I have to confess to a personal bias as I review this book. I’m a Chicago Cubs fan, and should pan any book about a player for our arch rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. However, I laid my baseball (and his recent contract negotiations) aside and read the book Pujols. Somewhere in all the stats is a story but I had a hard time finding it. That Pujols is statistically one of the greatest hitters in baseball is indisputable, and the book follows the year-by-year progression of a player who hit over .300, drove in over 100 runs, and hit over 30 home runs in his first 10 seasons. Lamb and Ellsworth take us deeper; into the faith that motivates Pujols. The narrative is strong in baseball history but really skims the surface of Pujols’ life, marriage, and family. The authors assert Pujols faith and its evidence in his life and in baseball. ”Speaking to Posnanaski, Pujols laid it all out on the table for us to see: ‘You know how I want people to remember me? I don’t want to be remembered as the best baseball player ever. I want to be remembered as a great guy who loved the Lord, loved to serve the community and who gave back. That’s the guy I want to be remembered as when I’m done wearing the uniform. That’s from the bottom of my heart.” It’s difficult to argue with the expressions of Albert’s faith, but the narrative of his life is sorely lacking in details. Pujols’ daughter was born with Down’s syndrome. How did he and his wife feel when they learned the news? What did Albert feel when he held his daughter in his arms, as he watched her grow up? The book's most telling stat may be that 92% of those who find out they are having a child with Down’s syndrome abort the baby. The book does well in letting the reader know what a great player and strong Christian Albert is yet manages to do so without letting us really know Albert Pujols, the man. Maybe if I knew more of that man I could put my baseball bias aside and truly believe in him, and maybe others would be able to read this book and believe in Him. While the book holds up statistically I did not find it particularly inspiring and would be hesitant to recommend it to others as a testimony. I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I am under no compulsion to write a positive or negative review of this book. The opinions expressed are exclusively my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
