s like, ‘Did this really happen? Did we really do this?’ And that’s just the way the feeling is, everyone is in awe of it because it’s what you dream about… You dream about winning a World Series, and that’s what you work for.”
“It took me 31 years to get to the major leagues, a lot of bus rides, a lot of heartache, a lot times where I wanted to go and quit, and all of a sudden, God granted me the petition of my heart,” he recalled. “I couldn’t [have] written the script any better. If I wanted it my way, it would’ve been twenty years ago, but God said ‘Hold on,’ and there is a reason why, to wait upon the Lord and he gave that to me.”
For Magallanes, his faith is the foundation on which he lives his life and coaches his players.
“He is the center of what I do,” Magallanes said. “Even before Christ, I had faith in God, but had no relationship. I was doing it my way. The way I look at it, it’s tough enough to live life here on earth with Jesus, now without Him it’s even worse, cause there is no hope.”
“I go into scripture and that’s what gives me the hope, even through all my struggles, even through the times I’ve messed up and my worst moments, He’s there and I know I am forgiven,” he continued. “He gives me the strength to go everyday, and the wisdom, so I look to Him for everything. I make him the center of my coaching. I make him the center of everything I do. We all fall short of the glory of God, but it’s with him that we have eternal life and we have hope and we have life, and life in abundance.”
Magallanes was not the only Braves player to set his eyes upward during their World Series run. Movieguide® previously reported on Dansby Swanson’s faith:
The Atlanta Braves won their first World Series since 1995 with a 7-0 victory against the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
Before their World Series victory, Braves star Dansby Swanson helped lift his team past the Houston Astros in Game 4 with a game-tying home run.
“I’m just so thankful to be here. I really can’t say it enough. Getting traded over here, at the time, I didn’t understand it. But God’s always got a plan and if I’ve learned one thing is having faith in that plan will never fail you. It’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me,” Swanson told FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.
Swanson confessed that the expectation to perform negatively affected his mental health. As his anxiety grew, he met with mental wellness coach Armando Gonzalez.
Swanson said that Gonzalez read the Bible with him each morning to build the habit of relying on God’s word.
“If anything, the lesson that I’ve learned was that you can’t go wrong trusting and growing closer to God,” Swanson continued. “Whatever way that works for you is what works for you. But spend time with God. Legitimately spend time in the words that He wrote through people that were on this earth. Spend time in prayer and meditation and silence. Do these things to grow near to Him.
“I really started to feel His presence more, and I really started to feel more comfortable with the callings and stuff that He’s put on my heart.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
