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Welcome to The Overflow—the bonus round of faith and real-life conversation with Brandon and Susan Thomas. Every week, they unpack the powerful insights, behind-the-scenes experiences, and personal reflections that didn’t quite fit into Sunday’s sermon.
This is where the conversation gets practical, honest, and a little bit unscripted. Whether it's an encouraging word, a deeper dive into Scripture, or a hilarious moment from their week, Brandon and Susan bring fresh perspective and spiritual fuel to keep you going.
It’s real talk, fresh takes, and full hearts.
These are the conversations too good to cut and too real to miss.
Welcome to The Overflow. Today, you are going to love it as we hear from an athlete, but more importantly, a man of God who has an incredible story, some incredible accomplishments, and we're gonna see how faith and the field come together. So welcome, Brandon Finnegan.
Speaker 2:My man. Having me. Thank you. So blessed to be here.
Speaker 1:Oh, so awesome to have you. And you have a Colonial Country Club hat on because you love golf.
Speaker 2:I I am a I guess in my afterlife from baseball, I am a golfer. Okay.
Speaker 1:So we'll get to golf, but let's talk baseball. When when do you first remember holding a ball in your hand?
Speaker 2:I think I started playing baseball when I was about four years old. You know, I I have an older brother who's two years older than me. And I when you watch when you have an older sibling and you watch what they do, you wanna do exactly that and you wanna be better. And so we were we were competitive throughout our entire, you know, childhood, and we just we played baseball every single day together outside because back then, you you didn't have no iPads or
Speaker 1:anything like So
Speaker 2:we were outside practicing baseball, basketball, football every day. So it started a long time ago.
Speaker 1:Did you play all three?
Speaker 2:I played all three until middle school, and then I just played football and baseball. And then high school came, I was like, yeah, my chances of playing anything is gonna be in baseball.
Speaker 1:Where'd you grow up?
Speaker 2:In Fort Worth. So I'm from Fort Worth. I went to Southwest High School, if you've heard of that, and went to TCU after that. Come
Speaker 1:on. Now there's something notable about your journey with sports, and that is you're the only person to say it.
Speaker 2:Come on. I'm the only person to play in the College World Series and the Major League World Series in the same year.
Speaker 1:In the same Okay, so we'll get to your journey and all that, but I wanna know what was that, I mean, when you're in the world series and you had done the college world series, and if I misnamed something, correct me. But you'd done all that and and at the end of it, you you look back on your year. What was that like?
Speaker 2:Oh, man. It it was it was still kinda haven't, you know, grasped what what transpired that year. I I actually, like, get a little nervous when people talk about it because Yeah. You know? But it was it was so much fun.
Speaker 2:I I I remember everything about it like it was yesterday. You know, that's every kid's dream. You know, regardless of what sport they're playing growing up, they they wanna play in the the highest level of that sport you possibly can. And it just happened so quickly and in my professional career that, you know, I kinda it's I still kinda don't believe it happened. Yeah.
Speaker 2:But I was just in such an an awesome situation with such a great group of guys that it just felt like it was natural, know? Nothing felt out of the ordinary. And then looking back, you're just like, the things that had to happen for me to be able to do those things, it's just, it's out of this world.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:It's not in any of our hands. Was, and I knew that back then, but just thinking about it now, it's just like how crazy it is that, you know, God allowed that to happen.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Okay, so the things that had to happen, what are some of those things that you look back and said, I couldn't control that, but it happened. I couldn't control that, but it happened.
Speaker 2:So, well, okay. So yeah, so we'll go back to TCU. I was in our scouting meetings. Every week, I think, every other week. The team that told me that they were that they were gonna take me their first pick were their Cubs, and they had the number four pick.
Speaker 2:And we were about a month and a half away from the draft, and I walked off the field in the third inning in front of 30 scouts with my face in my glove crying because I thought I just blew my shoulder out like like my dad did at TCU.
Speaker 1:And
Speaker 2:luckily for me, it was just a shoulder impingement. So I got a quarter zone shot. Two weeks later, I was back to it doing better than than I was before. And the scouts thought that I had a shoulder injury. And, you know, even though I came back pitching great and, you know, showed signs of healthiness and all that stuff, I dropped in the draft to to pick number 17, and that was the Royals.
Speaker 2:And that was one of the teams that I talked to probably the least throughout the the scouting meetings. And when I when I finished the college world series with TCU, I flew up to Kansas City to sign my contract. And George Brett, Jeff Foxworthy, he was Ned Yost's neighbor at the time, and Jason Kendall and the the now assistant GM sat down with me and told me their what they had planned for me. And it was to start off in high, which is unheard of for guys out of the draft. Now, not so much.
Speaker 2:But back then, was when you got drafted, you went to your spring training complex and played there. But I went to High, and they were like, If you do well
Speaker 1:What is High?
Speaker 2:So High, it's it's so there's like seven levels of professional baseball for those that don't know. And it starts at the what people call short season. It's at the Spring Training Complex, so Florida, Arizona. And then it goes to rookie ball, and then low a, high, double a, triple a, and then the big leagues. So high is kinda right there in the middle.
Speaker 2:And they but they had told me if I did well, like I had been, were gonna call me up to AA. And if things were still going the way they had been and they were in the hunt for a playoff push, I was gonna get called up. And I literally laughed because I was like, yeah, right. The things that have to transpire, you know, that have to happen for that, not gonna happen. You know, it's just everything has to fall in place perfectly.
Speaker 2:And I remember George Brett looking at me, and he didn't use the words I'm gonna use. Yeah. He said, We're not kidding. And I was like, Okay. Sounds good.
Speaker 2:And the next day, I was sending out a hi and Just paused. George Brett looked at me and Seth. Yeah. That alone, man. And I became good friends with his son.
Speaker 2:God. Yeah, so he, oh, he's amazing. That's awesome. He's amazing. But like, obviously I wasn't alive when him and, you know, Jason Kendall played, but just seeing everything that he did, unbelievable.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Unbelievable. And to to be able to, you know, be in that room and think about him telling me what they had planned for me is wild beyond dreams. You know? But I went to high for two weeks.
Speaker 2:I gave up one run-in, like, 14 innings. Called up to double A for two and a half weeks, and they were still in a playoff push. And I had just gotten my new car that I just bought the night before, and we were the season was ending the next day. And I got called in, and I was like, man, I'm about to have to go to instructs. I wanna go home.
Speaker 2:And our manager at the time, who's now their third base coach for the big league team, was like, I heard you got a new car. I said, Yeah, I did. I got it last night after the game. And he goes, Do you think you'll be able to drive that across the state lines? I was like, Yeah, I'm going home after the game tomorrow.
Speaker 2:And him and the the GM laughed and like, you're not going home. And I was like, okay. And they said, you're going to Kansas City. You just got called up. I was like, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:I I was just I just sat there looking at him just like, I couldn't believe it because all these dreams were just happening so fast. Mean, getting getting drafted to to getting caught up to double a just like that. And then all of a sudden, I'm getting caught up to the big leagues. And I couldn't I didn't have like a real reaction. I couldn't like put it together.
Speaker 2:And what's crazy is the team that we were playing when I got to Kansas City was the Rangers.
Speaker 1:Oh my god.
Speaker 2:And they drafted me out of high school. And I was like, I'm gonna get to make my debut against the Rangers. And of course Home team? Didn't I get grew up watching. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, my favorite player is Josh Hamilton and Barry Bonds, but obviously didn't play for Rangers. But like, all lefties. Those were my favorite players. And I I thought I was gonna get to make the debut against them, but I didn't. And we ended up going to New York and made it there.
Speaker 2:But it's everything that happened up until then. It's it's not without God. Yeah. And I knew that the whole time. Like, I knew that a 100%.
Speaker 1:Really?
Speaker 2:Oh, yes. So growing up, we, I mean, we went to church every Sunday until it got to the point where we were baseball every week. So and that's when it stopped. But going through all this, I knew that, you know, God had his hand in all of it. Like, this is and I was when I got hurt, I was, why is this happening to me?
Speaker 2:Why is this happening? Yeah. Or when I fell to pick 17, I'm like, but I'm better than these guys. And and now looking back, I'm like, this happened because so I could do this. You know?
Speaker 2:And so thankful, obviously. So thankful. I I mean, I missed the royals. And when I got traded, I I all that stuff, I I missed it. But knowing he had his hand in all of it, it's you know, it just makes my I just feel joyful, you know?
Speaker 1:Come on. That's such a powerful perspective, but sometimes that perspective only comes in the rearview. Mhmm. Right? Hell yeah.
Speaker 1:You can't see it, you can't taste it when it's happening to you.
Speaker 2:100%. 100%. And I mean, I've wrestled with myself now after baseball because I guess you could call it disappointment and not, you know, realizing that while it was happening, you know, and not being more thankful while the things that I was able to go through that he was allowing me to go through when I was happening. But, you know, I don't think I would've I'm glad that, you know, I I guess see it now, clearly, because other people see it saw it before I did, and you know, you can say I took it for granted.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. Let me let me ask you this before we get into some of the serious stuff, let's get back into the sports moment. I wanna capture
Speaker 2:some of that. The
Speaker 1:celebration, it just struck me. You were in two different rooms, one with TCU and one with the Royals, where you had some massive celebrations.
Speaker 2:Oh yes.
Speaker 1:Like, you're at the, you know, and tell me, were they very strangely familiar? Were they, was the celebrate, like when you're either headed to the World Series with TC or whatever, what was the big moment there and what was the big moment over here and how were they similar, how were they different?
Speaker 2:So, they were very very similar besides the fact that you can't pop champagne with Right, okay. But they were very similar. I mean, you know, it's this group of guys that you've worked, you know, all year to three years with, trying to get to this moment. And we had such a good team from the moment I stepped on campus at TCU from the moment I left. And, you know, we came up two games short my freshman year of the college world series.
Speaker 2:We were terrible my sophomore year with the same exact team, and then we killed it my junior year. So just the satisfaction of knowing that the work we put in was paying off. It was awesome. Of course, we all, you know, we had a team party, of course, but it's very, very similar to the big leagues because on the on the other hand with the big leagues, these these guys came up together. I didn't have have that privilege, but they were the guys I essentially came up with.
Speaker 1:It was a long grind.
Speaker 2:Yes. Theirs they they had twenty nine years of not making the playoffs. Yeah. And they I mean, they were they were a bunch of studs on that team. Then people that, you know, think that we weren't that great.
Speaker 2:It was just like a Cinderella story. There was a lot of all stars on that team. And for the to see that that happen for them, and you know, all the it's so funny to think back. All the veterans at the time looked at me like, don't get used to this because it doesn't happen like this. And I'm like, okay.
Speaker 2:It happened pretty easily. Yeah. But it just awesome. And every time we clinched to go further further in the playoffs, it just got more exciting. And you know, I never knew what those celebrations were like.
Speaker 2:I mean, obviously I watched the Rangers, and you know, watched them go through their World Series run, but never saw like the partying in the clubhouse, the popping champagnes and stuff like that. But it's funny to think about grown men, you know, just being so happy to go play.
Speaker 1:There's almost like a boyish element to it, get to that. Like, these are grown men, and they're jumping around like kids.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, so you know, the way I think about it is when I watch my son ask, get a cookie, you know, that's his saying, he loves cookies. When he asks for a cookie, we give him one.
Speaker 1:Your son's how old?
Speaker 2:He's five. Yeah. Five year old son, and he jumps up and down because he's so excited. That's how we were. Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, we had over a chance to play possibly seven more games, you know, and to get a ring. And it's so crazy to think about how excited, you know, we they were and I was obviously, but just to to see these guys that I grew up playing, not not playing, watching play, And now I'm their teammate, and I used to think, man, that guy, he seems really intense. And then I get in the same clubhouse as him, like, this guy's awesome. Yeah. He he's he's just like me, you know?
Speaker 2:He's a he's a grown man, but, like, he's a kid. He's a kid playing a sport. And it's some like, I go back to it's something that they've they've worked for their entire life, and it they it's happening right in front of their eyes, and they're just jumping for joy, and just with their brothers, you know, with guys that they see as their brothers. And it was just the most fun year I could ever possibly imagine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, and that's where I would tie that to faith is, I think what you're looking at there is maybe a glimpse into the way work was originally meant to be. You know, like, you're working so hard, but there's so much joy. Oh, yes. And that's what, you know, in the Bible, the theology of it is called dominion. In Genesis, it says, Be fruit.
Speaker 1:God said to Adam and Eve, Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and govern it. So we had work in the garden before there was ever sin, and that work was to be fulfilling. And that's like, to me, the image of what I think work was supposed to be. It's joy, it's boyish, it's a blast, but it's work.
Speaker 2:It is work, it is. It's not like everybody else's everyday work. Right. You're right. It is work, but no, you're so right.
Speaker 2:And it's just, you know, just to think, I can't even put it into words, to think about how blessed, you know, every person that gets to play any type of sport for a living is, and I was. And it's just, I could talk about it all
Speaker 1:day. Oh yeah. Well tell me this, you may not remember the exact number, but how much did you pitch in the college world series, and how many times did you hit the mound in the major world series?
Speaker 2:So I was a starter at TCU. Okay. So I threw game two. We played Texas Tech game one, beat them, and then we were one of three or four nationally ranked teams in the the College World Series. And I pitched against Virginia.
Speaker 2:They were one of the other ones. And at the time, we had the longest game ever in College World Series history. We went 15 innings.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I went eight. Their starter went seven. We both gave it one run apiece. Gosh. And one earned run apiece.
Speaker 2:And we lost it in the bottom of the fifteenth. And so I I threw eight innings there. And then the Major League World Series, I had two appearances, both in San Fran. And then I warmed up in inning two of game seven. Gosh, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it was fun.
Speaker 1:So you had these two experiences, here's my question. You know, I've always heard athletes talk about those moments, and particularly, I remember Troy Aikman talking about being in those Super Bowls, and reflecting on it, I remember, I couldn't quote you what he said, and I couldn't even point you to the interview, But Ira, it stood out to me that he said, You know, wish I could have enjoyed it more. But I was just in my muscle memory. I was in my thing. I didn't see the crowds.
Speaker 1:I didn't experience it. I was just in my thing. I wish I could have. Is that you?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Really?
Speaker 2:Yes. Both times. In the College World Series, I remember I was warming up in the bullpen and the national anthem started. So I turned around, took my hat off, put it over my chest. And during that time, I usually say a prayer Every, every, every start in my entire life.
Speaker 2:From college, actually from high school to the day I ended, I would say a prayer. It was usually the same prayer. But I remember when I closed my eyes, I started like kinda swaying back and forth. And I was like, oh, that's new. I like almost fainted.
Speaker 2:Woah. Woah. And then I get to the Major League World Series, and it felt normal. I didn't notice the crowd. And I wanna say that that that College World Series got me ready for that because it's a big ballpark, but it's not the same at the same time, especially in San Francisco.
Speaker 2:But I just remember warming up in the bullpen, and of course, at that time, the fans were two feet away from me, yelling in my ear, Can I and like, the meanest stuff you can think of? Yeah. And I just remember looking over at one of the security guards. I like, Are you gonna handle this or am But that's the only time I noticed a crowd. Don't know if you've ever seen For the Love of the Game.
Speaker 2:I haven't seen it. With Kevin Costner. He's a pitcher, and he's a veteranized pitcher, and it shows him pitching Yankee Stadium. He says, clear the mechanism. And everything just goes blurry, and it's just a tunnel vision to him and the catcher.
Speaker 2:And that's all I had noticed. Obviously, when you face some guys like Derek Jeter, know, big name guys, you know that they're at the plate, but I never noticed the fans in the middle of pitching or anything like that. Wow. The only time I can say I really, really noticed it was the College World Series.
Speaker 1:How interesting. Have you ever heard, and I'm sure you have, but buy into the ten thousand hour theory of repetition? Have you heard of that? If you do something ten thousand hours, or 10,000 times, if you commit to something like 10,000 times, if you get a certain level of mastery, there's a whole book on it, can't remember the name of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, mean, I would say that's very, very true.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Your muscle memory, your brain, it's just the way your brain wires, it's just doing something. And I agree with it, and then I don't. I think like, no matter how many, you could give it ten thousand hours, and I'm still not gonna pitch like brain appendicum. I mean, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:I'm just, you know, I don't know that I, you know, sometimes there's other factors.
Speaker 2:No, it's the same way. I could read the Bible that much, and I would never be able to preach it the way you do. Well,
Speaker 1:so tell me this, you said you grew up going to church, and your dad was a pitcher as well.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir.
Speaker 1:So you grew up with a foundation of faith, but also a strong drive for athletics. You now have a five year old boy, you have a kid on the way.
Speaker 2:I do, yes sir.
Speaker 1:And are we sharing the dinner?
Speaker 2:Yes, it's a girl,
Speaker 1:yes. Okay, oh buddy,
Speaker 2:buddy. Hands full.
Speaker 1:Oh man, it's gonna be awesome. And so, one of the things that I always talk about, and you've heard me say before, is, you know, don't just do it the way that it's been done. You know, be mindful of learn from the way that you're raised. And we honor our parents, Even my parents, I look and I say, man, I honor you, but there's some things that I've looked at even my godly parents, and I've said, okay, we're gonna do this a little different. When you approach your faith in the field, and and you I've I've already heard that your five year old is picking up the ball already, and and you're you know, you have kind of this family thing.
Speaker 1:How how are you approaching faith and the field? Faith and athletics?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a good question.
Speaker 1:Or maybe we can process that right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. I would say, you know, us coming to Keystone has changed our entire family dynamic, you know? Our five year, and of course, you know, our neighbors, Zach and Steely, not just our neighbors, our very close friends. Meeting them has changed everything for us. And it's got us into this church.
Speaker 2:It got me baptized and saw a different perspective of how, you know, life should be done. And I'm not, you know, the way my parents raised me and my brother, they were phenomenal parents. They did everything for us. They spent all the money in the world to be able to make us the best athletes that we were. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Way I want to, me and my wife, Becca, want to shift things is we want to put God first, you know? And that's not that's something we didn't do growing up. You know? We we church every week until we were at the age to play baseball every week, and then baseball took ownership, and then, you know, the church and we and then we didn't really go. So I want I want and of course, we're also we're still learning too, and we watch our brother-in-law a lot.
Speaker 2:We we look up to them a lot.
Speaker 1:Also an athlete.
Speaker 2:Also an athlete, yes. And as well as his older brother, I mean, family full of athletes. And the way that he I mean, he's so biblically sound, it's wild. And the way that he lives his life and, you know, raises his kids, it's all God's at the front, you know? And we want to raise our kid that way.
Speaker 2:So once so, Sports are gonna come eventually, you know, and maybe. He's a COVID baby, and he's not a fan of sweating, so we'll see. But we want to to make sure that God's at the front of everything that we do, and we want to make sure that, you know, that he sees why we're doing certain things certain ways, and we just want him to love Jesus, and he does. And what's crazy is we had a phone call with his teacher a couple weeks ago, and she said that he's been disruptive during nap time because he's kissing his Jesus doll too loud. And I'm like, I don't see a problem with Hey,
Speaker 1:if that's the problem. We laughed.
Speaker 2:So, I mean, it's working. And it's all because of just the trickle effect of, you know, me meeting Becca at TCU, to Zach and Cely moving in, to them getting us to come to Keystone. And it's just, it's all, you know, his work. And we're trying to, and I'm a very competitive person, so I have to remember that, you know, with my five year old son, how I was raised probably isn't gonna work with him, you know? He's a very kind hearted human, and when it comes to baseball, I can get intense.
Speaker 2:So I have to be softer, you know, and more loving. And we grew up in a home where my dad is a very competitive human being as well, and how he was raised is how he raised us. And it worked, it did. I mean, he made sure that we did the right thing, we treated everybody with respect, and that's what we also want to do, but a little bit, you know, softer, but with God at the front of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You know, we talk about family trees a lot, and every single family tree, the goal, like my goal for my kids, is that they would advance it. It's not just a copy, it doesn't stop. It's either growing or it's dying. And so, I think you're actually honoring the work that they did.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, I want to
Speaker 1:at least. By advancing, by growing, by learning, by taking it to another level. It's kinda like, I bet your dad was, you know, it'd be a dysfunctional thing if you said that your dad, he's a southpaw.
Speaker 2:He is, yes sir. Pitcher. Yes sir. Went to TCU as well.
Speaker 1:Went to TCU, and blew his arm out, is that right?
Speaker 2:His shoulder, yeah,
Speaker 1:his shoulder.
Speaker 2:He blew his shoulder out, and back then, that was essentially a death wish for pitcher, so he went straight to work for his dad.
Speaker 1:Yeah. How did he feel when he saw you pitching in the College World Series and then subsequently?
Speaker 2:You know, I've only seen my dad cry twice in my life. One was when my grandmother passed away, and the other one was when I got drafted. And so I know that he was very proud of me. I spent all of my career just trying to make my family proud. But I know he was very proud because he wore my jersey with the biggest amount of pride ever, you know?
Speaker 2:So I know he was very proud, but he wishes I was still playing. I
Speaker 1:bet he does.
Speaker 2:Him and me both.
Speaker 1:Well, and you know, I think that's the metaphor for life, and that is that just as he was so excited, and your parents, your mom too, I'm sure, everybody's just rooting you on as you took it further than he could because of his shoulder at the time. So we should be rooting the next generation in their faith, And in their one of the things, Brandon, that you hit on that I believe with all my heart is there comes a point where you put down the glove, there comes a point where you retire the ball, you know, you retire the baseball, and you step off the mound, and that part of your life is over, but you still go home to Becca and you have to understand how to communicate, you have to understand how to parent, you have to understand have how a culture of discipline. And so, one of the things that we teach our young families, and you would qualify, that would be, you know, what are we instilling in our young kids? Because one day, you know, let's say, hey, all you did was teach your kid how to throw a fastball, or all you did was teach your daughter how to do, I don't even know what to call it,
Speaker 2:I'm just not that good
Speaker 1:at girl sports, but how to hit a volleyball, right? Or do a somersault. I am a cheer dad boy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my wife is a cheerleader.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I tell you.
Speaker 2:That is athletic growth. It's impressive.
Speaker 1:I used to not think it was, and then I was that guy, you know? And then I went and I saw them practicing, and I'm like, wow. Yes, it is What they're so doing is intense.
Speaker 2:It is wild. But say
Speaker 1:Brandon Becker, me and Susan are in a conflict, and we're just at this point, do I go in the backyard and throw fastballs? Does she go in the backyard and do some somersaults? Or what have we taught them? If, hey, I want you to throw fastballs. I want you to hit the highest peak of your athletic ability, but even more so, be a man of God.
Speaker 1:Yes. Because that will outlast your sports season.
Speaker 2:100%, 1000%. That's, you know, one thing I was told pretty early on in my career was, you know, your life outside of baseball is gonna be a lot longer than your life in it. And I was like, not me. Not me. But of course, obviously, knew that.
Speaker 2:But it's so true. It happens so fast and it goes by in a flash. And when it ended, I was lost. Yeah. Lost.
Speaker 2:And I had no identity because the only thing I saw myself as was gone. What ended it? I just didn't get picked up. I did not. So I didn't have any injuries.
Speaker 1:It wasn't an injury? No.
Speaker 2:Luckily for me, my career, I had one injury and it was not surgery or anything. So but I just I played IndyBall my last year in 2023, and then I did great. We won a championship there and did a pro day January '24. Did great in front of all, like, twenty, thirty scouts and had interest, but nobody called. You know, it just ended in a flash.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And I had nothing to fall back on.
Speaker 1:Oh man. How many times have you heard that story, your story, in the mouth someone else?
Speaker 2:A lot, lot more than you'd probably think. A lot more.
Speaker 1:So what would you tell somebody, what do you tell people when they're, because we actually do have, you know, some young athletes in church, You know, they're doing the JUCO thing, and then they go down and they play for a division one. You know, they're doing all that, and they're hoping to
Speaker 2:You know, I always tell kids to go to college. I was drafted out of high school, and a round that doesn't even exist anymore. But the life expectancy in professional baseball now is so much shorter than when I got in it. When I was playing, you could make you could you could be in triple a for 10, and teams wouldn't even bat an eye at them because you you have big league time. So, like, we if we need you, we'll call you up, and then we'll just DFA you, and we'll we'll still have you on our team.
Speaker 2:But now it's like, oh, okay. Well, this guy's I was 29 in my last affiliated year, I think. 29 or 30. And I had five years in the big leagues, and they're like, okay. We we we have to pay this guy a certain amount of money for him to be on our triple a team.
Speaker 2:I would rather pay this 24 year old who hasn't seen the big leagues yet Yep. The least amount of money and just get rid of him. And that's how it's going. Unless you're just a, you know, somebody you have one thing that a coach or, you know, team likes, and it's I'm seeing a lot of good players not get picked up. A lot of good players that are better than me not get picked up.
Speaker 2:So for me, my thing would be go to college, learn how to be a man, you know? Learn how to grow up and live life on your own. Because if you're going to play a professional sport out of high school, unless you're just some highly, highly touted kid, you're not gonna have a very good chance of making the big leagues. It's very, very small. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And you'll have something to fall back on. Like, was lucky enough to have a TCU. I don't have a degree. But it formed me into the man that I am today Right. To an extent.
Speaker 2:Until I left baseball, and then I became a new person. I'm curious, you grew up
Speaker 1:going to church, then baseball, but then, every game, you're saying a prayer, you talked about how faith was there, but there came a moment where, after coming to Keystone, you're like, I need to be baptized. So, was, you mentioned you were lost, was that part of that realization, or when did it become real for you? A Was family religion, and then it became yours, or what's your story
Speaker 2:So, you know, my parents had, you know, they took us to church every week, like I said, and they talked about God to us. And how I knew he was real the first time forever, and sometimes I kind of forget this because it was so long ago. When my dad's father passed away, I remember him sitting us down at the coffee table at their house, and he was like, Paw Paw passed today. And we were just like, What? And he was, Yeah.
Speaker 2:And when he passed, he reached up to the sky and, you know, was gone. And I was like, Wow. God's real. You know? That's the first time that I really knew that God was real.
Speaker 2:And I was- Wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how old are you?
Speaker 2:I was young. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like elementary kind of?
Speaker 2:Yes, yes. I was six, seven, And you know, we continued to go to church, and then we got to the point like ten to thirteen ish where we started playing baseball every weekend. And, you know, I believed from then on. And I went to TCU, of course, it's a Christian university. And I had a few teammates there that were very, very biblically sound, and they could recite Bible verses like the back of their hand.
Speaker 2:I'm like, that's impressive. Wow. I wish I could do something like that. And I started to go to FCA. I wasn't there every night, but I went to FCA.
Speaker 2:And actually our FCA leader married Becca and I. And so like, he's the man. And throughout pro ball, I continued to have a few teammates that were that way. And I was like, This is cool. You know, I went to the chapel every Sunday when we had it.
Speaker 2:I had Bible verses tattooed on me, so I believed it. Lukewarm as can be. You know, I was very, very lukewarm. And then when I stopped playing, I you know, my whole identity was baseball. I thought that's what people saw me as.
Speaker 2:Not Brandon Finnegan. They saw me as that he's a baseball player. That's that's who he is. So to me, that's all I brought to the table. That's the only way I could provide for my family.
Speaker 2:And when that ended, I had no clue who I was. No clue. And I was a miserable, miserable person to be around. And my wife, love her to death, I can't believe she, you know, she went through what she did. I mean
Speaker 1:How long did that last?
Speaker 2:All of 2024. Okay. All of 2020. And what changed, what really changed for us was what's what started the change is one day she was going she was leaving for a work trip and me and Bentley were driving to watch our nephew play baseball. And she sent me a screenshot of a Instagram message that she got threatening our family.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And so I checked mine and I had the same thing. So from then on, she went straight reading the Bible every day. She got baptized by her brother-in-law Austin on their birthday. They share a birthday.
Speaker 2:And I'm watching this whole ordeal, like, pan out in front of me. I'm like, this is really, really admirable. And I'm still fighting it. You know, she's trying to get me there, and, you know, I'm fighting it because I'm just I just wanna wallow in self pity. You know?
Speaker 2:I'm just and I'm depressed, and I'm just like, what's my next step? I'm not not I'm not I'm there, but I'm not there for my family and my my, you know, my wife and my son. So Zach and Stevie move in, and they keep telling us about Keystone. You know? They keep telling us about Keystone, and Austin and Beth came here as well, and they were telling us about it.
Speaker 2:Was like, okay, maybe we'll try it out. The moment we walked in the doors at Keystone, it's a feeling that we have never felt before. Really? A true feeling in the chest, like that burn in your chest that you know something's right. And what's crazy is the first day that we came,
Speaker 1:I met you. Yeah, I remember that.
Speaker 2:I met you. And I was like, I've never been to a church that I've met the pastor. And everybody's outside, you know, talking and laughing. We looked at each other and we were just like, This is different. This isn't And when we went to church, you know, we would It sounds so bad, but we would get there late because we felt awkward with the worship, you know?
Speaker 2:And we just weren't confident in that area.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:When we come here, we're getting here early. Oh We get here early when we worship. So, but coming here is what changed everything. And I remember that Easter service, you were talking about getting baptized. And Becca and pastor Jeff had both talked to me about it, and I I told them, said, there's some things I I feel like I need to do before I'm worthy enough for that.
Speaker 2:And Jeff showed up, said he goes, well, if anything, this would probably be the first step you should take. And I was like,
Speaker 1:okay. Brilliant.
Speaker 2:That was like, that response, it kinda pushed, like, shot me back a little bit. I'm like, oh, okay. And then we came to that that Friday night Easter service, and I just got this real deep down feeling burn in my in my heart that I knew that you were speaking, not just to me, but I felt like you were personally speaking to me. Yeah. And I told Becca, I was like, I feel like I need to get baptized.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And she's like, she's kinda started crying. Yeah. And just the literally, I say this the whole time, the the look in her eyes, they just lit up. And she goes she goes, I don't wanna pressure you, but you should do it.
Speaker 2:And her her mom, who's an angel, had texted her when you said that, saying that I feel like Brandon's getting baptized tonight. And I was like, I was so nervous.
Speaker 1:You can't make this up.
Speaker 2:You can't. You can't. Everything that happened, it's so real. It's so real. And it's funny, I was like, I told her, I was like, I just don't want people watching me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we get that. Yeah.
Speaker 2:But I was like, I just remember, you know, I was, you know what? I'm doing it. I think I'm gonna do it. And so I went up to Jeff, I was like, do I still have time? He said, let's do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we'll make time. Yeah. And from that moment afterwards, I just remember feeling like the weight of the world was gone. I felt and like, obviously, I still had these same worries. I had to find a job.
Speaker 2:I had to do something to provide for my family, but I knew it was no longer in my hands because I had fought for so long thinking that I was the one that had to get out of this hole that I had put myself in. And I didn't, you know, I knew he was with me, but I didn't believe it. And it took a lot of, you know, fighting to actually get to a point where I needed to man up and surrender. Because I'd always, I'd prayed the prayer of, I can't do this anymore. Like, take control.
Speaker 2:It's yours. I want you to take control of my life because I'm miserable. And you know, I meant that, but I still feel like there was part of me holding back. And that night I finally felt like I really let go and just gave it all to him, because you know, getting baptized doesn't take away all your worries, all your Right.
Speaker 1:It just,
Speaker 2:for me, it solidified that I am not alone. I am not in control anymore. It is his and he is gonna watch over me and my family from now on. And I 100% believe that. And once I fully, fully surrendered and believed that, and actually, you know, pursued a relationship with God, everything just became a lot easier to get through.
Speaker 1:Come on, man. Well, speak this over you, and we prayed together, and this was my prayer when we prayed together, and this is, I just really wanna say it again. I believe that God is gonna use, you have very unique experiences. Not everybody has your experiences. God uses those experiences for his glory and for your good.
Speaker 1:And I am utterly convinced, and just the, what's coming out of you right now, even sitting here like this, and I know the cameras are rolling, I would say this if nothing was, I mean, if we were just sitting here hanging out, that I believe that God, in this next season, you're gonna have the fulfillment deeply on the inside, and the impact on others, that you're gonna be able to say, My greatest days are in front of me.
Speaker 2:Oh man, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:I'm speaking that over you. Believe Thank it so with all
Speaker 2:my much. And honestly, you know, I have to give credit, I mean, all that credit's to our neighbors, Zach and Stevie, to you and your wife Susan, and to Austin and Beth, and my wife's family, and my wife. This has all happened because of all of you guys, and this beautiful church that we have been so lucky to find. We pray, we thank God every night about, you know, finding this church.
Speaker 1:You know, you used to come in late, now you open the door for people. You actually host people, you get them in.
Speaker 2:I do. I do.
Speaker 1:You're like, well, come on in.
Speaker 2:Let's get you in here. I was nervous about the start because my first time serving was Easter weekend too. I was like, I'm in first Woah. And
Speaker 1:your wife, does your wife host as well?
Speaker 2:She did, and then once she got pregnant, she was like, I'm gonna take,
Speaker 1:I'm Yeah, gonna yeah, handle yeah. Oh man, well, this has been incredible, we could keep going, and so we'll just have to hang out off camera
Speaker 2:and keep
Speaker 1:talking. But I wanna thank you. I wanna thank you for you and Becca sharing, being willing to share your story, and being willing to let it impact others, and serving your church and just be available. Wanna thank you for that and appreciate you, brother.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Thank you. So we did it again. We'll see you next time on The Overflow.