MLB LCS, etc.

Hello! First of all, just an interesting tidbit about Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday, a Christian. His senior year of high school, he was rated one of the four best high school quarterbacks in the country, along with fellow Christians Carson Palmer (now with the Bengals) and Drew Henson. Palmer (at USC) and Henson (at Michigan) went on to be two of the top college quarterbacks when they played. But I think that Holliday, who is one of the two leading candidates for the NL MVP and won the NLCS MVP, made a good choice going with baseball. Here's the article: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/1011holliday1011.html (originally found at: http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071012&content_id=2262438&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp).

Here's an article with more information about Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano's (a Christian) new biography The Big Z: The Carlos Zambrano Story. Here's a couple of quotes from him:

''At first, nobody thought I would become anything like the baseball success I became,'' Zambrano said. ''I was too clumsy and skinny. So I started out as a benchwarmer who played only during garbage time.

''But thanks to my faith in God, my hard work and God-given talent, I became what some people call a big star.'' ...

''But remembering where I came from keeps me humble,'' he said. ''Hopefully, my book will inspire other kids who started out poor like me that they can also be a success with talent, hard work and faith in Jesus Christ.''

Here's the article: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/598309,CST-SPT-bigz11.article (originally found at: http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071012&content_id=2262438&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp).

Next, an article on another baseball book, Pitching with the Papelbons, which was written about the Papelbon brothers to raise money for a good cause. The Papelbon brothers are Jonathon, who's the Red Sox closer, and his younger twin brothers Josh, who pitches for the Red Sox Class-A Greenville Drive, and Jeremy, who pitches for the Cubs Class-A Peoria Chiefs. The book is to raise money for the C2 Mission Foundation, which "benefits children and families affected by cerebral palsy and cystic fibrosis." Here's the article: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071012&content_id=310491&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp and here's the book's website: http://www.pitchingwiththepapelbons.com/.

Here's an inspiring article about a girl who's a college golfer despite many physical problems. Katie Walker was "born with a heart murmur, one kidney, an improperly formed gastrointestinal tract and a missing tibia in her left leg that eventually led to it being amputated." However, with a prosthetic leg, she's able to play golf and is a freshman on the golf team at Cal State Bakersfield. Here's the article: http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2007/10/13/walker_1014.html

Also, a good quote from Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, a Christian, about the Rockies amazing run the last month to end the regular season and through the post-season so far:

"Faith," Hurdle said, "is believing in things that you can't see, you can't touch. From a sporting mentality, there's certain things you just gotta believe in. Man, you just hold onto them. You keep fighting the fight, and you just keep showing up.

"Our players have been so good at that."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071013&content_id=2264711&vkey=ps2007news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Here's an article about Indians outfielder Trot Nixon, a Christian, and the importance of both his leadership and example to the young Indians team this year, which helped them reach the ALCS: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071014&content_id=2265615&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle&partnered=rss_cle.

Next, an article about the importance of Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, a Christian, as the leader of the pitching staff. The pitchers give him all the credit, while he always says that it was the pitchers, not him. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071014&content_id=2265434&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos.

Here's an article about Diamondbacks pitcher Micah Owings, before pitching game 4 of the NLCS against the Rockies, about his ability as both a pitcher and a hitter. He was one of the best if not the best hitting pitcher in baseball this season. Here's a quote about his hitting prowess this year:

There was the Aug. 18 game Owings started in Atlanta in which he connected for two home runs and two other base hits on his way to a six-RBI game, the most RBIs in a game by a pitcher in more than five years. He also scored four times in the game.

Then came that start in Pittsburgh, where on top of limiting the Pirates to four base hits, Owings contributed four hits and three RBIs in the winning effort.

"I just enjoy being in the box," said Owings, who hit .322 in his two collegiate years. "I've been blessed to play the game not only as a pitcher, but to be able to swing it, too. Whenever I get in there, I enjoy it."

Owings finished the season with a .333 average, 11 extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in 60 at-bats.

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071014&content_id=2265961&vkey=ps2007news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Also, a good Christian article about Rockies pitcher Jeremy Affeldt from Lee Warren of The Christian Sports Blog. The article was from a couple of years ago when he was with the Royals. Here's the article: http://christiansportsblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/jeremy-affeldt-adventurous-christian.html.

Here's an article about Washington High School (Indiana) senior basketball star Tyler Zeller, a Christian, and his recent recruiting visit to Notre Dame. His older brother Luke, also a Christian, will be a junior on the Notre Dame team this year. Zeller is also considering IU, North Carolina, and Purdue. Here's the article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071015/SPORTS0203/710150347/1057/SPORTS02.

Lastly, after Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a Christian, was taken out after 7 innings in game 6 of the ALCS Saturday night, he was interviewed during the 8th inning. When he left the game, the crowd in Boston gave him a standing ovation. Schilling could leave the Red Sox after the season as a free agent. Here's what he had to say about the fans' reaction (or something like this): "I want to thank God for the chance to pitch in front of these fans and for this organization."