By Mallory Mattingly
Yankees pitcher Fernando Cruz had one of his best years in Major League Baseball to date, which he credits to his faith in Jesus.
“Like I say, I have a powerful giant on my side all the time. His name is Jesus Christ. All the glory for Him, and I’m here because of him,” Cruz shared in a video posted to Instagram.
He described how important his faith is and what advice he’d give younger players.
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“I think the best advice that I can give a young man, a young person that’s growing up is to honor their mother and their father,” Cruz said. “I think it’s something that is going to take you a long way. It’s going to take you away from a lot of bad stuff in life. It’s going to be how you treat your mother and your father.”
He continued: “It’s something that you have to do. Like it’s something that is a promise in the Bible that says, ‘If you honor your father and your mother, your days will be longer in this earth, and everything will be in your favor.’ So, I think that is something that I always talk about to young people.”
“But obviously, man, Jesus is number one,” Cruz emphasized. “You have to know Jesus. You have to be able to give yourself the opportunity to do it and experience that, and your life is going to change.”
The pitcher recently experienced one of the biggest moments in his career as he helped the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3.
He can face moments like that with courage and freedom because of his faith in Christ.
“We can’t be brave without first being afraid or scared. We must understand that we cannot see light without first having darkness; that is why God allows the negative to bring us closer to Him and be able to be prepared for the positive and full of His Glory,” he shared in a post on his social media.
This season marks Cruz’s third in the MLB — an achievement he knows wouldn’t have been possible without God’s help.
“3 Years thanking my Almighty God for the wonderful opportunity to fulfill my dreams and now to continue building upon that strong and firm foundation to continue growing in all areas in such a way and as a goal to reach to fulfill His purpose in my life to leave a legacy to a thousand generations in Jesus’ name,” he wrote last month.
It’s encouraging to see an athlete like Cruz use his platform to glorify God — and to remind his young fans to honor their parents.
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