Hicklen: from Braves bench to a platform
The 30-year-old outfielder, with 30 stolen bases in Triple-A, took his first postseason at-bat on Tuesday.
He enters to run, covers the outfield and returns to the bench: that's how his three playoff games have gone. On Tuesday, Brewer Hicklen, a Braves reserve, had his first postseason at-bat, according to Cole Claybourn of Sports Spectrum.
The at-bat came in the 3-1 loss to the Dodgers in Game 3. Atlanta signed him in November, called him up on July 12 after 30 stolen bases at Triple-A Gwinnett, and he finished the regular season with 20 appearances in the majors, the highest total of his career.
A small role is not a small purpose
His calling card is speed: 287 stolen bases in nine professional seasons and a high of 44 in 2024. In Atlanta that translates into scattered minutes. On September 11 he scored the tying run against the Phillies in the bottom of the tenth inning; the Braves won in the 11th.
«Your value doesn't depend on the position you're given.»
After that game he said he wanted to do his best with whatever the team needed, and that hearing his name called in that moment was special. That's his stance: the role changes, the calling doesn't.
It's worth pumping the brakes on one impulse. The postseason is not a reward for his faith, and no athletic success is. Hicklen isn't worth more because he batted in October, nor would he be worth less if he had never been called up. Your value doesn't depend on the position you're given.
"That my dream doesn't get out of line with the purpose"
On Monday, before Game 2, he recorded a video inside Dodger Stadium. He had just read 1 John 2:17: "And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17, ESV).
He shared that, from the world's perspective, he's living the dream, and that's why he's careful that his pursuit doesn't get out of line with the purpose God gave him: to love God, love people and enjoy it.
Hicklen also wrote: "My prayer has been to use every opportunity to share the Gospel, spread His love and point others toward Him" (Sígueme translation). In another message he held on to Psalm 118:24: "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24, ESV).
His path had twists. The Royals drafted him in 2017, he debuted in the majors on May 26, 2022, played six games with Kansas City and in August 2023 moved to the Phillies. Later he signed with the Brewers.
In 2024 he said God had placed him in Nashville for a time like this. Between 2024 and 2025 he baptized several teammates. None of that shows up in the box score, and yet it's what he calls a platform.
What about your close circle?
In September, before a game against the Astros, he commented on 1 Peter 2:1-3. He said God knows that many people are Christians when it suits them, and that the challenge is to seek the Word with hunger, like a baby needs milk. His question was direct: Christians of convenience, or someone who truly wants to know the One who created them?
You don't need a stadium or a microphone. You have a circle. Think of two specific people—a college friend, a cousin, a coworker—and tell them this week something real God has done in your life. No sermon: just a detail from your walk with Him.
Game 4 is Wednesday in Atlanta, at 6:00 p.m. (Eastern time), and the Braves are on the brink of elimination. Win or lose, Hicklen's own question remains open for you: what has God done in your life these days that you can tell someone in your circle?
