Baseball Faith

Following the success of "Football Faith", Rob Maaddi has knocked it out of the park with this collection of faith stories from 52 MLB stars. The stories shared by the athletes in this book are inspiring, insightful, humbling, and hopeful. Maaddi profiles a wide range of baseball stars, from Hall of Famers to managers, all stars, and average players. Each profile features a high quality action shot, each player's favorite Bible verse and what it means to them, a personal testimony, and complete career stats.

These players may have great athletic ability, but they are all just like you and me - we all struggle and have ups and downs, but we can all turn to our Lord and Savior to pick us up and put us on the right path. Many of the players mention the importance of reading the Bible, and they urge young children and adults to study God's word in their everyday lives. They also warn of the dangers of worshipping false idols, which can tend to happen when you immerse yourself in sports. The majority of the athletes talk about knowing the difference between right and wrong, but they really stress the importance of developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Baseball is a game of failure, and being a Christian is not easy. If you put your faith and trust in God He will guide you. One encouraging fact in this book is that the players often have group Bible study and Sunday chapel. This helps to build sportsmanship and allows the athletes to support and grow with one another, encouraging each other to be better examples on and off the field.

I recommend this book to all sports fans, especially youth athletes. I enjoyed "Football Faith", but I found the testimonies in this book to be more encouraging. I highly recommend both books. I received this as a free ARC from Barbour Publishing, Inc., Shiloh Run Press, on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Baseball Faith is about 52 baseball stars who reflect on their faith. About 1/3 of the names from the table of contents I recognized. There are several Mets and former Mets featured in the book - such as Murphy, Matz, Francoeur, Martinez and Rivera. And of course, Albert Pujols was featured. A book about Pujols and his faith was one of the first books I ever read in exchange for a review with this blog! Each of the players has a writeup including their favorite verse, a writeup about them and some of their stats. This is a very quick read but I found it very interesting to see which of the verses spoke to the players and why.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

This reader is not a baseball fan. He does not spend summer evenings or weekends sitting in front of my TV set watching baseball games. Having said that, he does own season seats to seats for the local Triple-A team right behind home plate. He enjoys the sound of the crowd, the taste of a diet soda in a giant cup, and the smell of an occasional food item from the venders stationed beneath the stadium.

That was enough to catch the interest of this reviewer for “Baseball Faith” by Rob Maaddi. Well, that and this reviewer’s own faith.

And that is what this book is about - a look at the faith of 52 major league players. The entries are a simple four pages each: a full-page picture, a one-page testimony, a page summarizing the player’s career, and a page highlighting significant stats from their career. But with that the reader becomes aware that God is alive and well on the ball diamond, though it may not be obvious during the nine innings of play.
Not being a fan of MLB baseball, most of the names pass me by like a ball goes wide of the batter, but that does not make their stories any less intriguing. Their stats provide the justification for including them in this collection. We hear in their own words how and where they came to a point of believing in Jesus; and we begin to understand how their faith influences their game, both on and off the field. As they share, they also set an example for those of us who play on some field other than a ball diamond - whether it be in an office, a factory floor, or a classroom, etc. It is this modeling which gives this book its real value to this reader. This is a book that can be shared from mentor to mentee, from the little league coach to the young player, or from father to son.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

It is refreshing to have a book that shares the testimonials of faith of so many well-known athletes. This is a great book to share with fans, especially teen athletes who may sometimes not know how to share their faith or live it out on the playing field. It is easy to find poor role models; I love how this book offers up real men of faith, who acknowledge their imperfections and need of their Savior.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge baseball fan, and when I saw this book linking baseball and faith, I couldn't help but request it. 52 players in the big league share their walk with Jesus with us, and it is overwhelming. I'm sure you've seen many of the MLB players thank God after hitting a home run, pointing up to Him as they cross home plate. It's inspirational to me that they are not afraid of being criticized for their love of Christ. This book takes things one step further. We hear about their relationship with God in their own words. I loved it.

This is a great book for kids and teens who are new in their faith or who are looking for the right kind of role model. I would definitely consider it as a gift for graduation or baptism or Christmas.