River Falls, WI – It might be surprising to see Los Angeles Dodgers jerseys in River Falls. Located just nine miles from the Minnesota-Wisconsin border, it’s been a town with generations of people rooting for the sports teams on one side of the border or the other.
But River Falls has gained a special kinship with the Dodgers in recent years, with two of their own, Alex Call and JP Feyereisen, playing on the team. Now, there will be lifelong fans of a team located 1,878 miles away, because both played a part of the Dodgers’ 2025 World Championship team.
Call and Feyereisen graduated from River Falls High School two years apart in the early 2010s. Their journeys brought them together on the same team for the first time since high school, even though they just missed playing together on the Dodgers.
The Dodgers acquired Call from the Washington Nationals at the deadline to bolster their outfield depth. They claimed Feyereisen off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 1. He rejoined the bullpen he’d been with in 2024, if only for a couple of games, before they released him in late May.
Even though the high school teammates played on the team at different times, they will both be earning World Series rings for their roles with the 2025 Dodgers. For River Falls High School baseball head coach Ryan Bishop, that in itself is a massive achievement for “good people coming from good families.”
“It’s tough to put into words how happy I am for Alex and JP,” Bishop said. “I’ve been fortunate to know these two from their Little League years to their big league years. Great role models who set goals, work their tail off relentlessly in pursuit of those goals, and simply won’t settle until they achieve their goals.”
Dodgers players and their families have been on a whirlwind schedule the last four weeks since they won Game 7 over the Toronto Blue Jays in an extra-innings thriller. While Feyereisen spent time in his off-season home during the Thanksgiving holiday, Call returned home for the weekend to celebrate his championship and Thanksgiving with friends and family.
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes hosted Call on Wednesday at River Falls High School, where he spoke about his journey as a professional baseball player and how his faith helped him along the way. Nearly 300 people attended, with 950 viewers on the live stream, to learn more about Call’s journey as a pro athlete and his faith.
“It means a lot to me to have members of the community come out in support and also just proclaim the name of Jesus,” Call said. “[To] just share it with everybody, because everybody was probably watching the games and enjoying and cheering for me, so I can feel that, and it’s fun to be able to share that with everybody.”
Ryan Bishop’s youngest daughter, Bailee, was more than ecstatic to see Call share his story with her classmates and the community. A senior at RFHS, Bailee Bishop has known Call nearly all her life and considers him her ‘fellowship big brother.’ She’s had the good fortune to see Call’s generosity, kindness, and mentorship more often than most in River Falls. So to have a day where the rest of the community could get that up close with Call was a special moment for Bailee Bishop.
“It was truly amazing,” she said. “I was getting teary-eyed just thinking about the fact that this was all happening, this is real life, and we get to call him ours. As not only my family, a friend of ours, but also as a community, former Wildcat, and we’re just so proud that he’s able to hold his head high in his faith and demonstrate that coming off a big win like that.”
Bailee Bishop credits Call as one of the reasons why she took on a leadership role with RFHS’s chapter of FCA this year. She provided the introductions for Call’s on-stage appearance to the audience in RFHS’s auditorium, a stage Call hadn’t been on since he played saxophone in the high school band.
Over the hour and a half on stage, Call and MC Kevin Westhuis, a local sports broadcaster, touched on a variety of topics, from how his faith developed from his youth to where it is today, faith in the game of baseball, and how he hopes faith can help guide youth in their livelihoods. One aspect in life where faith has been incredibly helpful for Call is saying no to things he didn’t want to do.
A common occurrence for high schoolers dealing with peer pressure on a variety of things every day, it can sometimes be hard for them to easily say no. So to hear that it’s okay to do so from someone like Call, who has reached the heights of the baseball world, was inspiring for many.
“It can be tough to speak out or take a stance, ‘I don’t really feel comfortable doing that, or I don’t really want to do that,’” Call said. “With peer pressure and a lot of things, I’ve said no to a lot of things. But ultimately, I felt so comfortable and secure knowing that there’s other people who have come before me going that same route, made those same choices, and look where they ended up, just knowing God’s got my back no matter what.”
“I really pray that everyone, all the students that were here today, would hear that and know that they don’t have to fall into worldly things,” said Bailee Bishop. “That they are more than just their friends’ opinions, and that they are completely able to be unashamed in their faith. And to be able to realize that as a high school student athlete, it’s incredible.”
There was time at the end of the event for Call to answer questions from students in the audience, varying from how often he prays to how his faith helps him in his game preparation. But given he’s played for the Dodgers since July 31, he got the expected question from a kid wondering what it was like getting to meet Shohei Ohtani, which he gladly answered with a chuckle.
Call shared that the introductions went well. Ohtani was polite and more open to speaking English with his teammates than when he’s on camera, which was a nice surprise for Call to learn about him.
River Falls students walked away inspired by Call’s time with them, and by his sharing how he grew up on the same fields they’re playing on now. From hitting a t-ball grand slam at Glen Park to finding out the Chicago White Sox drafted him in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft while he was at the former Perkins restaurant in town. These kids, no matter where their lives take them, know they can find life-changing achievements in the same places Call did before securing that World Series ring on November 2.
“It’s so important,” said Call. “Because it’s a tricky world, so having a foundation in Christ is No. 1, but then also the message of you can do it is important too. To have somebody who came and walked in their hallways the same way that they are to say, ‘Hey, you can do it. I did it.’ It’s really important for them and exciting for them,”
“What I’m most proud of Alex and JP for is their humble drive to make our world a better place,” said Bishop. “So grateful my family has had a front row seat to watch them win and lose, fail and learn, get knocked down and pick themselves back up, and become world champions in both the game of baseball and the game of life. Can’t think of better role models for both kids and adults to look up to in our community.”