When a Bible verse hits home with David Nick, he engraves it on his bat. This season Nick, the Mobile BayBears’ second baseman, engraved Romans 8:37: “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” “That is one of my favorites,” he said. “That means we go into battle already won. Christ has already won the victory for us. We have nothing to lose.”
He uses a broken bat as a witnessing tool, giving it to a young fan who might ask his parents what Romans 8:37 is about. “He can open up the Word, and that can lead him to Christ right there,” Nick said. Another verse in Romans (10:9) was instrumental in leading Nick to Christ. When he was 7 or 8 years old he began asking his parents, Tom and Anita Nick, how he could be saved. “I wanted to be sure of my salvation and know I was going to heaven when I died,” said Nick, a member of Mars Hill Church, Santa Ana, Calif. “I knew there was a verse that said if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. At that point I prayed with my parents. I think the Lord has had a hand in my life since I can remember. It’s been awesome.”
Growing up in Foothill Ranch, Calif., his baseball career was influenced by his father, who is head baseball coach at Calvary Chapel High School in Costa Mesa, Calif.
In high school Nick played against players who are now pros. He was an Aflac All-American and won the national Rawlings Gold Glove award his senior season as a middle infielder, an award that went to only nine players in the United States.
He had committed to play at the University of California, Los Angeles, before being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2009 first-year player draft. He went 126th overall in the fourth round. Nick has been an All-Star in three of the four leagues he’s played in: with Missoula, Mont., in the Pioneer League, with Visalia in the Advanced-A California League and this season as a mid-season Southern Leaguer.
“It is always a process,” Nick said regarding baseball. “You never fully arrive, like when Paul says in Philippians 3:13–14: ‘Forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’”
With a Sunday schedule that doesn’t provide time for church services, Mobile manager Turner Ward, hitting coach Jay Bell and pitching coach Dan Carlson lead a team Bible study. Former Mobile pitcher Bryan Henry, now with Reno’s AAA minor league team, said the study strengthened players’ faith. He noticed Nick reading the Bible and how active he is in his faith. “The way he carries himself and the way he acts, you can tell he is living for Somebody and Somebody is living in him,” said Henry, who is a member of City Church, Tallahassee, Fla. “Everything we do, we do to glorify Christ. That is the way David plays the game.”
Mobile first baseman Matt Davidson, who has played baseball with Nick since they were 14, said Nick’s positive attitude rubs off on other players. “He has a good aura about him,” Davidson said. “He prepares the best as he can, and he leaves it up to the Lord. He understands there are going to be highs and lows and it is all part of the journey.”
As he takes long bus rides through the South, Nick listens to Bible studies, hymns or praise songs. He reads Christian authors and checks in with “Christian brothers” in California to stay accountable.
“He has got me wanting to get closer to the faith and read the Bible more,” said Davidson, a member of Wildwood Calvary Chapel, Yucaipa, Calif.
Earlier this season Nick went to a place where he has not gone before — the disabled list, sidelined for two weeks with a concussion. He said the Lord sustained him and taught him to persevere through that “learning experience.”
When he is fatigued he finds strength in Christ. “The Lord showed Himself strong on my behalf,” he said. “God is faithful. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. The fact that Christ died on the cross for my sins and what He went through for me, any struggles I might be going through, any feelings of pain or weakness, I remember what He went through on my behalf.”
Going forward Nick plans to listen to God’s call in his life. “Right now that is playing AA baseball in Mobile,” he said. “My dream and goal is to have a career in the major leagues, but whether I have a 15-year career or get hurt tomorrow and can’t play anymore, I want to be faithful wherever He is calling me and trust Him for the rest.”
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