From an outfielder who minored in theology to a pitcher whose mom is a Catholic school teacher, the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays both have players — and storylines — that Catholics can get behind.
Pope Leo XIV’s beloved Chicago White Sox didn’t make it to the World Series, but don’t worry Catholic baseball fans, there are still plenty of faith-filled players and storylines to follow in this year’s Fall Classic, which begins on Friday.
For starters, both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers could be counted among “the least of these” in Major League Baseball, at least when it comes to payroll. The Brewers rank 19th out of 30 in total salary, while the Rays are 28th. In fact, the two teams combined spend less money ($242 million) than what big-market clubs like the New York Yankees ($308 million) and Chicago Cubs ($249 million) spend all on their own.
Nonetheless, both the Brewers and the Rays finished the regular season with the best records in their respective leagues, including an MLB-leading 103 wins by Milwaukee.
“These guys are playing at the highest level, and they’re not worried about what’s in their bank accounts,” Father Thomas Anastasia, a priest of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida, said of the Rays, for whom he served as chaplain from 2013 to 2024. “They’re playing as a unified body and they’re not worried about individual accomplishments.”
Additionally, neither team has ever won a World Series; the Brewers are 0-1 in their 57-season history, while the Rays are 0-2 in 28 seasons. The matchup between the two long-suffering franchises guarantees that, this year, “the last will be first.”
“We’ve always seemed to have gotten close, but this year is looking pretty good,” shared Milwaukee Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Haines, an avid Brewers fan who attended the franchise’s first game as a kid in 1970 and whose sister once served as “Bonnie Brewer,” a team mascot.
To get to their second World Series, the Brewers also did their best impersonation of the biblical David, taking down the Goliath-esque, two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, a team laden with stars and a salary 2.3 times greater than Milwaukee’s, in a four-game sweep.
Meanwhile, in a bit of papal payback, the Rays punched their ticket to their third World Series by eliminating the Cleveland Guardians, the team responsible for ousting Pope Leo’s White Sox, 4-2.
Playing the ‘Right Way’
In an era of big stars and a focus on hitting “the long ball” (home runs), both the Brewers and the Rays are lauded for playing “small ball” baseball “the right way,” prioritizing scrappy defense, lock-down pitching, and team play on the offensive side of things.
The Brewers especially have leaned into this identity, adopting the slogan “Win Our Way” and overcoming national media doubts that their style of “small ball” in an era that emphasizes “long ball” could get them over the hump.
Similarly, the oddsmakers had the Rays as preseason longshots to make the playoffs — let alone the World Series — but the squad’s focus on teamwork has helped them overachieve.
“We are all for one, one for all, and we’re doing this together, and it really, really came together this year,” said Father Anastasia, who has plans to attend games 3 and 4 at Tropicana Field.
Bishop Haines said that the style of play exemplified by both squads is “humble” and involves sacrifice and hustle.
“You need your teammates to help get you home,” said Bishop Haines. “Home runs occasionally are great, but it takes bunting a guy to third or a sacrifice fly to bring a run in.”
The Milwaukee-area native also described the Brewers as an “amazing team,” “so focused and unselfish,” an approach that he attributes to team manager Pat Murphy.
A self-described “Irish Catholic” who formerly coached at the University of Notre Dame, Murphy grew up attending Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, New York, and brings a servant-leadership mentality to his coaching.
“I believe in love and discipline, in that order,” Murphy said at a 2023 press conference, upon getting the Milwaukee job.
Catholics in the Clubhouse
On the field, both teams have their share of Catholic players, some of whom are open about and active in their faith.
Sal (short for “Salvatore”) Frelick, the Brewers’ speedy outfielder, grew up as an altar server in the Boston suburbs and minored in theology during his undergraduate years at Boston College. Frelick, who has said he wants to “spread God’s word and be a good disciple for Him here on earth,” also makes a point to wear a crucifix around his neck on gamedays.
“I want people to see I’m wearing it,” he previously told the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. “I’m not using it as bling. I really want people to know that I have faith.”
Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio and catcher William Contreras are also Catholic, Milwaukee-based priest Father Javier Bustos confirmed to the Register. After the final out against the Dodgers, Contreras dropped to his knees and looked upward, saying: “Gracias, Papá Dios!”— “Thank you, Papa God.”
In fact, the two players came to Father Bustos’ parish, Blessed Sacrament, this past summer to take part in a relief drive for victims of the recent earthquake in Venezuela, their home country.
“At the end of the day, we were all friends,” said Father Bustos, who hails from Maracaibo, the same hometown as Chourio. The priest said he gave the Brewers players a blessing and told them he hoped they would make a difference this year.
The Rays also have some Catholics in the clubhouse. One of them, relief pitcher Kevin Kelly, is the son of a Catholic school teacher. His mom, Terri, teaches computer science at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia.
Kelly himself is a graduate of St. Paul VI Catholic High School of the Diocese of Arlington and got married to his high-school sweetheart at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Leesburg on Jan. 13, 2024.
Father Anastasia noted that several other players with the Rays grew up in “a Catholic milieu” in Latin America. This includes all-star third baseman Junior Caminero, a native of the Dominican Republic, who makes the Sign of the Cross upon crossing home plate, as he did after hitting a decisive home run in the series-clinching game against Cleveland.
Catholic connections exist in the wider organizations, too. For instance, Lane Grindle, the Brewers play-by-play radio man, is a Catholic convert and joins players and coaches for Sunday Mass when on the road.
In that sense, he follows in the footsteps of legendary Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker, aka “Mr. Baseball.” A lifelong, practicing Catholic, Uecker died in 2025, but is still very much part of the Brewers’ culture.
“I have a feeling he’s smiling up in heaven,” said Bishop Haines of Uecker and the team’s success.
Papal Favor?
Both Archbishop Jeff Grob of Milwaukee and Bishop Gregory Parkes of St. Petersburg will be watching the World Series, with a friendly wager on the line.
“If the Rays win, Bishop Parkes will send Archbishop Grob a box of his own hand-rolled cigars, along with a donation to Catholic Charities,” shared Allison Munden, the communications director for the Diocese of St. Petersburg. “If the Brewers win, Archbishop Grob will send Bishop Parkes some of Milwaukee’s finest bratwurst, along with a donation to Catholic Charities in our diocese.”
As for Pope Leo, is there any indication which team the baseball-loving Pontiff might be supporting now that his White Sox are out?
Father Bustos shared that when he was in Rome earlier this month, he asked Pope Leo after the Oct. 7 general audience to bless the Brewers. The Holy Father laughed at the request, but no word if he followed through.
However, Bishop Haines pointed out that some of the Brewers’ big wins thus far this postseason have had a Marian connection. For instance, the team won their series against the San Diego Padres on Oct. 7 on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. And they completed the sweep of the Dodgers on Oct. 15, the feast of the great Carmelite mystic St. Teresa of Ávila, whose religious order runs the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians at Holy Hill, just outside of Milwaukee.
“Every time I turn around, it seems like the Blessed Mother is helping us,” the auxiliary bishop commented.
Down in Florida, Father Anastasia is glad that his team avoided being the one to oust the Pope’s White Sox and thinks it will be a close Fall Classic between two teams that mirror each other.
He said, “I think we’re looking forward to a really good World Series.”