Goldeyes infielder Tyler Kuhn: “God’s got this”
Tyler Kuhn wears a bracelet when he plays shortstop for the American Association’s Winnipeg Goldeyes. The bracelet reads “God’s Got This.”
“I look at it often,” says Kuhn, a 27-year-old infielder from Louisville, Kentucky. “It just keeps me grounded. I always know that no matter what happens in my life—good or bad—God’s going to take care of it. God’s got this.”
Five members of the Winnipeg Goldeyes professional baseball team met with youth groups from various local churches before a May 30 game with the Lincoln Saltdogs in Winnipeg to talk about their journeys, both athletically and spiritually. For Kuhn—who was accompanied by teammates Ryan Pineda, Jordan Guida, Kyle Bellamy and Gabe Aguilar along with team chaplain Scott Koop—it was a perfect way to prepare for a ball game.
“It was great, we had a terrific turnout,” Kuhn says enthusiastically. “I had an opportunity to talk to the young people about my journey, coming from an all-Catholic boys high school to a baseball scholarship at West Virginia. Then I was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and now, after seven years as a professional, I’m here.
“I also talked about my spiritual journey, as well. I’ve been involved with a number of Catholic parishes all my life and God plays a very important role in everything I do.”
The young people hung on every word from the Goldeyes who talked about the importance of turning your life over to Jesus Christ and allowing Him to guide you through the ups and downs that come in everyone’s life. For Kuhn, his relationship with God has been extremely important.
Baseball might be his life, but it hasn’t always been kind. Although nobody in independent professional baseball is playing better than Kuhn right now—his team is 10-5, in first place, and he’s already been named American Association Player of the Week—he’s still found himself in the independent game, not in affiliated baseball with some big league team.
Although he wouldn’t trade his baseball career for anything, he has spent the last seven seasons in affiliated ball at the minor league level and while he did make it to Triple A, with Reno in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization and with Charlotte in the Chicago White Sox organization, he’s now rebuilding a career that at one point was extremely promising. He’s a lifetime .297 hitter in the minor leagues and is one of the best players on the Goldeyes.
He admits that while reaching the major leagues has been elusive, he’s learned plenty about himself and life during his minor league days—a stretch spanning eight teams in eight cities in eight leagues in two countries in seven years.
“It does teach you a lot about life,” he says with a smile. “It teaches you how to budget money, how to budget time. Playing in the minor leagues is definitely a life lesson. You have to be mentally and spiritually prepared every night to do your best.
“I was fortunate to play four years of college ball. I played every game. And I have been healthy, which has been a blessing. When you have the ability to wipe the slate clean every day, I think that’s what makes good baseball players—and good people, too.”
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