MLB.com Christmas Q & A's

Hi. I'm in the middle of reading through the now traditional MLB.com Christmas Q & A articles, one for each of the 30 teams. I've read through a little over 2/3 of them so far and have found some good ones. The first is about Tampa Bay shortstop Ben Zobrist. I think that I'd heard of his name, but that was about it, so I looked up his bio on MLB.com to find out some more. He was traded from the Astros organization last year in the Aubrey Huff trade, and then started in Tampa after that. He also went to college at Dallas Baptist. Here's a quote from the article:

MLB.com: Ben, what are some of the Zobrist family Christmas traditions?

Zobrist: Generally, we go the day after Thanksgiving and cut down our Christmas tree together. I didn't get a chance to do it this year with my family, but we've always done that in the past. Then on Christmas morning, we get up and read "The Christmas Story" first from Luke 2 in the Bible, then my dad prays for us and everything before we start opening presents. ...

MLB.com: Your wife is an accomplished singer. Does she have any plans to sing while in Eureka [hometown in Illinois]?

Zobrist: She will sing at our church once. And I don't know if she's singing anywhere else, but she's singing at church.

Here's the article: http://tampabay.devilrays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061219&content_id=1764210&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb.

Next, an article about Cardinals broadcaster Rick Horton. Here's a couple of quotes from the article:

Not only is he active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he has worked for Baseball Chapel, and is best known these days for his work on Cardinals television and radio broadcasts. ...

MLB.com: What's your favorite carol?

Horton: I think it's "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." There are two reasons. One is that it's central to the "Charlie Brown Christmas Special." But I also think the words in it really have the spiritual reminder for me of why that day is so important.

Here's the article: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061221&content_id=1765530&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl.

Also, an article about new Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Here's a quote:

MLB.com: What about the true meaning of Christmas?

Bochy: I think you realize what Christmas really is -- a time when Jesus came down here on Earth, and you are thankful for what you have. It's a time of giving, and we thank the Lord for our family and friends. It has special significance for all our family.

Here's the article: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061221&content_id=1765730&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf.

Here's an article about another player that I wasn't that familiar with, Nationals pitcher Micah Bowie. Also, there wasn't much information on his bio, either. But the article about him was great, and it seems like he's a good Christian guy. There's too much to quote here, as I'd have to pretty much quote the whole article. So you will just have to read the article yourself: http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061220&content_id=1765155&vkey=news_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was.

Lastly, for now, an article on Orioles 2nd baseman Brian Roberts. Here's a quote:

The popular Orioles second baseman is looking forward to getting his family together once more for the holidays and relaxing a little bit. Roberts is a religious man who spends loads of time with children in the Baltimore community -- time that's often out of the spotlight.

Here's the article: http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061218&content_id=1763488&vkey=news_bal&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal.

That's all for now. I'll send along more of the MLB.com Christmas articles later if there are any. I'll also add some back articles in another post later.