James Ramsey stood on the cusp of his dream—professional baseball.
After his junior year in 2011 at Florida State University, the outfielder from Alpharetta, Ga., was selected in the 22nd round by the Minnesota Twins. He weighed the options and prayerfully considered his priorities. Would the pull of the pros be enough to walk away from the school where his faith anchored strong? Was God truly bigger than the sport he so loved?
More prayer and consideration.
And then he returned to Tallahassee for his senior season.
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"...you have to adjust and trust that God’s plan is perfect and has never been without fail for eternity.”
-James Ramsey
Ramsey’s faith and athletic foundation was shaped at Wesleyan High School in Georgia before becoming a Seminole, where his parents both attended as athletes.
Campus became spiritual training ground.
“I was hit with the confrontation of the two paths,” Ramsey said. “Either become really lukewarm about my faith and live of the world and the college experience, or be more convicted and become rock solid with the foundation I had in Jesus.”
He decided to dig in and connect with City Church in Tallahassee. Ramsey stretched in relationships with teammates, and over time, the team bought into something bigger than wins or losses.
When he returned to campus for his senior year, people peppered him with questions why he passed up going pro. But Ramsey knew his decision was right.
“God gave me peace through the process,” he said. “The amount of people that wanted to speak with me about my decision allowed opportunities to share the gospel and how it had changed my life.”
Ramsey held confidence that his baseball future would still come to fruition while he still held onto the things he felt were most important.
His senior year proved rewarding as he amassed numerous accolades, including ABCA National Player of the Year and became a first round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals. Ramsey was surrounded by teammates in Spring Training who lived their lives with excellence both on and off the field.
But when Ramsey was traded to Cleveland in 2014, he was forced to navigate a new environment building relationships from the ground up.
“When you’re in a new mix where you know one or two guys out of a 60 person clubhouse, you’re thrown out of your comfort zone immediately,” he said. “The initial struggle is how do I find other brothers in Christ to lock arms with?”
He soon remembered Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.”
He applied the verse to his new situation. “It doesn’t mean that my plans are not aligned with God’s will,” he said. “But you have to adjust and trust that God’s plan is perfect and has never been without fail for eternity.”
He’s now adjusted his mission field to further the Kingdom of God. Professional baseball attracts athletes from all stretches of the world, with different backgrounds and receptivity to the gospel. That fact has challenged Ramsey to approach his assignment intentionally, knowing he can be an example of Christ by how he lives out his faith on a daily basis.
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“I must trust in God’s timing and whenever it happens, it will be the right time.” -James Ramsey
Ramsey is at the point in his career where his ultimate goal of reaching the Majors is within reach. Now, all that’s left is leaving it in God’s hands.
“I must trust in God’s timing and whenever it happens, it will be the right time,” he said. “Being at the Triple-A level, you’re kind of looking like, ‘When is that call coming? Why not me? Why not now?’”
On the flip side, baseball’s also a game of failure, and struggles may detract from the hopefulness of what lies ahead. Daily surrender is paramount for Ramsey to keep his heart in check and locked on God’s unfailing love.
No matter the clubhouse he finds himself in, Ramsey looks to stretch himself towards Kingdom influence. And if the day doesn’t go quite as planned, he knows the sun will come back up.
“There is always tomorrow with baseball,” he said. “No matter where you’re at, you know that you have more opportunities.”
Photos courtesy of Columbus Clippers