Title
Pujols: More Than The Game
Author
Scott Lamb & Tim Ellsworth
Summary
This book does a great job in covering the Albert Pujols story.
From the very complete statistics that need to be present in any baseball story right through to the stories about his private life.
From the massive numbers he regularly puts up to the massive heart he has for those who need help.
From the hard nosed facts of baseball to the heart string pulling realities of everyday life.
From the baseball great with nerves of steel to the Christian hero with frailties and faults.
Unfortunately the chapter on steroids comes across like a “methinks he doth protest too much” defence! I suspect Albert is actually clean but the authors have done him a disservice in the way they have tried to show that he is without fault.
My Reaction
As both a baseball fan and a Christian I found the book to be interesting and a little disconcerting. I can’t actually put my finger on just what about it worried me but I would say the book is very much worthy of a place on one’s bookshelf.
I’ve taken my time reading it, not because it was difficult to read, but because I wanted to finish it about the time of the Winter meetings.
And now I know that Pujols has accepted a massive offer to leave the Cardinals (the only professional team he has ever played for) and gone to the Angels (reportedly $250m over 10 years with a no trade clause?) I realise why I was never comfortable as I read.
I struggle with the money baseball stars can make anyway, but even more so when they are Christian and end up in a bidding war. It may be that Albert simply wants the extra so he can do more good in the community but…
Oh, I don’t know… I don’t begrudge him his money, he uses it well and has a prodigious talent.
I simply wonder at the gap between the haves and the have nots – After all, its just a game.
Disclosure:
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
