Baseball is a religion, some say. But religion in baseball is tricky. There is a fine line with it all, especially with so many mixed beliefs out there. Clearly, as seen Sunday, when numerous Cardinals sat at picnic tables to hear Patrick speak, religion is important to players. And many fans get fevered about athletes who are also faith-based, for there’s a connection they feel. But there are also times when an athlete can come off as judgmental, as if his or her faith makes someone better, or more complete, than someone not of that faith.

But when it comes to the Cardinals players, it’s very simple: Their lives are complicated and pressure-packed, and Patrick calms them.

“A lot of people will read this article and go, ‘Let’s leave baseball to baseball, and you guys need to be worrying about work,’” pitcher Adam Wainwright said. “But what you have to understand is, we work on Sundays, and for people who find their faith important, our time to then go to church is the chaplain. …

“It’s not an easy job to sit down in front of 20 professional athletes who have large egos and lots of different problems of their own and guard themselves against a lot of different people trying to get into their lives and talk to them. It’s not an easy job to speak into people’s lives, and he’s found a way to do that.”