Posts filed under ‘MLB’
Former big leaguer Sanderson now models Christ as player agent
You�d think a longtime major league pitcher � especially one who made millions of dollars as a 19-year veteran, former All-Star and member of multiple playoff teams � would kick back and relax for awhile after retiring. Maybe travel to exotic locations or buy a mansion and sip daiquiris by the pool.
Not Scott Sanderson.
�I took three weeks off after my last game and then started representing players,� he said. �I knew later in my career that this is what I wanted to do.� (more…)
Jones maturing in faith in twilight of career
Todd Jones vividly remembers his worst outing ever.
It was June 1, 2007, and the Detroit Tigers were at Cleveland. The Indians were threatening to close a 9-5 deficit in the eighth inning, so Detroit manager Jim Leyland brought in Jones, the team�s veteran closer, to nail the game shut. Two runs scored before Jones retired the side, but the Tigers spotted him two more runs in the top of the ninth.
It wasn�t enough. Jones imploded in the bottom of the ninth, surrendering a three-run homer to Victor Martinez and two more runs to absorb a bitter 12-11 loss.
�That was nice,� Jones recalled, sarcastically. �There�s usually one game a year where a fan leans over and says, �Mr. Jones, are sure you�re right-handed?�� (more…)
Top 12 Evangelicals in Sports
You can stay home on Sunday to watch football, skip Tuesday night prayer meeting for the baseball game of the week, and miss Saturday’s church retreat in favor of a pro golf tournament–chances are, you’ll still hear about Jesus. Evangelical athletes populate the major sports, and many of them enjoy the chance to be outspoken about their faith–thanking God for that winning field goal, late-inning homerun, or 18-foot putt.
We’ve scanned the sporting world to come up with a gallery of some of the most dominant athletes and coaches working today. Each of these men and women work hard, as their Bibles tell them, “to win the prize,” both in their sports and in their faith. (more…)
Debate continues: What place does religion have in sports?
The images are everywhere: players pointing skyward after scoring touchdowns, teams gathering for prayer, coaches praising God following victories.
Religion has always been a part of the sports world, but its presence today is hard to ignore. Some say more athletes and coaches have been emboldened to speak out because of the rise of conservative Christianity in politics, where it has become mainstream to discuss religious beliefs.
President George W. Bush helped usher in that era, and was elected largely because of the religious right. We are seeing Christianity play a role in the Republican primaries with Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. But there is a major divide in politics that parallels a similar split in the sports world: There are those who believe God belongs everywhere, and there are those who believe God belongs only in church.
In sports, both sides of the “to preach or not to preach” question are jockeying for attention. The more we see the vulnerability of athletes and corruption in sports, the more each side feels it is necessary to speak out either for or against religion in sports. That presents a series of questions: (more…)
Putting His Faith in Telling the Truth
Considering that his old buddy Roger had thrown him under the stagecoach five days earlier, Andy Pettitte was in a tolerant mood about Clemens on Monday, even if it fell slightly short of turning the other cheek.
Pettitte still loves Clemens like a brother, he said, even if Clemens testified at a Congressional hearing that Pettitte “misremembered” that little conversation they had in 1999 about human growth hormone. Pettitte has testified under oath that Clemens admitted using the stuff, and Clemens has denied it. A small misunderstanding between buddies.
“The truth will set you free,” Pettitte said, quoting Christ’s words in John 8:32. Pettitte’s manager, Joe Girardi, had used the same phrase earlier in the day. Pettitte has played a bit loose with details in the recent past, but Monday he seemed chastened, horrified, by his public exposure, and seemed to need a public forum to set himself free. Always quick to note that he is not very smart, Pettitte did it four or five times during a news conference that was remarkable not only for its length of 57 minutes, but also for its tone of humility. Pettitte rarely preaches in the clubhouse. His references to his Christian faith generally come out in the context of the life he is living, which has always seemed controlled and sober and decent. (more…)
Top 12 Evangelicals in Sports
Source: Christian Post
A popular religious Web site named its top 12 evangelical Christians in sports this weekend in time for Sunday’s Super Bowl XLII between the undefeated New England Patriots and the New York Giants.
In pro-football, running back Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks, punter Hunter Smith of the Indianapolis Colts, and Colts coach Tony Dungy made beliefnet.com’s “Who’s Who” list.
Alexander, the 2005 NFL MVP, is always seen pointing to the sky after a touchdown to credit God for his success.
“Everyone has been given gifts that can be used to bring glory to God,” Alexander wrote in his 2006 memoir Touchdown Alexander. “And when we bring glory to God through the gifts He has given us, we are blessed. For me, the gift was athletic ability.” (more…)
Pujols denies steroids claims
Source: MLB.com
Albert Pujols expresses disappointment in media over Mitchell investigation
Asked if he felt any need to prove himself all over again in light of the report, Pujols didn’t hesitate.
“I don’t have to prove myself,” he said. “Since 2001, I’ve been proving myself with the numbers. I’ve been proving myself every year. How much better can I get? Only God knows how much better [I can] get. But do I need to cheat in this game to get better? This is nothing for me.
“Baseball is just a hobby, man. God has blessed me. And I fear God too much for me to do a stupid thing. I fear him. If I do some stupid things to help me out, to hit .400 or three-something or hit 30 home runs, he’s going to take that away from me. So why not be the natural guy like I’ve been since I was in the Minor Leagues? To cheat in this game, that’s not right.”
For Trey Hillman, Royals’ Job is ‘a blessing from above’
Trey Hillman read the letter from the 49-year-old high school coach asking for advice on how he, too, could realize his dream of becoming a major league manager.
“He assumed I was plucked off the street,” says Hillman, 45, the Kansas City Royals’ rookie manager. “So I called him. I’m not going to sit there and tell him it’s not possible, but I also educated him about where I’d come from.”
Hillman, hardly a household name in American baseball, was plucked from the other side of the world, ending a 21-year odyssey that began as a Class AA utility infielder who didn’t foresee a big-league playing career. What followed was scouting, coaching, 12 years of managing in the minor leagues and a career-altering five seasons in Japan. (more…)
Zips assistant coach Brian Donohew shares love of sport and spirituality on mission trip
Brian Donohew first learned about Score International during a baseball coaches convention in Florida in January 2006.
The sports-themed mission group sounded interesting, like something the University of Akron assistant baseball coach ought to consider someday. Donohew picked up a flier to take home and to share with his wife.
After the couple’s promising initial conversation, the flier was left on a table and soon buried in a pile with other things to do. As months went by, it would get moved around from table to table, room to room.
But it was never thrown away.
”Every time I saw it, I’d think about it,” Bonnie Donohew said. ”A couple of times I thought I’d just get rid of it, but for some reason, I never did.” (more…)
Faith brings Texas Rangers’ Hamilton back from the brink
Just past 8 a.m. on a gray Eastern Carolina Friday, Josh Hamilton’s silver GMC truck, grinding gravel into grit, rumbles into the alley directly across Market Street from the Ava Gardner Museum.
His ash-colored sweatpants are streaked with grease, the residue of eating a chicken biscuit while driving 40 miles from his home in Cary at the crack of dawn. As he enters a hollowed out jewelry store turned batting cage, Hamilton yanks a Rangers royal blue fleece shirt over his head.
“I like this color,” he says from under the shirt. “It really brings out the blue in my eyes.”
Just then, his sturdy, heavily tattooed forearms emerge and his head breaks free. He is 6-4, 240 pounds and has a smile that would have made one of the sirens Gardner portrayed on the screen swoon. (more…)
Jesus Christ's Superstars - Celebrities, Athletes, Actors who use their spotlight to honor God. 