Mormon Pitcher’s Game Improved After Time Spent in a Different Uniform

RNS’ Daniel Burke profiles Baltimore Orioles rookie pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, a Mormon who gave up baseball to do missionary work in Spain, and is now back, and better than ever, in this week’s full-text article, linked above.

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Guthrie didn’t work out and lost 30 pounds in Spain. Still, when he returned to the states he was, somehow, a better pitcher. His fastballs were faster, his curveballs sharper and he had more control over where he threw the ball.

“It’s really unexplainable, you know, in terms of maybe how the world would view it,” Guthrie said. “I didn’t run, I didn’t lift weights. I didn’t throw a ball. So, there’s really no worldly explanation as to why I could come back and throw the ball as well as I did.”