‘Life is hard, but God is good’: Mike Matheny reflects on God’s grace amid near-fatal brain hemorrhage

Former Major League Baseball player and team manager Mike Matheny is thankful to be alive. 

The four-time Gold Glove catcher – who played for four teams over 13 years and went on to manage the St. Louis Cardinals from 2012-2018 and the Kansas City Royals from 2020-2022 – brushed death after a serious brain hemorrhage earlier this year. 

But God met him there, in the most vulnerable moment of his life, Matheny revealed on Sports Spectrum’s “Get in the Game” podcast. 

On January 17, half an hour into a morning workout, Matheny just didn’t feel right. He left the weight room under his own power but called his wife to come pick him up. 

By the time the former catcher’s wife arrived to help, he felt like his head was “splitting” and he couldn’t even open his eyes. He planned on going back home to sleep it off, but his wife’s intuition kicked in, leading her to call 911, he says. 

That decision most likely saved Matheny’s life.  

He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered a subarachnoid hemorrhage – bleeding in the space between the brain and the tissue covering the brain. 

Half the people experiencing this condition never even make it to the hospital, Matheny told Sports Spectrum. Of those that make it, a third never leave the hospital, and a third are left with permanent brain damage.  

The athlete who spent a career catching on his knees said his improbable recovery – doctors have cleared him to resume normal activities – drives him “to his knees,” thankful to God. 

“I don’t believe that I’m immune to life because I’m a follower of Jesus Christ, but what I am going to tell you is that I’m the recipient of a peace, I’m the recipient of a grace and a goodness and a love that I don’t deserve, that shows its face so much more in these times of things that we don’t want going on.” 

It was similar to the peace he experienced when he was unexpectedly asked in 2012 to interview to be manager of the World Series champion Cardinals.  

“I just had that peace that passes all understanding when I walked into that interview knowing that if this is a God thing, nothing’s going to get in His way,” he says. “I think that peace allowed me to kind of have a freedom to be honest and to be candid.” 

Matheny landed the role and became the first manager to lead a team to the playoffs in his first four seasons, including a run to the World Series in 2013. 

“My commitment was, this is a gift,” Matheny said of the favor of God that led to that opportunity. “It is a God thing that I can’t explain, except for the fact that now I have to be obedient, and I need to be faithful.” 

As Matheny awaits his next move, the life-altering event in January has given the former major leaguer fresh perspective. He’s simply striving at this point in whatever he does to live more consistently with his belief. 

“I want the pictures of my life and the words that I say and the words of God’s truth, I want there to be synergy there; I want those to match up. I believe that’s probably the best testimony you can share with somebody. 

“I’m amazed at the things I’ve been able to experience in this life. There’s still stuff. Life happens; life is hard, but God is good.”