More Godly Goodness

[Barry's wonderful post about religious shenanigans in the world of football got me thinking about other sports where athletes claim close, and often odd ties to the almighty. Here's my take on the religion of baseball.]

Baseball is America's national pastime, and in many ways epitomises the American Dream. Ballplayers come in all shapes and sizes, from all sorts of backgrounds, and with quite the range of views which traverse the political and cultural spectrum. Of course, in a country like the United States, and when we assemble men with a multiplicity of origins, religion tends to be quite prominent. America offers a plethora of quite often bizarre religious options, and this manifests itself in the often quirky and sometimes scarily devout behavior of ballplayers.

Josh Hamilton is an outfielder for the Texas Rangers, and one of the rising names in the sport. Having been hailed from a young age as a superstar in the making, he went off the rails, succumbing to a number of personal demons and falling prey to drugs. Having not played organised baseball of any sort for over three years, he astonished fans and commentators alike last year by making the Cincinnati Reds team out of spring training, and despite being injured for a portion of the year, finally making good on the promise he showed as a youngster. In the offseason he was traded to Texas, and has since taken his game to the next level. Hamilton is now a legitimate star nationally.

Josh Hamilton will soon be a very well paid man. In light of this fact, he recently made the odd decision of ditching his agent of the past two years, claiming that in a dream 'Jesus told him to switch agents.' Hamilton added that he wanted to be associated with a 'Christian stable of athletes.' This begs a number of questions. First of all, with negotiations over a long term contract upcoming, do you really think that a devoutly Christian agent will swing you a better deal? Secondly, how Christian is it to ditch the agent who oversaw your improbable rise to superstardom? Finally, what exactly constitutes a 'Christian stable of athletes'? Is this a nativity reference?

This sort of story is not isolated. Baltimore outfielder Luke Scott made headlines earlier in the year when it was revealed that he carries a Bible and a Glock pistol with him at all times. Scott, who changed his errant ways and was baptised in 2001, claims that 'My belief is to go out and preach the gospel to all corners of the Earth.' Scott claims that his gun is purely for self-defence, adding that: 'When you get shot and killed and you go to see Him, "Lord, I thought you were going to protect me." He’ll probably be like, "Well, you can’t go walking into a freakin’ war zone."' Does this include when you are preaching the gospel to all corners of the earth?

Milwaukee pitcher Jeff Suppan is a Catholic who attended the Vatican's first ever sports conference in 2005. He said of meeting the Pope that “Kissing Pope Benedict’s ring and being in his presence caused my heart to jump with joy and changed my life forever.” Of course, knowing what we now know, sports fans in this part of the world would have made a beeline for Giovanni Trapattoni first, and the Pope second. Suppan is also a leading figure in the unfortunately acronymed Catholic Athletes for Christ [CAC]. Another CAC member, current Oakland Athletics bench player Mike Sweeney, is best remembered for being the aggressor in one of the most savage [and lets face it, enjoyable] brawls of recent years, when he charged the mound and laid into Jeff Weaver of Detroit in 2001. John Rodriguez, currently in the New York Mets organization, is another CAC member. He has the words "God No. 1" written on the brim of his cap, and kisses this before every game.

Judaism has a strong presence in the United States, although this has never translated to a huge number of Jewish ballplayers. However, there were still some very notable figures who found themselves in a bind over the question of observing Yom Kippur, the most important Jewish feastday, which calls for strict fasting and rest for twenty-four hours. It also generally coincides with the climactic point of the baseball season. In 1965 Sandy Koufax, the Hall of Fame pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, famously chose to sit out a World Series game in observance of the holiday. In 2001, with the Dodgers locked in a tight battle for a playoff berth and only a couple of games remaining, their star outfielder Shawn Green made the same decision, and observed the holiday. In cases like this, a player's faith can, in the sporting sense, be a hindrance to their performance.

Baseball draws fans and players from all backgrounds, but at the moment, there are no Muslim ballplayers in the major leagues (however, back at the height of its power, the Nation of Islam had a number of high-profile NBA stars). The story of Yu Darvish may change this however. Darvish is the latest sensation in Japanese baseball, and the son of an Iranian father who studied in the United States before settling in Japan after the Islamic Revolution. Darvish is widely expected to wind up in the major leagues and become a star on par with Daisuke Matsuzaka or Hideki Matsui (if not Ichiro), while at the same time pocketing the largest contract ever for a Japanese player coming to the Major Leagues. However, Darvish has claimed that his dream is to bring baseball to the people of Iran. This dream would obviously represent a unique confluence of cultures, with religion forming an interesting context. For his part, Darvish does not appear to be a practicing Muslim.
Prominent Mormon ballplayers include former MVP Jeff Kent, and former Cy Young award winner Roy Halladay. Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is that rarest of breeds, being both a Native American and a Mormon. For his part, Kent said that: 'I'm a Mormon . I don't do a lot of the off-the-field activities that athletes are known to do. And I guess I've created a world that is unlike the typical world of a professional athlete.' These off the field activities would appear to include claiming that you broke your wrist while washing your truck when in fact said injury was sustained while performing stunts on a motorcycle - in direct violation of a term in your contract. But that is just nitpicking.

While on the subject of religion, one must give an honourable mention to the man with the biblically inspired name, Elijah Dukes. Dukes's short career thus far has been marked by anything but heavenly behaviour. Last year, a story emerged of how he had threatened to kill his wife on more than one occasion, memorably sending a picture message to her phone of a handgun, with an accompanying voicemail informing her that 'You dead, dawg. I ain't even bullshitting. Your kids too.' Dukes has five children by five different women, and this by the age of twenty-two. Perhaps he should investigate converting to Mormonism?

This piece does not mean to make fun of religion or of people's religious beliefs. In professional sports, and life in general, whatever someone believes gives them an edge, or keeps them focused, or helps them to deal with certain situations, is obviously very important. However, with the more outspokenly religious amongst the baseball fraternity, oddities and curiosities seem to invariably follow. As discussed, religion can, in the sporting domain, be both a help and a hindrance. Above all else, it provides a talking point. Thank God.