Hollywood’s Love Trap Nearly Destroyed Him—Christ Saved Him
Michael Kopech was a “can’t miss” pitching prospect from Longview Texas. In 2014 he was drafted out of high school by the Boston Red Sox in the first round, though his fame primarily came from dating reality and television stars; A life that brought more heartache than joy.
“I lived a life for self,” says Kopech. “I wasn’t living a life for Christ. When all that is going well and what I’m doing for myself seems great or there is money coming in or popularity or attention, it doesn’t seem like there is anything wrong with it.”
After a trade to the White Sox, Michael made his Major League debut in 2018, however the season ended with arm surgery. In 2020, his 6-month marriage failed. Through the season of darkness, Michael returned to the faith instilled in him as a young boy.
“At the time I was kind of in a new age way of thinking,” Kopech says. Ultimately it is shallow and unfulfilling, and I think at the time I started recognizing that. And then kind of had to make a choice, ‘Am I going to continue pursuing this or take the gift God has given me in being a talented baseball player and try to create a platform without this idea of me at the forefront?”
In 2023, Michael was baptized, married, and now leads his family with a Christ-centered purpose. In 2024, he was traded to L.A. and led the Dodgers to the World Series. While there, he shared this with our CBN Sports team.
Will Dawson: “What does it mean for you to have Christ with you here at the World Series?”
Kopech: “Thank you for asking that. It means everything. The journey that I've gone on as a individual spiritually you know with my family, the ups and downs, the hurt that I felt, the hurt that I've caused and the growth out of those moments of pain have been life changing to say the least. But to know that Christ is redeeming and that everything that I've had success with, everything that I've been blessed with comes from Him. It's really special to me and to be able to be in this very position that I prayed for almost doubtedly just some months ago shows that God does answer prayers and he answers them far and beyond whatever I can imagine.”
As the Dodgers make another run at a World Series, Michael realizes that even though there are doubts—in Christ, his future is secure.
“I truly feel like in every lesson there is a blessing,” he says. “ Just because I had to learn how much I leaned on baseball even more than I thought. In the past I recognized that I had used baseball as an idol and a crutch for my emotion. So, when it’s taken away and I’m realizing how much I’m still using it as an idol, it exposes a lot in me.”
“It also brings up fear of being able to provide for my children because it's all I've ever known and all those things are real but at the at the end of the day the ultimate thing is to have faith and him being able to provide no matter if we can see forward or not no matter if we know what's next and I think for me it's a it's a really hard thing to do to be honest. But I think for me that's where I try to go back to everyday it's like I don't know what's next but I know he has me and he will take care of me.”
