A dramatic traffic accident made a difference in D.J. Peterson’s life.
Peterson was 12 when an eight-car pileup on an Arizona highway left passengers in the car behind his dead.
“I told my parents that Christ told me that we are fine and no one in this car is hurt and we don’t even have a scratch on the car and sure enough there was no scratch; everyone was fine in the car. … That was probably the biggest thing that has happened to me,” said Peterson, a third baseman for the Jackson Generals and the Seattle Mariners’ first pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft.
Peterson was raised by Christian parents Douglas and Melissa Peterson in Gilbert, Arizona. He became a Christian when he was 7 years old. They went to church every Sunday, he said. “That is when I bought into many things.”
He found an identity beyond a faith related to tragedies. “I felt like Christ died for our sins and that’s who I was, I was a believer.”
Now 23, Peterson said Jesus is “everything. He died for us. He is God’s one true and only Son. He is the only man to walk this world sinless. We are able to be forgiven.”
Being forgiven
He says that he speaks about his faith as much as he can. He prays before every game and reads the Bible, “trying to stay by the good Word,” he said.
“I am not perfect, nowhere near perfect. I make a lot of mistakes but I am continuously being forgiven. I feel like Jesus forgives and eventually I am going to be that guy that I need to be.”
The first ever three-time All-American at the University of New Mexico, Peterson was the highest player drafted in school history when he went 12th overall. He was named the Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Year in 2012 as a sophomore and 2013 as a junior.
He was a freshman All-American after leading the Lobos in every offensive category.
He was a high school All-American and twice first team all-state in Gilbert.
Now in his third season as a pro, Peterson works on all aspects of his game trying to strengthen it. “I am just working every single day trying to get better,” he said.
No. 2 prospect
Peterson was promoted on June 26, 2014, from the Mariners’ High-A High Desert team to the Generals, their AA affiliate in the Southern League. In 58 games with the Generals he had 13 home runs, tied for first on the team.
Rated the No. 2 prospect in the Mariners’ organization by Baseball America, Peterson brings a “good vibe” to the Generals. “Hopefully they feel that I produce positive things on the baseball field.”
Generals’ center fielder and Peterson’s roommate, Leon Landry, said, “He is a great guy. I have gotten to know him quite a bit obviously. He is a great ball player. All the accolades that he is getting are well worth it. He works hard and he deserves everything he is getting.”
Teammates have described him as the “spark plug” in the offense and have observed Peterson’s faithful relationship to God as he reflects an even-keeled, positive attitude.
Peterson is a player who knows what he is doing on and off the field, said Generals’ pitcher Tyler Pike.
“He is a good teammate. It is a real pleasure playing with a guy like that. You just see it [his faith] every day. He may be quiet about it a little but I have talked to him about it and we did a chapel together,” Pike said.
For Peterson, the game is a platform.
“Baseball puts you on the center stage and makes everyone look to you as a role model so hopefully I can be that role model,” he said. “I feel like He wants me to be a leader and speak more openly of His Word and of Christ’s name.”
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