'I wouldn't be here without Jesus': Baltimore Orioles rookie explains on-field ritual after MLB debut

'I wouldn't be here without Jesus': Baltimore Orioles rookie explains on-field ritual after MLB debut



Second-generation Major League Baseball player Jackson Holliday explained his faith and his on-field tradition that fans noticed during his debut.

Holliday is the son of World Series winner Matt Holliday, who retired just six years prior to his son's first game with the Baltimore Orioles.

At the beginning of the game, reporters noticed that the 20-year-old made a possible marking behind second base where he was playing. Holliday explained it was part of his usual routine to showcase his faith.

"In the bottom of the first, right before the inning started, you went kind of behind second base and touched the dirt. Did you draw something in the dirt, is that kind of a tradition for you?" a reporter asked him after the game.

"Yeah, it's kind of a routine to draw a cross," Holliday replied. "I wouldn't be here without Jesus, honestly. His love that he's had on me and blessed me with the ability to play baseball, and to be here today, I probably wouldn't be anywhere without him," the rookie explained.

"Just kind of a routine that I have before every inning or at the beginning of the game on defense, or before every at bat. Just giving thanks to the Lord," he added.

Jackson has consistently referenced his faith throughout his path to the MLB. In a 2022 interview with His Huddle, Jackson credited his parents with introducing him to religion, which helped him build a foundation as a person.

"Faith has always been important to me," he told the outlet before the MLB draft. "I’m so grateful to be raised in a Christian home and have such great examples around me of how to be a follower of Christ."

"Faith plays a major role in baseball and my life. I want to honor the Lord in everything that I do, and I try to represent that on the field, through my actions and how I carry myself on and off the field," he added.

After his big league debut, Holliday was asked about the feeling of being part of another generation of baseball players.

"After watching your dad for so many years in big league ballparks, what did it mean to you to just have him in the seats watching you play your first big league game?" a journalist asked.

"It's really cool to be able to look over there and have him and my brother and my grandpa sitting down the line. It was really cool to be able to see them, and it's quite an experience."

Holliday is on an entry-level contract with the Baltimore Orioles worth $740,000. According to Spotrac, he received a signing bonus from the organization in 2020 of $8,190,000.

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Baltimore looks to ban MLB players from using chewing tobacco in its stadium



The city of Baltimore in conjunction with the Baltimore Orioles baseball team are hoping to ban Major League Baseball players from using tobacco products in the stadium and on the field.

Although tobacco products are already banned inside major league stadium Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the rule does not apply to players. Due to the Major League Baseball Players Association agreement, the league cannot enforce the stadium rules on the players if it does not violate the law.

Baltimore Council Bill 23-0418 seeks to change that, as WBAL-TV 11 reported, with the reasoning that players' use of chewing tobacco may influence children. The bill would ban all types of tobacco products from stadiums in the city.

"We know that young people are pretty impressionable and it is important that the athletes they admire and cheer to win ball games are also being good examples for them," said Baltimore Councilman Kristerfer Burnett. "This mainly impacts the players that are coming to the city. There is a fine that would likely impact players," the councilman added.

The Baltimore Orioles released a statement in support of the legislation and added that they would create a superfluous ban at "the Ed Smith Stadium Complex, Baltimore's Spring Training home in Sarasota, Florida, as well as at the Buck O'Neil Complex at Twin Lakes Park."

"We have made the decision to support the city's ban of tobacco products at stadiums throughout Baltimore," said Kerry Watson, Orioles executive vice president of public affairs. "'As an organization, our top priority is to ensure that we are always doing what is best for our club and our community," he added.

The Baltimore City NAACP threw its support behind the ordinance as well and said that it would limit "the toxins in the air to our mothers, our expecting mothers, our children and our families."

The statement did not appear to take into account that the stadium was already smoke-free.

Tobacco products have come under scrutiny recently, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calling for a federal crackdown on the nicotine pouch product called Zyn.

The Swedish-made product has garnered huge praise from some notable personalities, namely Tucker Carlson and entrepreneur Kyle Forgeard, who operates the mega-popular brand called Nelk.

The New York Times recently theorized that Nelk may have a secret deal with tobacco companies to push the product on young audiences. Criticism came after Forgeard and his cohorts delivered a giant, novelty tin of Zyn to Carlson as part of a viral video.

The Nelk Boys surprise Tucker Carlson with the largest Zyn tin in the world.
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