{"id":660692,"date":"2026-04-03T11:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/660692\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T11:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:49:16","slug":"new-film-delves-into-the-religion-of-baseball-%f0%9f%94%8c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/660692\/","title":{"rendered":"New Film Delves Into The Religion Of Baseball \ud83d\udd0c"},"content":{"rendered":"

The one-hour, 41-minute production highlights interviews with experts such as Shawn Green,<\/a> a Jewish former major-leaguer who sat out games on Yom Kippur and says \u201chaving beliefs, having faith is crucial in life and baseball as well\u201d; and Kavitha Davidson,<\/a> a sportswriter who got a Yankees tattoo after dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder that followed a sexual assault.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Yankees winning the World Series in 2009 felt like a win for me,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I can\u2019t explain that. I know it\u2019s super irrational. But it felt like this was something that was given to me to show me that something good could happen in my life and that good things could still happen in my life after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBaseball: Beyond Belief\u201d mixes real-life baseball history \u2014\u00a0such as Jackie Robinson breaking baseball\u2019s color barrier<\/a> in 1947, Kirk Gibson hitting an unforgettable pinch-hit home run<\/a> in the 1988 World Series and former President George W. Bush throwing out a ceremonial first pitch<\/a> after 9\/11 \u2014\u00a0with scenes from movies such as \u201cThe Natural\u201d<\/a> and \u201cEight Men Out.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Gibbons, 54, who grew up in northern New Jersey, wore a clerical collar and a Yankees cap during our video interview.<\/p>\n

I asked if he puts on that cap when he celebrates Mass \u2014 as he did three times last season \u2014 for Catholic employees at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not wear my Yankees hat,\u201d he said with a chuckle. \u201cI am an agnostic minister of the Lord when I am (there) \u2014\u00a0agnostic in terms of sports anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u2022\u00a0\u2022<\/p>\n

\u201cBASEBALL: BEYOND BELIEF\u201d reminded me of the famous speech by James Earl Jones\u2019 character<\/a> in \u201cField of Dreams\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will come, Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it, for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers, sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game, and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: It’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and it could be again. Oh, people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t dip myself in magic waters at Citizens Bank Park.<\/p>\n