From Darkness to Light: Baseball star loses it all to addiction but gains more in Christ

Monte Mansfield was on his way to becoming a baseball star with the Houston Astros, making it to AAA, the level before the major leagues. Tired and wanting to continue a life of partying, he found a miracle drug that gave him endless energy. Little did he know, that little pill would lead to larger struggles with addiction and homelessness, and eventually end his baseball career. 

With a felony out for his arrest, he was ordered to The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center in San Bernardino, California, instead of prison. There he had an encounter with God and the emptiness in his life was filled like never before.

Below is a transcript of the video edited for readability.

Monte Mansfield: I had a really good childhood. I gravitated towards sports. My junior year of high school, I started throwing the fastball from 85 miles an hour to about 90 to 91 mph. Have hundreds of messages from pro scouts, and I’m being recruited by all these colleges.

I decide that I’m gonna play pro baseball no matter what.

I entered Riverside Community College for one season. We won the national championship, and now I was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 16th round of the major league baseball draft.

My first two years of pro ball go super well. The next season, I started drinking, trying to become the person that I wanted to be. Playing professional baseball, you can stay out all night, you can sleep all day, you can party, and all you got to do is perform every single night at seven.

I had a great car. I had a nice condo. I was making good money. I was able to move on up through the minor leagues, all the way up to the level of AAA. This is the level right before the big leagues.

The thing is, as you start to get older and you don’t have all the energy to be able to do that lifestyle. I was asking one of my teammates, you know, how come all the guys in the locker room right before the game, they get all fired up? And he handed me a pill, a 30 milligram Adderall.

I was so focused and I was so calm. I struck out ten batters during that outing. I’m thinking I just found a miracle drug.

Fast forward, I’m 32 years old, I’m completely out of professional baseball. I’m now playing in Canada in the independent leagues.

Because my addiction to Adderall has gotten so bad, I’m now smoking marijuana all day long. I’m now hooked on Oxycontin.

I thought if I got out of baseball and I would be out of that lifestyle, I could get clean and sober. But I’m waking up every single day with no purpose. Seven o’clock game time isn’t there for me no more.

Living this world of everybody telling me yes, right? It literally transforms to the whole world telling me no.

I end up going and gravitating to harder drugs. I’m massively hooked on Xanax, heroin, and methamphetamine.

And then I start to become homeless. I’m now living from garage to garage in this miserable existence.

Then I start to commit crimes, to be able to feed my habit. Because of tolerance and because my addiction has gotten so bad, I am now three to four doctors in each city. I’m now doctor shopping. 

I remember walking up to the Walmart and I end up asking them for what? I need to get high. And she looked at me and she said, get out of my store, you junkie. And I remember I walked onto the side of the building and I broke down in tears.

I’m a former shell of the pro athlete that I used to be in my life. I’m now running from the police cause I had received a felony.

I remember thinking, the guys in prison eat better than me. The guys in prison have a bed. And I turned myself in to the Ontario police department. I was in jail. 90 days in I went to court and the judge sentenced me to The Salvation Army.

During my time in the Adult Rehabilitation Center, I learned so much about life. I learned how to work again. I learned how to wake up early. I learned how to function again.

I started hearing about this savior, Jesus Christ. I started hearing about the gospel. I started implementing a prayer routine. And I was able to reflect and see where God had pulled me from. And I just continued to stay obedient to God’s plan.

I graduated on May 1, 2020 from the San Bernardino Adult Rehabilitation Center.

I end up meeting Laura, who is my wife now. We now have been hired as Corps Ministry Assistants over here at the El Cajon corps.

I’m learning how to just become a better person every single day, becoming more Christ-like. We both actually decided that we would follow God’s call to become Salvation Army officers. My wife and I are in the application process.

The Salvation Army has done so much for me. The Salvation Army introduced me to Jesus, and The Salvation Army is the family that I stay connected to five years clean and sober.

My dream would to be able to serve in this ministry. Serve every single day, no matter where I go. Be God’s hands and feet, bringing others from the dark to the light.

Do Good:

• See more videos like this in our video feed.