Play Ball!

In honor of Opening Day. Still funny after all these years...

Go to the Dominican Republic with Me

For the past two years, I have had the privilege of being involved in SCORE International's Baseball Outreach in the Dominican Republic.  It is an awesome time of missions, ministry, and encouragement. I would recommend any man, whether you like baseball or not, to consider going.  I am trying to get another team to go in the fall.  If you would like to go, let me know.  Watch this video to see what SCORE is doing in the DR.

Don't Stop Relievin' - Song for Mariano

If you read this blog, you know that I am a big Red Sox fan and an even bigger Yankee hater.  I have hated the Yankees since I started watching baseball almost 40 years ago.  However, while I don't like the Yankees, I have tremendous respect for Mariano Rivera and what he has accomplished.  I had the privilege of meeting him two years ago in the Dominican Republic.  He's the real deal and a strong follower of Jesus.

This is a song for Mo set to the tune of Journey's Don't Stop Believing.  It's pretty funny.  This is for my Yankee friends out there.

Bravo Josh, Bravo...

Josh Hamilton has become my favorite baseball player for the past few years because of both his incredible talent and his unique story.  He is a flawed hero who unashamedly uses his brokenness as a vehicle to tell others about Jesus Christ.  He had a record night last night.  Enjoy the video below.

Josh Hamilton and Public Failure

News came out late Thursday that this past Monday Josh Hamilton had a relapse in his ongoing battle against drug and alcohol addiction.  Yesterday he had a press conference to explain his side of the story.  I can't find the video to post here yet.  However, Josh did an excellent job at public contrition and repentance.  As a matter of fact, the media wasn't sure how to react at the sight of real biblical repentance.  We are so used to a blame-shifitng, vicitimization society that when someone publically admits personal responsibility, the wrongness of the action, and the need for accountability we as a society don't know what to do.  However, Josh Hamilton is a real man.  He did everything a real man is supposed to do.  He rejected passivity over his actions.  He accepted responsibility for both the choices and the consequences.  He owned up to his leadership over his family, his team, and his public ministry.  Bravo Josh, Bravo.

Here is a video of Josh from "I am Second".  This is the key for Josh to remember now in his repentance and recovery.  This is the real Josh Hamilton, not the guy who childishly ran away from a fight and decided to drown his problems in a bottle. 

Opening Day Is Coming!

About time for one of my favorite days of the year - Opening Day of Red Sox baseball.  Please excuse this little selfish indulgence.

Book Review - Pujols: More Than the Game

I was given a copy of Thomas Nelson's new book on Albert Pujols to review for this blog.  Baseball is one of my life-long earthly passions.  I am especially excited whenever I see an authentic believer in Jesus Christ have success and use that success to truly point people to Christ, not just give a verbal tag-line of thanks to "God".  Pujols is the real deal.  He is the best player in the game today, a future Hall-of-Famer, and a bona-fide, sold-out follower of Jesus.  This book is another example of how he uses his platform not to broadcast himself, but his Savior.

This biography on Pujols is specifically written for the purpose of helping the reader to see the authenticity of Pujols faith.  The writers of the book, Scott Lamb and Tim Ellsworth, are Christ-followers who write with a good understanding of theology and mission.  They tell the story of Pujols success through the prism of his Christian faith.  They trace his troubled upbringing in the Dominican Republic that led to his pilgrimage to the United States.  They show how Pujols journey brought him in touch with his future wife, Dee Dee, who led Pujols to faith in Christ.  They show how Albert grew deeper as a young Christian about the same time he broke into the majors and how Dee Dee plays a big part in grounding him.  They also show Pujols commitment to being a man whose commitment to his family, to Down Syndrome children, and to relief work in the Dominican Republic flow from his belief that God has given him this platform as a stewardship to show Christ.

The book leads the reader through each of Pujols seasons in the majors up to the 2010 season.  Significant highlights of each season are spread throughout the chapters.  If you love baseball, you will love reading these.  You may even remember some of the games like the home run off Brad Lidge in the NLCS.  This book is a great recommendation if you know a man who loves baseball and could use a positive role-model to challenge them to a deeper faith.  Most men who "don't read a lot" will stick with this book.  It's also an excellent for older children and teenagers who love sports too. 

Albert Pujols is a winner.  Not because he will go down at the end of his career as possibly one of the top 10 ball players of all time.  He's a winner because he has found out that life is about more than the glory of himself.  It's about submission to Christ and exalting him to all people.  He does that very well.  He's also learned that God will not judge him by how many home runs he hit or how many times he struck out, but by what he did to glorify the Lord and what he did to expand His glory everywhere he can.  For this reason, get this book.  You will be glad you did.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Josh Hamilton - Story of Grace and Redemption

I have always been a huge baseball fan.  If you read this blog, you know I am a rabid Red Sox fan.  I have also been a closet Texas Rangers fan for about 15 years.  While my loyalties are still at Fenway Park, my baseball hero now resides in Arlington.  By now, many of you know the story of Josh Hamilton.  You probably know that this guy was the "can't miss" draft pick of 1999.  He had all the talent that every young man dreams of.  He was also the object of his own idolatry.  You probably have heard about the accident that sidelined him and his subsequent slide into tattoo parlors, alcohol, and drugs.  You have probably heard about his banishment from baseball and how he hit rock bottom.  You have probably heard about how he turned to Jesus Christ, cleaned up, and began to play some baseball again - eventually getting a second chance to return to baseball.  You know about the other-worldly performance in the 2008 Home Run Derby launching rockets into the stands at old Yankee Stadium.  You probably also know that Josh led his Rangers to defeat the "evil empire" this last week to advance for the first time to the World Series.  For all these reasons, Josh Hamilton is my hero.

I sill think it's ok for a 42-year old guy to have sports heroes.  I certainly love the fact that as a father of 3 (soon to be 4), I have someone for my boys to look up to.  I love the fact that, despite the pit he had to go through, I have someone I can talk to my sons about not only the consequences of their choices but also that true repentance is answered by grace and redemption.  I love the look in my oldest sons eyes when I presented him an "autographed" copy of Josh's book "Beyond Belief" last Christmas.

Josh Hamilton is not my hero because he can smash a baseball further than I ever dreamed. Or because he can throw a rope from center field to home plate.  Or because he destroyed my most hated team on the planet.  Those all help.  Josh is my hero because he faced his past like a true man of God, repented of his sin, fell upon the grace of God, and has spent his subsequent life exalting Jesus Christ.  When I met Josh last year, I said to him, "You have a lot of dads that are praying for you because of the example you are to our sons."  He said "Thanks.  Please keep praying."


To see more of how Josh Hamilton is the real deal, check out this video: Josh Hamilton "I Am Second"

Gearing Up for the Postseason

Pardon the diversion from anything mildly constructive to the Kingdom of God and allow me one of my many divulgences into my love for sports. I watched last night's Red Sox/Angels game last night on ESPN. I commented to my wife that with Paul Byrd pitching, I actually figured this might be a loss last night, but it turned out to be one of the more exciting games of the year for the Sox and a reminder that it's almost playoff time. Seems like every year the Red Sox begin the playoffs with the Angels. I hope for much of the same outcome as the past few years. I believe I would put the Red Sox potential pitching lineup of Beckett, Lester, Dice K, and a combination of Bucholz and Wakefied up against anybody. The Sox bullpen of strong, young arms topped off with Wagner and Papelbon should be a great advantage for them too. Being 6.5 up in the Wild Card with 18 to go is a good feeling.

On a side note, before some circumstances prevented out plans from becoming a reality, my brother and I were planning on being in Boston with our wives this week and would have been at the last 2 games at Fewway. Would have been great ones!

Go Red Sox!

What's Wrong with Baseball

Alright. About the worst news a Red Sox fan can get occurred today. After spending weeks courting free agent Mark Teixeira and offering one of the highest contracts in baseball history, at the last minute today the Yankees swept in with 12 million dollars more and landed the big fish. Nevermind that I am a Red Sox fan and am feeling quite a bit of jealousy right now. I can acknowledge that. Never mind that the Red Sox had just as much of an opportunity to meet Teixeira's demands and fell short because they wouldn't give 1.5 million more to an already overpriced contract.

The Yankees have once again proved what is wrong with the current state of baseball operations. They have shown once again that they are the best team money can buy. They have shown that they are more concerned with flaunting their enormous revenue stream than they are with fair and balanced competition. After all, aren't greed, indulgence, buying your way to power the new American way? Isn't it just sound economics to build your own empire without regard to how your decisions affect your competitors. It's the Wal-Mart way!

So far this off-season, the Yankees have signed three high price free agents and have committed $400 million dollars over the next 8 years. They have pulled out of their deep pockets and snagged the big ones. Some will say that fans shouldn't be upset because the Yankees are just taking their profits and putting it back into the product for their fans. They say that the Yankees actually cleared $88 million off their payroll this year and have only spent $65 million. They say that the Yankees are just trying to reward their fans with the best baseball team they can. To that I say "Bull Butter!"

Let's first remember that the $88 million that the Yankees cleared off their payroll is twice as much as the payrolls of teams like the Rays, Royals, and other small market teams. Those teams can't clear that much off. Let's also remember that the Yankees have more income than any other team. With their YES Network, their large (and increasing) ticket prices, and their other business means that they have more revenue to spend than any other team. Their payroll last year was over $200 million dollars and they just paid a $26 million luxury tax (Something that Bud Selig seems to enjoy). They just finished a $1 billion stadium and in the process received millions of dollars from New York city residents through taxes.

Let's remember that the Yankees now currently own the 4 highest paid contracts in professional baseball (ARod, Jeter, Sabathia, and Teixeira). 4! The Yankees have 7 of the highest 10 contracts in the history of professional baseball. That just sounds wrong. It's not about fairness, it's about balance and making sure that every team that suits up in March will have an equal opportunity to compete. It's about fans in Kansas City, and Cincinnati, and Oakland actually having a something to root for other than a .500 record. There are fans in some cities that have grown up without knowing what a playoff team looks like for most of the last 20+ years. No team has taken advantage of the Free Agent system than the Yankees.

I heard it said today that George Steinbrenner "showed the world that you have to spend money to make money." I understand that principle. Big Daddy George did a good job of helping all teams to evaluate the product they put on the field. He also made the game more about greed than competition. He made it possible for snakes like Scott Boras to make millions of dollars giving small-market teams the shaft. Boras and the Steinbrenners represent all the worst of sports.

Some will say, "Matt, your team has one of the largest payrolls too." I know. I realize that the Red Sox spent $130 million (far short of the Yankees $200 mill). I know that their free agent spending enabled them to compete and win 2 World Series in four years. I know that they are sometimes exploiting the system too. But not this time. This time John Henry and Theo Epstein refused to play Boras' game. And they paid for it too. However, I feel they escaped with a little class. They showed that they were willing to bet on the 2007 World Series MVP and the third best player in the American League (Youk) last year rather than be held hostage to big contracts.

What will be the result? The Yankees will probably be a better team and could (definitely should) have a great record with their monster lineup. The Yanks might even make the playoffs. (You should with the best team money can buy) They may even buy their way to a championship. However, they will not gain respect. They will gain little admiration.

Again, some will say, "You're just jealous Matt. The Yankees gave the Red Sox the shaft again. They did the same thing they did with ARod." I cannot plead innocence. Whenever the Yankees pull one over on the Sox, my jealousy does rise. But so does my hatred for everything the Yankees stand for. I have not always been a Red Sox fan. I have always been a Yankee hater. In the 70's, I was a Reds fan because Pete Rose, George Foster, and Joe Morgan played baseball hard and with class. In the 80's, I was mostly a Tigers fan because I loved the way Alan Trammel and Lou Whitaker played the middle and Kirk Gibson and Jack Morris played with heart and talent. However through all my baseball fandom, I have always had a vitriol for the Yankees. Not because they win, but because of the way they do it. Now, I think I have enough fuel to advance my hatred for many years to come.

Boo Scott Boras. Boo Hank Steinbrenner. Boo the spineless baseball commissioner Bud Selig. Boo the MLB Players Association.