AMAZING STORY
Tampa Bay Rays Prospect Steven Souza Ready to Play Ball
By Tom Buehring
The 700 Club
CBN.com - Steven Souza, Jr. is a hit with his new team. The rookie outfielder now launches home runs for the Tampa Bay Rays. An off-season trade put the 26-year-old in a long awaited position.
“The opportunity is irreplaceable to play every single day in the big leagues,” Steven says. “It just doesn’t happen. I’ve sat so many times at the end of my bench and said ‘why?’ you know. Three years ago I was out of the game and now I’m here. It’s a dream come true.”
It arrived after a career-beginning nightmare. Steven just turned 18 when drafted by the Washington Nationals as a third round pick in 2007. Jumping in right out of high school can be pretty heady stuff!
Steven admits, “Yeah, it’s something I don’t think you’re really ever ready for. I think you see a lot of kids out of college aren’t even ready for it but they’re a little more ready than high schools kids. So that pressure to prove yourself, that you were worthy of where you were picked, always was there. You’re so focused on yourself that you don’t see what’s going on around you. I was so worried about succeeding on the field that I disregarded other relationships with people and coaches.”
His lifestyle grew reckless during four struggling years in minor league Single-A. His progression stalled, which led Steven to seek a quick fix through a banned substance. He was caught and suspended for 50 games. He returned stronger physically, but emotionally demanding, carrying himself like a big fish in a small pond.
Steven says those former teammates would have described him as “selfish, worried about himself, angry. I had a short fuse. And with that added to more loneliness, you know. I thought the tougher I was the more people would respect me. I got in a lot of arguments, got in fights with teammates and stuff, just trying to keep that pride of ‘this is where I was picked, this is where I belong, I’m this guy.’”
The potential was there, but the productivity wasn’t. His hitting, power, speed, fielding, and arm strength branded him a 5-tool prospect. Steven’s minor league coaches pushed him.
Steven describes a specific moment that changed everything. “I had a manager in 2011 who just kept me accountable for everything, and it was frustrating. I wanted to do what I wanted to do at all times. I needed to be held accountable for which was my effort. And he said ‘get out of the cage,’ and I said ‘no.’ And he came down and we got face to face and he said ‘get your stuff, go in the stands, and sit down.’ I said ‘I’ll do you one better and I’ll go home. I’m done! I quit! I can’t take it anymore.’”
As it turns out the 5-tool skill set wasn’t enough. As a young minor leaguer, Steven needed more: an additional tool, a chisel, to help reshape his character, attitude, and reputation.
Steven says, “I read books about centering yourself and whatnot; they didn’t help. It just drove me into the ground more and more. Realizing my own depravity, I’m not going to be able to help myself.”
Done with baseball, Steven and his misery grew. Back home in Seattle, he knew he needed to change. Friends spoke about steps toward hope and restoration.
Steven explains it with an analogy, “When you’re at the beach and you’re in this tide and all of a sudden you’re 200 yards down the water. You’re trying to scratch and claw to get back. All you have to do is get back on the sand and walk back. All I had to do was just give it up and just get out, just stop everything and look to God who could save me. God’s infinite and He can save us from all of those things.”
Steven went to church where he embraced a rescuing message, saying, “How can I help myself if I’m already broken? I know Jesus can save me. I know that. If He really is the Son of God, I’m going to put my faith in Him and I’m going to declare that this is the way I’m going. I’m going to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then, I’m going to turn and walk away from my sin. It was tremendous.”
His turnaround was dramatic. Steven made calls apologizing to his manager and organization officials. He returned to play in the minor leagues, slowly earning his teammates’ trust while developing new, personal disciplines.
Steven explains, “You may know Jesus died on the cross. You may know that he fed 5,000. You may know he raised Lazarus from the dead, but do you really know Jesus? This is how my relationship needs to go, consistently talking with Him, praying and reading the Word. I saw the fruits of the Spirit start to take over. The sin no longer appealed to me because I wanted to please my heavenly Father.”
Steven’s game improved! After three highly successful seasons he was promoted to the Major Leagues at the end of 2014. The Rays saw enough to acquire Steven as their starting right fielder. In this early part of the 2015 season, he’s mentioned among Rookie of the Year candidates.
His Rays teammate David DeJesus calls Steven,“a really great skilled baseball player that isn’t afraid to share the gospel and live the gospel out. I couldn’t be happier to be a teammate with him and learn and grow with him.”
So how does one walk in confidence in a profession that demands it, but still carry it out with humility?
Stevens says, “I had to apologize to everyone for all the things that I did, and that’s not common in this game because there’s a lot of pride. You’re competing against the guy across from you for one job. No matter what happens here, I’m here to support you and love you and encourage you as a brother, as a person, as someone who God created. That humility is so different than the culture of baseball that it stands out. And it’s not because of me but it’s because of the love of Christ in me.”
Steven Souza, Jr., whose big swing at redemption has unleashed power, transforming the man, that makes the player.
Steven acknowledges, “I’m in this game because of one reason, because God has brought me here. And whenever He’s ready to take it away, I’ll go where He takes me. It’s not your success that has been willed, but it’s by God’s will that you have had success.”
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