Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski. Dutton. 400 pages. 2023
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I was given this book by my wife’s aunt (herself a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan). Her husband had read and enjoyed the book and he thought I would enjoy it was well, which I did.
In this book, Joe Posnanski counts down the 50 most magical baseball moments, those moments that have for more than a century made people fall in love with baseball. In addition to the 50 magical moments, he interrupts the countdown with five bonus baseball memories. These are five unlikely homers, five baseball trick plays, five baseball moments that melt the heart, five blunders that will never be forgotten, etc. In all, the book includes 108 moments and memories. The author also includes a reason to love baseball for every team in baseball, based on a survey completed by more than four thousand fans.
Posnanski ranks Henry Aaron’s 715th home run is the most magical moment in baseball history, a moment at the heart of why we love baseball.
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BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Truths We Confess by R.C. Sproul
I’M CURRENTLY READING….
Some of the magical moments that I most enjoyed were:
David Freese Lives His Best Life
Babe’s Called Shot(s)
“I Don’t Believe What I Just Saw!”
Two Clemente Throws
The Bo Throw
Perfection
Ozzie Becomes the Wizard
The Shot Heard Round the World
I think this book would be enjoyed by all baseball fans.
- Study, Savor and Share Scripture: Becoming What We Behold. My wife Tammy has published a book about HOW to study the Bible. The book is available on Amazon in both a Kindle and paperback edition. She writes “Maybe you have read the Bible but want to dig deeper and know God and know yourself better. Throughout the book I use the analogy of making a quilt to show how the Bible is telling one big story about what God is doing in the world through Christ. Quilting takes much patience and precision, just like studying the Bible, but the end result is well worth it.”
Won’t you read along with us?
We are reading through Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith by R.C. Sproul. From the Ligonier description:
“The Westminster Confession of Faith is one of the most precise and comprehensive statements of biblical Christianity, and it is treasured by believers around the world. R.C. Sproul has called it one of the most important confessions of faith ever penned, and it has helped generations of Christians understand and defend what they believe.
In Truths We Confess, Dr. Sproul introduces readers to this remarkable confession, explaining its insights and applying them to modern life. In his signature easy-to-understand style and with his conviction that everyone’s a theologian, he provides valuable commentary that will serve churches and individual Christians as they strive to better understand the eternal truths of Scripture. As he walks through the confession line by line, Dr. Sproul shows how the doctrines of the Bible—from creation to covenant, sin to salvation—fit together to the glory of God. This accessible volume is designed to help you deepen your knowledge of God’s Word and answer the question, What do you believe?”
This week we look at WCF 21: Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day. Here are a few helpful quotes from the chapter:
- The Old Testament record of creation shows that God’s work of creation extended through six days, and that He rested on the seventh day and hallowed it. Because of that account in Genesis, the majority report throughout church history has been that God did sanctify the Sabbath day in creation.
- But from the resurrection of Christ, the Sabbath was changed into the first day of the week, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.
- The confession calls on people not only to keep the Sabbath day holy but to prepare for the Sabbath day—an idea that has been all but completely eclipsed in our culture today. The preparation was both a physical and a spiritual preparation for the enjoyment of the Sabbath day.
- The church, through the ages, has followed Jesus’ teaching by permitting works of mercy and works of necessity on the Sabbath.
- The primary focus of the Sabbath day originally was to provide rest for people. So, it is not best to say that our whole time has to be taken up with worship and doing works of necessity and mercy. There is also time to enjoy fellowship and to rest.
