Payton Tolle took the most important dip of his life in a hot tub this past offseason.

The 23-year-old Boston Red Sox left-handed pitching prospect and devout Christian did something he had wanted to do for three years: get baptized.

“Yeah, I mean, it was really cool. I grew up in church, always been around it,” Tolle, who is currently with the Worcester Red Sox, Boston’s Triple-A affiliate, told NewBostonPost. “I would say probably in the last three years I really started to take a step with my faith, really made it my own, which I should pursue — my relationship with God for myself — trying to make time, really talk, pray.”

Tolle is a member of the Crossings Community Church, a non-denominational evangelical megachurch in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, near his hometown of Yukon. It’s the church where his father, Chad, works in facilities management. 

Tolle wanted to be baptized at that church, but it didn’t have any open dates before he left Oklahoma for Fort Myers, Florida, in early February for spring training. Instead, his father led the process — and he was baptized on January 18.

“Me and my dad talked, we were able to get a baptismal — just a little hot tub — and I was able to do it with some of my closest friends and family,” he said. “So it was a really special night, and I was just super thankful that I could do it before the season.”

Tolle shared the news on Instagram. His post received about 13,000 likes and hundreds of comments, including praise from past and present teammates such as Boston Red Sox setup man Garrett Whitlock, Worcester Red Sox infielder Mikey Romero, and former Red Sox prospect Blaze Jordan. The caption read, “Ask me about my Jesus.”

Tolle, who has over 40,000 Instagram followers, wanted to put it out there, regardless of how people reacted.

“Yeah, I think everybody was very excited for me,” he said. “It was something that I wasn’t going to worry about what people were saying. I just wanted to get it out there.

“Part of why I wanted to post it on social media was if there’s somebody out there — whatever following I have — if there’s somebody out there that asks one question about it, then I feel like I did what I needed to do with it,” he added. “So that’s something I’m not going to hide, and I want to be super, super proud of.”

Tolle said his favorite Bible verse is James 1:2, which reads, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

He even wrote it on his glove.

“I just think for my life, for baseball, it’s great to endure the hardships because on the other side of it is where you find your purpose — maybe glory — or where you find yourself to be the most thankful,” Tolle said.

Tolle added that Philippians 4:4 is a close second; it reads, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Tolle said whatever happens this season, he feels good knowing he has grown closer to God and has an opportunity to bring others closer to Him. 

“Yeah, I think it’s just — I try to have perspective with everything,” he said. “This is just adding onto it. Yes, we play baseball, but for me this is a platform — a platform where I can help bring others to Christ and help spread the Kingdom in whatever way that I can.”