Changed Orioles outfielder puts faith in Bible, guns

BALTIMORE – He carries a Bible and gun. His name is Luke.

A cowboy preacher in a movie about the Old West? No, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Luke Scott is very much a part of this modern-day world.

He is, however, an unusual baseball player. He doesn’t curse, drink late into the night or think about the stock market during that pause before the next batter steps to the plate.

“Sometimes when I’m in the outfield,” Scott said, “I thank the Lord for a beautiful day, my health and allowing me to play the game I love.”

Scott was much like any other student during his first year at Indian River Community College in Florida. Although he was brought up in a religious home, that had little bearing on the actions of an 18-year-old eager to experience life without parental supervision.

“I believed that God existed and Jesus existed, but I didn’t have a personal relationship with them,” Scott said. “I basically lived for myself. I did whatever I wanted to do. I partied hard and chased after women and did whatever I felt was best for me.”

Then came the night that changed his life. His mother was visiting him at school, and Scott didn’t have the good sense to tell his friends and acquaintances to stay away during the weekend.

“Some girls came over at 1 o’clock in the morning, drunk, knocking on the door,” Scott’s mother, Jennifer, recalled. “I never went to college, and that’s not what I was hoping it would be like. I said to Luke, ‘You have a sister. That’s somebody’s sister, that’s somebody’s daughter. How would you feel if your daughter acted like that?’ I didn’t raise my son to be a pig.”

Jennifer handed her son a Bible and insisted he read it every night.

Luke argued that he didn’t have time for that, and his mother dismissed the excuse by asking him to give it a look before bedtime.

“He knew I would nag him to death, so he promised me five minutes,” Jennifer said. “Five minutes turned into a half-hour, then an hour. He really enjoyed it.”

Scott has since read that book dozens of times. Baptized in June 2001, he is now a devout Christian and a solid citizen. To his mother, that’s more important than the fame and fortune he’s achieved as a major leaguer.

“I’ve always been proud of him as a baseball player, but mostly, it’s the fact that he chooses to be a good person and to live that way,” Jennifer said. “I’m proud of who Luke Scott is.”

Her son looks back on his rowdy times with disdain and is content with the person he has become.

Although it would appear to go against his calm demeanor, Scott carries a Glock pistol almost everywhere he goes. But his parents both had guns, so to him it makes perfect sense.

“We told him in the right hands, guns can serve a good purpose,” Jennifer Scott said.

“I put my faith in my Lord, but we live in an imperfect world,” Luke said.