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.”