Making A Difference – Albert Pujols
I love baseball. I mean, I really love it. Something happens to me during baseball season and it’s been that way my whole life.
I grew up in Evansville, IN and have always been a passionate St. Louis Cardinals fan. Through good years and lean I have always watched and cheered for the Cards. My wife has been very kind and tolerant as she has stopped trying to understand it…she has made the very wise decision to embrace it! We make the journey to St. Louis several times each year to take in a game and hit some of our favorite places to eat. By the way St. Louis is famous for toasted ravioli. That’s right….toasted ravioli! Look into it. I highly recommend it!
Every now and then we get the chance to cheer for an athlete who is at the top of their game. 
For Cards fans we have that right now in Albert Pujols. Here are just a few of his baseball stats:
– 2001 NL Rookie of the Year
– 2003 NL Batting Champion
– 2005 NL MVP
– 2006 World Series Champion
– 2006 NL Gold Glove at 1st Base (The 3rd position he’s played for the Cards)
– .333 Lifetime Batting Average
– The only player in MLB history to open a career with 7 straight 30 homerun seasons
– Voted the most feared hitter in all of baseball by 30 major league managers
I could go on and on with the stats and awards as Albert will go down as one of the best right hand hitters of all time. But, the thing that makes Albert special is what is in his heart and what he does off the field.
On November 13, 1998 Albert made what he calls, “The Best decision of my life,” when he gave his heart to Jesus Christ and asked HIM to become LORD of his life. He goes on to say, “People ask me if I believe how quickly my career has taken off. I just tell them Jesus Christ is my strength. God has blessed me and I will continue to do my best for Him. That is more important than anything I could ever do in baseball.”
How refreshing! Just take a look at his web-site: The Pujols Family Foundation and you will see his testimony and have a chance to read about what makes him tick. Albert’s daughter has Down Syndrome and he spends his free time during the season and his whole off-season raising awareness of this disease and raising money to help those who cannot help themselves. He is very outspoken about his faith, which is something that I find so amazing in today’s culture. I really admire his willingness to take a stand for Jesus and to use his celebrity to build The Kingdom.
Follower of Jesus Christ….Check.
Spends his life helping others….Check.
Making a difference for The Kingdom….Check.
Total stud on the baseball field that is re-writing record books….Check.
I am proud to be a Cardinals fan and you will find me cheering for Albert Pujols for many reasons….some of which have nothing to do with baseball. I also cheer for Albert as a human being and a brother in Christ who is doing amazing things with his life and impacting others for Jesus.
Worship Leader Probs 
Really? You, a baseball fan?
I never would’ve guessed!
Good post – BTW.
Seriously? And you think I am infatuated with a baseball player? Albert is good and had no clue about his faith. I guess I can’t be totally upset when he destroys my Reds now.
By the way, a friend of mine has a nickname for him: “Albert Pull my something or other”. . . I can’t remember it. I will try and figure it out and repost.
Here’s another great news story that was in the St. Louis paper today about Albert. Very moving…..
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/7D7ACFDA2AD03624862574790014BC26?OpenDocument
The Cards really stink. I think they got beat by the Cubs like 50 – 1 or something on July 3rd. How did your Boy Albie do?
I must admit your passion about Albert really comes through on your blog. I think you might have a man crush on the dude!!
And you have concerns about going on a golf trip with a couple of friends – I think they should read this post first as they may be a little concerned in spending time with you. — Maybe you should consider a roll away or a separate room altogether.