I don’t watch much baseball, but last night I was fortunate to be watching when Albert Pujols smashed a 96 mile-an-hour fastball almost into the upper decks. What some don’t know is that Pujols is also a giant of a man off the field–a dedicated Christian, husband, father, and active in caring for the less fortunate (see, for example, this 60 minutes report).
I was curious to learn that Mr. Pujols is the subject of a fast-selling book by Scott Lamb and Tim Ellsworth. Some of the endorsements:
He embodies the best of sports and of heroes. His Christian testimony, his commitment to God and his family are a reminder of what real stars are about. One thing about Pujols—he matches in his personal life the excellence that he demonstrates on the diamond.
Gov. Mike Huckabee
Pujols: More than the Game is full of nuggets. Given that the action in the famous poem Casey at the Bat starts with “Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,” I enjoyed reading that Albert Pujols asks opposing runners at first base, “If you died today, where do you think you’re going to go?” Lamb and Ellsworth lucidly describe both the season-by-season baseball exploits of Pujols and the impact he’s having on some lives for eternity.
Marvin Olasky
Editor-in-chief, World
Many of the greatest stories of human achievement come from the battlefields and the playing fields. I was reminded of that in reading Pujols: More Than the Game by Scott Lamb and Tim Ellsworth. A story emerges from a baseball field that points to something far greater. Readers will be drawn into the story of Albert Pujols and his understanding of the game, seen from the vantage point of one of the greatest players of our generation. But there is more to this story, and that is where Lamb and Ellsworth really help us to understand Albert Pujols, not only as the baseball player, but as the Christian. And in that sense, they help us to understand the gospel as well, and how, indeed, in the life of a great athlete, the gospel of Jesus Christ can become so visible.
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
HT: Justin Taylor