How San Diego Padres Reliever Sees God at Work Through Ups and Downs

Published: October 4, 2024

How San Diego Padres Reliever Sees God at Work Through Ups and Downs

Movieguide® Contributor

San Diego Padres reliever Jason Adam is acknowledging God’s presence throughout the highs and lows of his career as a baseball player.

“You can look back on the times that things felt incredibly bleak and the times where it felt like everything was going perfectly, and you just see His hand through it all,” Adam said on the “Sports Spectrum Podcast” earlier this year. “Really, if I’m being honest, those times where things looked bleak, in the long run, are the times I’m most thankful for.”

“Adversity is nothing new to Adam, who describes himself as a ‘Christ follower’ on X and Instagram. He missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons because of issues with his elbow and spent seven years in the minors before reaching the majors,” Sports Spectrum said.

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When the pitcher was all set to return at the end of the 2016 season, his elbow popped. He knew the team he was with at the time, the Minnesota Twins, wouldn’t take him back on.

“That was really the moment that God used to bring me to my knees and be like, all right, baseball is a terrible god,” he said. “A good work ethic is even a terrible god. Both good things, but terrible gods.”

Movieguide® recently reported on Adam’s adversities:

After struggling to earn a spot on an MLB team, Adam made the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019. After one year, Adam signed with the Chicago Cubs. However, his time on a major-league team quickly ended after a gruesome injury to his ankle in 2021.

“That was probably one of the harder 24 hour periods that I can recall in my life,” he said on an episode of the Sports Spectrum Podcast in February 2022. “It fluctuated from a ton of peace to where I was really struggling. The fear started creeping in like, ‘what if this is infected?’ I spiraled quickly there.”

“But at the same time I had moments of really good peace,” he continued. “That morning my friend Dan Winkler had given me a book and I was reading it that morning before I went to the field. The whole chapter was on suffering and suffering well, to the glory of God.”

That period was a lesson learned for Adam, who is now an important member of the San Diego Padres. With three strikeouts in their match against the Atlanta Braves last Tuesday, the pitcher proved he’s worth his salt.

“For Adam, it marked just the second MLB postseason appearance of his career, and his first time being part of a win,” Sports Spectrum reported Wednesday. “He struck out the first two batters he faced, allowed a single, then closed out the inning with another punch out.”

“There’s certainly more adrenaline,” Adam said when asked if the postseason feels any different. “But at the same time, you just keep reminding yourself: It’s the same game, good pitches still get outs, so our job’s to go out there and make good pitches. It certainly is elevated because we all know what’s on the line, but at the same time it’s the same game.”

Adam has been with the Padres since July, and he’s proved his salt. He has a 7-2 record and 1.95 ERA across 73.2 total innings this season. It’s the second time in three years he’s posted an ERA under 2.00.

“He signed with the Rays in 2022 and has been one of the most reliable relievers in baseball over the past three years,” Sports Spectrum reported. “He posted a 2.30 ERA in 170 appearances with Tampa Bay, helping the team make the playoffs in 2022 and 2023.”

“His performance also earned him a spot on the 2023 U.S. World Baseball Classic team that lost in the championship game to Japan. He did not allow a run and struck out five batters in four innings of work in the tournament,” Sports Spectrum observed.

His first experience with postseason baseball was in 2022. At the time, he had “two scoreless innings in a season-ending loss to the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the wild-card round. An oblique strain prevented him from pitching last season as the Rays were swept in the wild-card round again,” Sports Spectrum said.

“Never afraid to be outspoken about the importance of the Lord in his life, Adam has also put his faith into action by serving in the community,” Sports Spectrum said. “Even though he is no longer a member of the Rays, he was named the team’s nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes players for their character and community involvement.”

He calls the award the “greatest honor” of his career and something that “he doesn’t feel worthy of.”

“I think it’s hard to put into words…At the end of the day, the goal is to use baseball…to make the lives of people around you just a little bit better.”

Adam makes his faith important in all areas of life and is the proud father of four little girls. He shared that after his wife went through a severe period of post-partum depression, he and his wife felt distant from God. But then he started to pray and “claim Jesus” over his family, and they’ve been happily closer to God ever since.