Adam Godwin knows firsthand about a strike zone.
When he was 17, Godwin was struck by lightning via a tree he was standing beside during baseball practice.
“I remember the before and after. It sounded like a shotgun went off in my ear, and the next thing I knew, I was being pulled by my legs. The ambulance was there and I was headed to the hospital,” said Godwin, now 26 and a center fielder with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ AA Southern League affiliate the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Lookouts.
While there were no long-term effects, he suffered bad headaches for a month and was sick for a week.
And now, when Godwin tells people he was struck by lightning, they look at him as if he’s crazy, he said. “At the same time, it gives me an opportunity to tell people how blessed I am. I was very fortunate.”
Godwin wasn’t as fortunate in August when he moved from center field to the pitcher’s mound.
Pitching for the first time in his professional career, Godwin sustained his first major injury — throwing out his right elbow, which required season-ending surgery Aug. 25.
For Godwin, who accepted Christ when he was 12 and was baptized at First Baptist Church, Enterprise, in Coffee Baptist Association, his trials are part of God’s plan.
“I’ve had my character and beliefs tested in every way possible,” Godwin said. “I’ve had to learn through failure sometimes, but I speak from the heart. I tell what God has done for me in the trials and tribulations that I have gone through. They have changed my life.”
Grounded in a faith that was introduced to him by his parents, Al and Karen Godwin, and sustained by his brother, Ben, and sister, Shelley, Godwin understands that his 25 teammates are watching. He is the leader of the team’s chapel.
“God has put me here to share my faith and Christian beliefs with teammates who may not know [Christ],” Godwin said.
He is literally in the Word daily.
One way Godwin communicates the gospel is through tattoos proclaiming it: his favorite verse, Philippians 4:13 (which he signs with autographs); James 1:2–8; John 3:16; Exodus 15:3; Joshua 1:9; Proverbs 3:5–6; Matthew 20:17–19; and “Saved by the grace of God” between praying hands.
“It’s kind of my rebel side, but I wanted what was true to me,” Godwin said. “That way, some of my teammates can see Scripture.”
Chattanooga third baseman Russ Mitchell said, “He is definitely caring. You can count on him for anything. He is somebody you can call, and you know that he is going to pick up and be there for you. He is an all-around great dude. He brings energy and a good attitude. You know what you are getting with Adam.”
The Dodgers knew what they were getting when they selected Godwin in the 11th round of the Major League Baseball draft in 2005.
That year, he led Troy University to the Atlantic Sun Conference championship and was named conference player of the year. He led the nation in stolen bases in Division I with 84 and led the team in hits with 90, including a school-record 75 singles.
Before his freshman season at Enterprise State Community College, Godwin had played only six high school baseball games. He was a basketball player.
In 2008, Godwin was a Southern League All-Star while playing for the Jacksonville (Fla.) Suns (Chattanooga became the Dodgers’ affiliate this season). He batted .265 with 110 hits and stole 31 bases, his pro high.
Before his injury this season, Godwin batted .255 with 63 hits in 96 games.
For the past two years, he has attended the Pro Athletes Outreach conference in Texas. This organization seeks to equip professional athletes to make a positive impact in the world for Christ.
At home in Hoover, Godwin attends Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, in Birmingham Baptist Association.
Through the GAP (graduates and professionals) class begun by Steve Killough, minister to single adults, he has bonded with a group of four other men who provide encouragement, discipleship and accountability.
“He is very concerned about being a Christian example,” Killough said. “He is very humble. He has never been pretentious about being a baseball player. I don’t think baseball defines who he is.”
While Godwin’s goal is to make it to the big leagues, being in God’s will is major.
“I can get on that big platform for God,” he said. “I want Him to do something amazing through me.”
Share with others: