Baseball and the Bible
Fun podcast discussing baseball and baseball training. We will also be getting into the Bible and doing weekly devotionals.
Baseball and the Bible
Hall of Fame Generosity
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This episode beautifully weaves together America's favorite pastime with timeless biblical principles, reminding us that generosity is far more than writing checks or making donations. Drawing from 1 Timothy 6:18 and the example of baseball legend Albert Pujols, we're challenged to reconsider what it truly means to live generously. Pujols didn't just dominate on the field with 3,384 hits—he made it clear that his legacy off the field mattered more. Through his foundation supporting people with Down syndrome and families in the Dominican Republic, he demonstrated that generosity flows from using whatever God has blessed us with to serve others. The wisdom of Proverbs 11:24-25 echoes throughout: when we give freely, we gain even more; when we refresh others, we ourselves are refreshed. This isn't about having wealth or platforms—it's about recognizing that our time, energy, and talents are gifts meant to be shared. Whether sitting with someone who eats alone or helping a struggling teammate, every act of generosity honors God and fills us with a peace money cannot buy. We're invited to examine our own lives and ask: are we living with open hands, ready to give as Christ gave?
Welcome back to another episode of Baseball and the Bible. I'm Riker Dotson here with my father, Ryan Dotson. Hope y'all are having a good time. We're having a great time because right now we're out of town. So we had to pre-record this episode.
SPEAKER_00So we did. Yeah, we're recording this a few weeks early. I will say the stadium, I mean the stadium, the the studio St. Louis has never looked better. Looks looks great today. Heavy St. Louis theme since we are out of town and not doing any current events. What better way to fill some time than discuss something we know well? So again, I don't know where we're at on vacation when we're gonna air this one, but maybe we're on a stadium tour. We'll see. But uh we're doing something in the summer. But we're gonna do a little continue our stadium talk.
SPEAKER_01Stadium talk, then we're gonna do an old school player of the week and our devotion.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So all right. So hope you guys are doing good. Gonna do some reading today. I'm gonna read out of our our ballpark book that we've been going through. Riker's gonna read out of our devotion.
SPEAKER_01So this has essentially just become a reading podcast.
SPEAKER_00It's a reading podcast today. All right. Uh we're gonna start again. We are heavy cardinals theme today. We've we haven't done this one yet. We've done some other stadiums, but today is the day that we do highlights Busch Stadium. Bush Stadium. Bush Stadium, the third, the third installment of uh Bush and Bush Stadium. So uh I'm gonna read about it here. A little facts, something we know, and we know the stadium well. And they're multiple times, and they're a lot. Uh I've been to the second Bush Stadium probably more, but still been to this one a lot. Your first game was uh at this stadium, yeah, and and you were six months old.
SPEAKER_01And so was it Santa Theory to take me? Because aren't big aren't like when you're really young, are you like more vulnerable to not that young?
SPEAKER_00If it was like six days old, maybe, but even then, you know, live a little. Live a little. But you were six months old, and there's a picture of you right there looking looking good and uh chubby, yeah. Sitting in that seat. But um that was your first game. It was opening day that year, and uh so your first game was an opening day cardinal game, which there's nothing like opening day in St. Louis. All right.
SPEAKER_01I don't remember a thing about that game.
SPEAKER_00Uh it's debuted. This the stadium opened in 2006. Um first Cardinals home run. Guess who it was? Who do you think the first Cardinal home run in the new stadium?
SPEAKER_01Okay, I don't know this, so uh, I might, I don't know, but uh Goldschmidt?
SPEAKER_00Uh it's not a bad guess, but he wasn't there yet. No, they weren't there yet. Albert Puholz, the obvious answer. Hit the first Cardinal home run. Uh capacity is 46,000, surface is grass, and it is, of course, an open roof. Uh in St. Louis, fans like to say, because it's true, that baseball heaven opened its gates in the spring of 2006 when Shiny New Bush Stadium was unveiled. And it certainly appeared as though the gods of the national pastime were smiling on the Gateway City, as every red seat seemed stuffed for every contest the first season, right up to the clinching game of the World Series. The Cardinals' 2006 season was a campaign, campaign for the ages. The inauguration of a new ballpark served as a prelude to an unlikely championship run. Twenty minutes after Cards closer Adam Wainwright fired strike three past Tiger Brandon Inge to clinch the title. St. Louis fans were still whooping it up inside Bush Stadium. Cardinals and their fans also deserved the new Bush Stadium. The club is one of baseball's most storied franchises, ranked only behind the Yankees in terms of World Series titles. Since 1966, the Redbirds have had played at Bush Memorial Stadium, which is which was built as a multi-purpose facility, but rarely hosted anything other than baseball after the NFL's Cardinals left town in 1988. When the new Bush Stadium was proposed, the Cardinals had visions of a development called Ballpark Village that would jumpstart a new downtown neighborhood. As in the case with many proposed ballparks, controversy boiled over the funding of the $365 million palace. In the end, the facility was privately financed, save for a government loan. There was no debate over the city's need for an economic boost, however, nicknamed the Gateway to the West. St. Louis had seen its population decline over five decades. This is not a good thing. I don't like this book. A trend that was symbolized by a listless downtown. But the opening of Bush Stadium promised to change the mood of the city. And indeed, by the time the ballpark opened, the former Garment District neighborhood with its upscale condo shops and restaurants was already in the midst of a transformation.
SPEAKER_01So I take it this book wasn't written by St. Louis. Making sure there's no more cardinals.
SPEAKER_00Slander. The ballpark's pedestrian walkway and the steel incorporated into the exterior are fashioned after the nearby Eades Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River. The walkway leads to an entrance that bears the pennants of St. Louis Championship Clubs and a statue of Hall of Famer Stan the Man Museum. With its inaugural grass field with this inaugural with its natural grass field resting below street level and no grandstand blocking the view, the buildings of the St. Louis skyline, most notably the fabled gateway arch, rise impressively beyond the green outfield fences. After Old Bush Stadium was bulldozed, which was a sad day, Clark Street was reopened, giving some a free peek into the new ballpark. While the outfield dimensions are similar similar to those of Old Bush Memorial, New Bush's foul ball areas are smaller. Every seat is colored cardinal red, a retro clock with two cardinals perched above a Butterweiser sign sit atop the right field scoreboard. Card fans embraced the new ballpark buying 3.4 million tickets that first season in the venue. The Cardinals responded with a mediocre 83 wins, which was still enough to win the NL Central. The Redbirds caught fire in October, however, and ended up winning the World Series. In 2011, the Cards repeated the feat, defeating Texas in seven games to clinch the franchise's 11th championship.
SPEAKER_01I do want to say, like, even though they were like, and the Redbirds got hot, I still feel like they were trying to bring us down with like a mediocre.
SPEAKER_00Well, we've talked about the 2006 team. It wasn't a great team. Um, but they got hot. They got hot. So there it is. I don't even know that this book did it justice of the glory and the beauty. We talked about the Stan Musual statue, which is, you know, Stan's jerseys over my shoulder here. But also there's all of the other Hall of Famers. Um, not Carl Sullivan, but like you have Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Ozzy Smith, Dizzy Dean, Enos Slaughter. There's a ton of statues right outside. Um, so it's there's history, reminders of history everywhere as you go through there. The ballpark village is great. People have since, you know, even the Rangers, you know, not saying the Cardinals were the the only ones that did it, but people are now starting to do that, where you have these little miniature city little miniature city where you're down there, and so you can go to ballpark village, that's where the Cardinals Hall of Fame is, and you can see see all that stuff. So um it is a great stadium. The view from home looking out over the outfield. Yes, you can see all the buildings and you can see the arch. It's a gorgeous view. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01You can see the hotel where we stayed in one time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yep. It's a beautiful stadium. Love it, been there many, many times. Big Mac Land. Uh great place to catch a game up there. Uh, really not a bad seat in the house. We've sat in the bleachers, we've sat close, we've sat in Big Mac Land.
SPEAKER_01Uh and do you remember Big Macland?
SPEAKER_00We did the tour. It's a beautiful, beautiful stadium. So love it. It is baseball heaven. If you haven't seen it, even if you're not a Cardinals fan, it's worth going there and checking it out. Anything else you want to add about the beautiful baseball heaven Bush Stadium?
SPEAKER_01No. I don't. I mean, that the arch is probably one of my favorites. Yeah, it's a great view. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Besides great view. Alright, in keeping with our Cardinals theme today, we're gonna highlight an old school player of the week before you read a devotion. Um, and we've had this is one of my favorite players growing up. His jersey's always hanging around in our studio, but uh Willie McGee, number 51. Willie McGee. I loved watching Willie play, and uh so we're gonna read a little bit about him and highlight the great Willie. Uh he was born November 2nd, 1958. Uh he's an outfielder, played 18 seasons in uh Major League Baseball for the Cardinals, the Oakland Athletics, the San Francisco Giants, and the Boston Red Sox from 1982 to 1999. He won two batting titles and was named Major League Baseball's 1985 National League MVP. McGee primarily played center field and right field, winning three Gold Glove Awards for defensive excellence. He spent the majority of his career playing for the Cardinals, helping them win the 1982 World Series. With his outstanding performance in Game 3, a four-time All-Star, McGee accumulated 2,254 hits during his career. He made his Major League Baseball debut May 10th, 1982 for the St. Louis Cardinals, and his last appearance was October 3rd, 1999 for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was a switch hitter through right. Had a career 295 batting average. As we said, 2,254 hits, 79 home runs. He wasn't a big home run guy. Baseball was different then, too. He was part of those 80s Cardinals, which was about speed, speed, speed, getting on base, stealing bases, playing defense. But he was a great hitter. He hit for average. 856 career runs batted in. Again, he played for the Cards. His first time was from 82 to 90. Then he went to the A's, finished up 90, and then he was with the Giants from 91 to 94, the Red Sox in 95. And then he came home 96 to 99 before retiring. Then he was a coach for the Cardinals from 2018 to 2024. And now he's in the front office for the Cardinals. I think he's an advisor. But he's he's there and he's constantly helping with the outfielders, like Victor Scott now and church, all these all these young outfielders that we have. He's just a great resource for those guys teaching them how to how to do it well. Again, he was a four-time All-Star, 83, 85, 87, 88. World Series Champ, 82, MVP 85. The Gold Gloves were 83, 85, 86. Silver Slugger, 85.
SPEAKER_0185 was a great year. Great year.
SPEAKER_00NL batting champ 85 and 90. And he is a member of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. How came wearing that red jacket. So and he all of those things, but just his personnel, I just he's a fan favorite. You know, people love, he is adored in St. Louis. Um, just everybody loves Willie McGee.
SPEAKER_01So if you're Billy's in St. Louis.
SPEAKER_00So that's our old school player of the week.
SPEAKER_01All right, now it's my turn to do the talking here.
SPEAKER_00Now you can do the talking and read, reading, and and do our devotion.
SPEAKER_01All right. This is uh one minute sports devotions for young baseball players, chapter 35. Um we're I think the player that we're talking about is pool holes. Yes, it is. Obviously, I did my studying now, but the verse is command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. First Timothy 6, 18. If you're into baseball, you've probably heard of Albert Pools. After 22 seasons, the once in a generation slugger stabbed 3,384 hits. He was the heartbeat of the St. Louis Cardinals dynasty that defined the 2000s and early 2010s in baseball. From the early from early in his career, Poohs made it clear he did not want to be known just for his power at the plate. I do not want people to remember me as a baseball player, he said in an interview. To me, off the field is more important than what I do on the field. Pooh's has followed through on that mission. In 2005, he launched the Poolholes Family Foundation. The organization supports people with Down syndrome and families in the Dominican Republic where Pooh's was born. Since then, it has hosted events for children and adults with special needs, run baseball clinics, and helped provide housing and medical care for those who need it most. But Pooh's does more than lend his name and sign checks. He stays personally involved, giving his time, energy, and heart. He's always using what God blessed him with to serve others. You might not have a foundation like Pooh's, but you can still live generously. You don't need tons of money or a big platform. It starts with using what you already have, like your time and energy. Generosity could look like sitting with someone who usually eats alone or sticking around after practice to help a teammate who's struggling with a class you've already taken. There's no standard formula for being generous, but every bit counts. God loves it when we give cheerfully. He wants us to share the blessings we've been given, whether big or small. When we give, it not only honors God, but also fills us with peace and happiness that money can't buy. Jesus lived a life of service and great and grave freely. Yeah. Jesus lived a life of service and grave freely.
SPEAKER_00Gave freely?
SPEAKER_01He says gave freely.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Reading is hard. Go ahead.
SPEAKER_01It is. Jesus lived a life of service and gave freely. When we give with that same spirit, we help uh we help others experience his love. I'm so good at this.
SPEAKER_00Well, it was going good until you end there. But what is that? What has there been a moment in your life? I we we haven't talked through this, but like we try to stress giving in our house who household and being generous. And um the old saying that it is uh better to give than to receive. Have you experienced that in your life where there's been a moment where you've given something or been generous in some way? Um it made you feel good.
SPEAKER_01This is a moral shame.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it is.
SPEAKER_01The answer is no, then we've got some more specific uh time.
SPEAKER_00Well, while you're thinking, let me read something because we're also we're at home, we're going through Proverbs right now, and this was uh one we had read a few days ago, but as you're reading it reminded me, there's a lot of stuff in Proverbs, obviously, Book of Wisdom, but there's a lot of stuff in there about being generous and giving. But these verses jumped out to me. But uh Proverbs 11, uh verses 24 and 25. One person gives freely yet gains even more. Another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Generous person will prosper. Doesn't mean a generous person will be rich, but a generous person will prosper in in every way. But um again, I think when we think generosity and when we think giving finances or money is a big part of that, but as you read in the devotion, it's not the only part of it.
SPEAKER_01It's like you said, it's mostly time.
SPEAKER_00Right, and so at 11, you're not gonna you're not you don't have much money to be giving generously, but you do have the option to do something with your time, uh, with your talents, and so we'll let you off the hook here, but it's you need to well, I'm sure I have something.
SPEAKER_01Don't hey, I don't want everybody thinking I'm a bad person, okay? I'm I'm a good person.
SPEAKER_00No, no, no, you are a good person, it's not a matter of that, but uh it's an area that we we try to model it, you know, and so I it's just an important thing. So whether you're 11 or 45, I mean, we always want to be striving to be generous um uh people, right? And we want to have that spirit of generosity, like Albert. Albert's done a ton of great things. He still does, even though he's retired, still doing a lot of charity work in St. Louis and in California, where he was for a while. Um, a lot of work with Down syndrome, a lot of work uh back home for his home in the DR. Uh so he's a very generous guy, was his entire career and continues to be. And he was one of those guys that won the Roberto Clemente Award that we've talked about for his uh charity work and giving work. So um great guy, great reminder in that devotion that we always need to be looking for ways to be generous. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Where I was going with that earlier is when we give, there's just nothing. There's not much. Well, there's no, there's not a it's hard to find a better feeling than that. I'm trying to say it the right because it's just usually when you're giving to somebody, you're not doing it for the return, but you you do get a return. I mean, there's just you know, part of the way the Lord refreshes you is just even whether it's even that moment or down the road, there's just uh not a better feeling than that.
SPEAKER_01So offering.
SPEAKER_00That's my yeah, you you give in the offering.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I do give offering, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And and that's that's a good thing. And we want to even find ways beyond that, you know, where we can be generous again with our money. That's one way you can do it with your money, but then with your time, uh, your talents, all those things. Okay.
SPEAKER_01I do want to say this podcast has been a testament that we do this in one take and we don't edit things out.
SPEAKER_00Why is that?
SPEAKER_01I mean, I said grave. I kind of was put on the spot there, didn't know what to say. It's just kind of it's been a fun podcast. It's been good. It's been good.
SPEAKER_00All right. Well, we we did it. Hopefully you guys have a good week, good Sunday. We're enjoying ourselves wherever we're at, and um we'll be back next week, probably with more current events, right?
SPEAKER_01Hopefully, yeah.
SPEAKER_00All right. Um if you haven't had a chance yet, you know, checking out the Parker Bird episodes, go back and check those out. Um anything else we want to highlight? Share a comment, share a comment, hit the ding bell, all that stuff. All right. Go cards. Pray us out, son.
SPEAKER_01Let us pray. Lord, thank you to you today. Thank you to us for another podcast where we can come in this room and honor you, Lord. I just thank you for uh a fun podcast. Lord, I just pray that uh we would all uh just take away from this episode that that you love generous people, Lord. That you uh appreciate a cheerful giver. Like you said, Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.
SPEAKER_00See ya next time.