First Timothy and the first baseman

February 21, 2011 By

As I may have mentioned once or twice here, I’m the world’s biggest St. Louis Cardinals fan. A high percentage of my free time in the last week has been spent thinking about the contract negotiations between the Cardinals and one of my very favorite players throughout history — Albert Pujols.

If you’ve never been blessed with the opportunity to see Pujols in action, you should try to remedy that in the next few years. He combines power hitting with clutch performances to the delight of Cardinals fans around the country. He’s also, by all accounts, a seriously nice guy with excellent leadership skills. And that’s before we even get to the non-baseball stuff, like how he adopted his wife’s daughter who has Down Syndrome. His Pujols Family Foundation is dedicated to “the love, care and development of people with Down syndrome and their families” and aiding the poor in the Dominican Republic. He’s played his entire career with the Cardinals.

The thing is that his contract will be expiring and it’s a bit of a touchy situation. The Cardinals already have one of the most dedicated fan bases in the country. Whether they keep Pujols or not will have very little effect on their money-making. But with a player as good as Pujols, many teams would spend a lot of money to get him. Before he turned 30, he already ranked as one of the very best players in baseball history including in on-base and slugging percentage. Only one other person has ever hit more home runs in the first five years of their career. He was one of the youngest to hit 350 homers. He holds the Cardinals record for most grand slams, breaking Stan Musial’s record of nine. He’s also set the Cards’ record for most assists by a first baseman in a single game (yes, seven) and the National League record for most assists by a first baseman in a given season with 182.

Pujols is an outspoken evangelical and frequently talks about the role that faith plays in his work:

In spite of his accomplishments, Pujols has said he does not play solely for the numbers. “I don’t play for numbers. I play first of all to glorify God and to accomplish in this game what everybody wants to accomplish, which is getting to the World Series and coming up with a win at the end. Those are the things that I really try to focus on and try to make sure that I do every day for the rest of my career.”

These contract negotiations have been grueling for the organization and its fans. I thought about how interesting it would be to discuss the role of Pujols’ faith in all of this but didn’t even dare to hope that such a report would be forthcoming. Well, religion reporter Tim Townsend at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch did just that. And it’s great. You have to read the whole article since excerpting any of it runs the risk of giving the wrong impression. But I’ll just show you a couple of the ways he handles the big dilemmas for how Christians handle their role in the market:

But a particular group of Cardinals fans — made up of those who share Pujols’ faith — was asking a different kind of question. What does holding out for the largest contract in the history of baseball say about Albert’s Christian testimony? …

So as Pujols began looking to many like a typical mega-wealthy superstar athlete angling for a record payday, some have asked how Pujols’ public, God-fearing image squares with a private quest for wealth.

The Rev. Darrin Patrick, pastor of The Journey, a church in St. Louis that counts a number of professional athletes as members, said Jesus warned against greed.

“Nobody really confesses to that sin,” Patrick said. “Lust, anxiety — sure. But very few people say, ‘I’m greedy,’ and I absolutely think that (Pujols) should be on guard for that.”

The article then goes into a nice discussion of what 1 Timothy has to say about the “uncomfortable intersection of the New Testament and capitalism.” One Baptist pastor, the Rev. Scott Lamb, has written a book about Pujols’ faith. He talks about how the consumption mentality is very American but not very Biblical. Then we get a nice discussion about proportional giving and how it plays into the matter since the Pujols have been tithing since they were poor. Some groups stand to do very well if Pujols lands a major contract. See? A nice well-rounded report. Here’s a bit from the ending:

“I’ve never met anyone with more passion for serving, and serving poor than Albert,” [said Tony Biaggne, director of creative communications at The Crossing]. ..

“I reject any idea that a person’s Christianity should cause them to step away from what the market would demand for them,” said Lamb. “Albert will go down in history as one of the great ones — someone who grabbed the money, and gave it away at the same time.”

I always get nervous when reporters write about sports and religion. Some suffer from being too deferential. Others only know how to mock. This is a great example of asking some tough questions without presuming to know the answers. I also like how this story — ostensibly about a baseball hero — has a lot to say about how each of us might approach salary negotiations and what to do with our compensation.

Print Friendly

Filed Under: Baptists, Business & Economy, Evangelicals, Godbeat, Journalism, Sports
  • Roberto

    A nice discussion but those quoted seemed to think that “greed” was a temptation/stumbling block only when talking about the actions of labor. Capitalism also involves, well, capital, i.e., the companies that employ labor.

    I’m not referring to the Cardinals who are, by all accounts, a class outfit who probably can’t afford to pay Pujols what he can command in a free market. But if we ask Pujols “WWJD?” why not ask the same of the owners of companies who also take advantage of a free market?

    By limiting the piece to Pujols it came across as a kind of moralizing special pleading. Mind you, I want Pujols to stay in St. Louis.

  • http://www.getreligion.org Mollie

    Roberto,

    Good point. Let’s have the St. Louis Post-Dispatch do a follow-up!

  • Truth

    If you were a tile layers, would you not want fair market value for your services? Pujols isn’t being greedy, he’s just trying to get his worth. Its not his fault athletes get payed large amounts. Plus, we don’t know that he wanted the biggest contract ever, we just know he wants more than what the Cardinals have offered so far.

  • Julia

    There’s a business situation involving Pujols that would have made a better story about Pujols and Christian ethics – and it was not mentioned in this recent Post Dispatch article by Tim Townsend.

    Pujols is one of the wealthy athletes who made it possible for the only classical radio station in St Louis to be bought by a group turning it into a pop Christian station.
    KFUO won an award as the best classical station in the entire country, but the Lutheran MO Synod sold it to a Christian group whose solvency was guaranteed by a group of athletes. The St Louis/SW Illinois community had no notice it was up for sale and the Synod did not allow several groups to try to beat the sale agreement that was rather dicey.

    Here’s a link telling about Pujols involvement.
    http://www.stltoday.com/news/article_2b257bb0-efe7-5a29-a28d-e9608198b89c.html

    A further story as the battle over the radio station heated up.
    http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/culture-club/article_911c8aed-e7bc-5fba-919a-7e7a5ddf681e.html

    Accusations of lying on FCC filings & Pujols involvement:

    This is the second official allegation that one of the parties seeking the transfer of the license has – in plain language – lied on its application to the FCC.

    Gateway Creative Broadcasting claimed that it had required funding at the time of filing, but seems actually to have been in debt at that point. They later raised money and pledges through the efforts of former Cardinals pitcher Andy Benes and current Cardinals MVP Albert Pujols and their wives.
    Both seller and buyer say they want the license transfer in order to further their respective Christian missions.

    http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/culture-club/article_4ec2fb9f-cb63-5535-b04b-0c5abe724968.html

    Much of the fundraising muscle – and much of the actual money – came from former Cardinals pitcher Andy Benes and current Cardinals MVP Albert Pujols and their wives.

    If the FCC approves the sale, it will mean the probable end of classical music broadcasting in the St. Louis area

    http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/culture-club/article_4b21b1a4-94af-5cdc-95cf-eaff30e154ec.html

    The bad news when the FCC approved the contested sale:

    There were numerous objections to the sale. Petitions were filed by the Radio Arts Foundation (a successor to the Radio Arts Board, the organization that raised more than $800,000 to support classical programming on the station) and the Lutheran group the Committee to Save KFUO-FM. Many private individuals also wrote informally against the sale.

    Among the issues raised in the petitions were Gateway’s lack of financial qualifications; an illegal arrangement that would allow the synod to retain an interest in the station’s HD channel; missing required documentation; violations of FCC anti-discrimination laws by not offering to all buyers; and damage to the arts community with the loss of the station and its classical format.

    Several elected officials, including Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo., U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., and U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., also objected publicly to the sale.

    St. Louis Symphony Orchestra president Fred Bronstein said that the approval, “with its intended ultimate demise of the classical music format, is a sad event for St. Louis. What is heartening is how hard so many people in this community fought to save the station.” The SLSO’s final live concert broadcast will take place at 8 p.m. Saturday on KFUO.

    The sale has raised concerns about the future of the arts in St. Louis; KFUO has been a major conduit for getting out the message about cultural events.

    http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/culture-club/article_ff59cac2-18f3-5dc4-b509-9255bb49a8ba.html

    Why did nobody question the Christian ethics of Pujols and the other people involved in this questionable sale of the classical station that had been run by the Lutheran Synod for over 50 years?

  • http://www.PujolsBio.com Scott Lamb

    Great discussion Mollie — Thanks!

  • texag_98

    It would be interesting to know if Pujols theology followed the “name it claim it” line of theology. The other question is how good of a steward is he in regard to his financial blessings. The article makes reference to charitable giving but no hard numbers. Yet, I am not sure I want to know that fact, as I respect those who give quietly. They also do not cover the vocational aspect of using the moneys from baseball to create jobs through business ventures.

    I would also say his holding out could either be him talked into it by his manager or he could be falling for the temptation of greed. The article never really gives a clear view on the first, but does touch on the second.

    May also say, The Cardinals? WHY? I lived in St. Louis for three years and it made me despise them. The only thing I liked about them is the local sports bar had discounted pitchers during the cardinals game.

  • Truth Unites… and Divides

    I hope the SF Giants land Pujols. I wonder how the Bay Area media (which is affirming) would respond to Pujol’s evangelical faith.

  • http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/ Tim Townsend

    Thanks for singling this story out, Mollie. I loved writing it, and in general, I love writing about religion and sports. I didn’t talk to Pujols for this column (I tried), but I did for a story I wrote a few years ago about whether holding an evangelical Christian event at a MLB baseball stadium as part of that day’s game – Christian Family Day – was a good idea. The Cardinals pioneered that kind of event, and it’s now a regular feature in the schedule of a ton of professional sports franchises. Both Albert and Dee Dee were engaging when talking about their faith.

    I’ll also add, @Julia – it’s interesting that in your questions about “the Christian ethics” surrounding the sale of KFUO, the only P-D story you didn’t mention was the one written by the paper’s only religion reporter (http://bit.ly/dbVpAz). I’d be interested to hear how you think Pujols and Benes – two evangelical Christians – betrayed their “Christian ethics” by contributing money toward the purchase of a radio signal that, 1) the LCMS had already put up for sale, and 2) was to play evangelical Christian (CCM format) pop/worship music. I’d also like to hear how you think that situation would have been relevant to the story Mollie wrote about here.

  • Julia

    Tim:

    Your article about the sale of KFUO didn’t mention the questionable ethics that were being discussed at the Post Dispatch’s Culture Club blog and in the paper itself re:

    - No notice to possible other buysers given before the sale agreement was a fait accompli

    - False written statements given by the buyers about the fiscal situation of the buyer

    -The conflict of interest of the board member voting for the sale who also stood to reap big fees sheparding the sale

    - The controversial terms that didn’t require much money upfront from the buyers compared to the refusal of other offers with better financial terms up front

    - The rejection of all attempts to save the classical station which had been run by the Synod for many, many, many years

    Your article on the KFUO sale didn’t mention any of the folowing either:

    - The weekly Sunday programming on KFUO of sacred music in the early hours (beloved by choir singers of many Christian denominations) followed by Lutheran church services

    - The Lutheran heritage of sacred music that is now gone from the St Louis airwaves – check out the 5 centuries of serious, important music attributable to musicians of the “singing church” to be replaced by pop.
    http://www.lutheransonline.com/lutheransonline/music/

    It’s relevant because the subject is Pujols and money and Christian ethics. Ditto the sale of KFUO which he made possible. One of the major points of your recent article on Pujols was about what a a wealthy Christian should do with his money. Should Pujols have used his wealth to make the sale of KFUO happen?

    Pastors say the more important point for Pujols is not how many millions he makes, but how he spends those millions.

    “What you do with your money is a factor,” said Patrick. Pujols “has a track record of generosity that is without question. God does use money to help people, and I see God doing that with Pujols.”

  • http://middletree.blogspot.com James Williams

    Julia, I don’t understand why you think it’s unethical. They had a preference for Christian music, and were excited at this chance, and they took it. Feel free to start another classical station if you want. What you do with your money is your business, and nobody is going to judge you as being unethical if you choose to spend it on making another station into a classical one.

  • http://middletree.blogspot.com James Williams

    Regarding the contract itself: It’s not getting reported much, but the union is pressuring Pujols big-time to grab as much as he can,as it will affect the amounts that other players can sign for. Rarely has a player defied the union on this. Last I remember was Pudge Rodriguez in the 90′s, and he lost a lot of respect from fellow players, as if he let them down by taking less money than he could get. It’s a shameful mentality and is prevalent in many parts of the job force in the US.

  • Julia

    James:

    The point was the big, months’-long controversy in the St Louis area and in the Post Dispatch about the irregularities of the sale. The current article is about the ethics/morality of Pujols making loads of money. Isn’t it his right to make as much as he wants as well as spending it however he wants?

    The article covered here even quotes somebody as saying how Pujols spends his money is also important. I didn’t argue that his involvement in the sale and its irregularities was unethical/immoral; I was arguing that that 2010 dispute about how that sale occurred would have fit well into this article – especially since it had been such a public brou ha ha covered in the same newspaper.