r/orioles • u/Equivalent_Tonight66 • 2d ago
Discussion The God (partial) squad
I’ve read some things on here lately that suggest Henderson and Holliday are pretty religious. And maybe Rutschman was also part of a little clique that was based on a shared faith and fervor. Nothing wrong with it as long as it doesn’t drive a wedge between them and the rest of the team. Does anyone know any more detail about this? Where did Albernaz stand and did it have any effect on clubhouse culture?
I can see where it could be a bit of a chiller on camaraderie if some guys are going out to have some beer and steaks after the game and others are going home to read the Bible.
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u/WadeVAFL 2d ago
Most of them are super religious. You left out Jordan Westburg, who was strangely nominated for an MLB community service award for hosting a team Bible study.
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u/Feral-Goblin6921 2d ago
It's baseball, not reddit. Over 90% of the players are at least culturally Christian. I remember they said they had a Bible study that was pretty popular last year. I think John Means was one of the leaders.
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u/RealJermaine 2d ago edited 2d ago
Not sure if this a low key effort to attack religion.(I wouldn’t be surprised if it is, at least an attempt to stir the pot, because…Reddit.)
Also not sure why anyone outside of their household, or those players would care.
But I assume they still go enjoy each other, and have a “beer and steak” like the typical human being does.
Regardless of their religious beliefs.
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u/adam_problems 2d ago
So you didn’t notice how often Alonso would sign off his postgame interviews with “go O’s, go god”?
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u/baltimorecalling 2d ago
A whole lot of athletes are religious/Christian. Doubtful that Henderson and Holliday's faith had any measurable effect on "clubhouse culture".
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u/repooc21 La Confora Was Right 👀 2d ago
If they're obnoxious about it - it could. But unless someone from the inside says it out loud, we just don't know
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u/LeftyRambles2413 2d ago
It’s possible it might when it comes to fervor but as other people have said, it’s a pretty Christian sport and that doesn’t preclude them from being able to enjoy beer and steaks either. I don’t really have a problem with it even though I’m not religious myself though if I were their teammate, I’d ask that they respect that and I’d respect it in return.
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u/y0nm4n 2d ago
MLB is a fairly conservative sport. I’m sure they aren’t the only Christian players on the team, and everyone is almost certainly used to having religious teammates!
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u/justwantosleep1 2d ago
I wouldn't just chalk this up to being conservative. There are a lot of Latin American players and they are predominantly religious. I don't really see how this is anything people care about.
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u/Annual-Slice7305 2d ago
I understand how much oxygen conservatives suck up as it relates to Christianity, but I appreciate this distinction. It is not exclusively a conservative religion, at least not in the US political sense.
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u/toadthewetfrocket Chris Hoiles 2d ago
Wouldn't be reddit without an otherwise irrelevant swipe at 'conservatives'
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u/OriolesGolf1105 2d ago
What southern white boys religious???? Shocker. Who would have thought with names like Gunnar and Colton. The latino players are mostly likely religious also. PS gurantee you most of them are conservative too. Hate to break your little reddit bubble. This has nothing to do with clubhouse culture. You know what has everything to do with club house culture? Winning.
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u/FurryUnicorn 2d ago
It’s not just those two. It’s nearly the entire team actually. It’s easier to count who aren’t strong Christians than not actually
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u/beezer210 2d ago
I wonder what they do with “You cannot serve God and wealth.”
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u/toadthewetfrocket Chris Hoiles 2d ago
The word is mammon, not wealth. And you are actually the judgemental one for assuming that, because one makes a lot of money, that they also worship that money. Quite a broad brush.
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u/beezer210 2d ago
We live in a world where people defend the rich at every turn.
The word originates from ancient Semitic roots, most notably the Aramaic word mamona, and post-biblical Mishnaic Hebrew Ammon, both of which simply meant wealth or material possessions.
So it still means that.
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u/toadthewetfrocket Chris Hoiles 1d ago
You just literally live in Reddit if you think the world population loves the rich
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u/Equivalent_Tonight66 2d ago
A lot of the people responding here act as if Christians comprise a monoculture. Of course most baseball players - regardless of ethnicity - fit the broader definition of Christian. And of course the vast majority of Christians are fine with getting a steak and a beer and being one of the guys. But there are lots of different types of cultural Christians. If Gunnar (or any other player) is in a place on that spectrum of cultural Christianity that makes him more cloistered or less likely to go out and have fun and bond with his teammates, that’s a potential problem. I’m not saying he is. I’m wondering if he is.
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u/Waste-Limit7422 2d ago
I presume that Shohei Ohtani is not necessarily in the same bible study group. Does his faith (which I have no knowledge of) is what he attributes his baseball performance?
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u/BillyBobThorntoe 2d ago
When Hays got traded, Cedric was quoted as saying that one of the biggest things he'd miss was their bible-study sessions. (That was the gist of the quote, so don't beat me up over specifics.)
And we all remember the anti-pride nonsense that's especially heavy handed among some mlb players and teams.
I have no issues with how fervently religious a player is, just don't rub it in our faces. Alonso's "Go God" is gonna get old fast.
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u/WadeVAFL 2d ago
Yeah, I believe Hays got on the anti-pride bandwagon with a passive aggressive religious post on Instagram prior to a Pride Night game.
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u/BillyBobThorntoe 2d ago
lol not really sure why I'm getting downvoted unless I'm touching a nerve in Harford and Cecil counties?
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u/cdbloosh 2d ago
Do you think this is unique to the Orioles? Have you ever watched a post-game interview from basically any player on any team in any sport? This is incredibly common with professional athletes.