Although Stephen Vogt has been put on the Tampa Bay Rays major league roster for 2012, baseball isn’t the legacy he’s looking to build.
“Every morning, I try to ask myself — and I’m not always good at it — ‘What can I do to further the kingdom of God?’ I am not living for me. I am living for my family and for the Lord. We live for a greater purpose.”
Vogt, 27, has played with Rays minor league affiliate teams since he was drafted in 2007. Although his 2009 season ended early because of a torn labrum, he continued to distinguish himself as soon as he returned to the field. And he actually sees God’s work in that injury.
“God definitely took baseball away from me on purpose. Baseball was becoming too much in my life. I was not Stephen Vogt the man of God. I was Stephen Vogt the baseball player. God really tested me to see where my alliances were. I thank Him for it. I learned my identity is not what I do for a living; it’s who I am as a person. Baseball doesn’t define me,” Vogt said.
He applies his favorite Bible verse, Colossians 3:23, to his game: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
“Life is so much better when you are living for something like the Lord. He has totally blessed my life in countless ways,” Vogt said.
One recent blessing came Sept. 27, 2011, in the birth of his daughter, Payton Diane.
“I think this is my true purpose: to be a good father and a good example for my kids that they will want to live their lives for Christ,” he said.
“God is preparing me to be a father, and I’m learning how to be a better husband.”
Although Vogt became a Christian at a young age, his faith didn’t “sink in” until he went to Azusa Pacific University, a Christian school near Los Angeles.
“I came into my faith. I just kind of took it for granted until I got to college. Being a Christian is not easy. If it were easy, everybody would do it. You are held to live to God’s standards and not the standards of the world,” Vogt said.
He is very aware of the influence professional athletes can have.
“As baseball players, we are put on a pedestal. We are viewed as celebrities, which we are not. A lot of kids want to be like us. Unfortunately there are some bad examples in this game, but as much as possible, I try to be involved with fans and with kids and give back,” Vogt said.
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