Mormon Baseball Hypocrisy
Utah Little League Team Refuses to Play Sunday
Officials rule for forfeit after players, who are primarily Mormon, choose to skip game.
By Dan
Arritt, Times Staff Writer
August 8, 2006
The Snow Canyon Little League
team of Santa Clara, Utah, took a stand in support of its religious beliefs
Sunday night at the Western Regional tournament in San Bernardino. Little League
officials responded with a stance of their own.
Snow Canyon, whose players are primarily Mormon, voted against playing its
scheduled pool-play game against a team from Las Vegas. Western Regional
officials then met Monday morning and ruled that Snow Canyon must forfeit the
game.
"We weren't going to change the
schedule for their sake," said Jim Gerstenslager, director of the Western
Regional. "If we did that, than we'd have to do it for the Seventh-Day
Adventists, for the Jewish … Pretty soon, we wouldn't be able to put on a
tournament."
Snow Canyon, made up mostly of 12-year-olds, was the first team to qualify for
the six-team West Regional, which is the final qualifying tournament for the
Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Kyle Frei, manager for Snow Canyon, said that shortly after his team won the
state championship July 14, he learned the Utah state winner was slotted to play
Sunday evening in the tournament's opening weekend. Calls were made to Western
Regional headquarters in an effort to change the game time, but officials
wouldn't budge.
"We had everyone in Utah calling and leaving messages," Frei said. "But they
weren't going to change."
Gerstenslager said he didn't know Snow Canyon wanted to move its game time until
late Friday night. However, even if he had known about the conflict sooner,
nothing would have changed.
Frei was hoping Little League officials would be more flexible. The forfeit
dropped Snow Canyon to 0-2 and into last place in the pool. Only the top four
qualify for the semifinals.
"Right at the top of the brackets it says, 'Subject to change,' " Frei said. "I
thought maybe we'd have the chance to get something done."
Nevada Coach Dave Hernandez said he understood Utah's desire to change the game
time and was more than willing to make accommodations.
"This country was founded on religious freedom, and we respect their decision,"
he said. "As far as all the stuff Little League did, it's out of my hands."
John Rosengren, a Minnesota writer and author of several books about sports and
religion, said Snow Canyon "is integrating a dose of sanity, but they seem to be
looked at like pariahs. It makes perfect sense not to play baseball on a day
that's set aside for family and worship."
Sports and religion have been colliding ever since British runner Eric Liddell
refused to run on the Sabbath during the 1924 Olympics, a story that was
eventually told in the Oscar-winning movie "Chariots of Fire." Dodgers pitcher
Sandy Koufax refused to pitch on the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur during the 1965
World Series, and Brigham Young offensive lineman Eli Herring passed on a large
signing bonus by the Oakland Raiders and a potential lucrative NFL career
because, as a Mormon, he did not wish to play on Sundays.
And two years ago, Todd Miller, a BYU junior and the son of PGA legend Johnny
Miller, decided not to play the final round of the Utah amateur state
championships because it was scheduled on a Sunday. He hoped tournament
organizers would postpone the match until the following day; Miller was forced
to forfeit.
Frei, 38, said his players were taking the forfeit in stride, as most
12-year-olds do. They spent Monday at Ontario Mills mall and prepared for their
game Monday night against Hawaii.
Tim Apple, whose son Taylor plays for Snow Canyon, said the choice was probably
more stressful for the parents.
"There are some among the parents that want to play and some that didn't want to
play," Apple said. "So, there has been kind of a wedge."
Former Mormon missionary bids for job as Marlins closer
February 21, 2007
Associated Press
JUPITER, Fla. -- Idaho native Matt Lindstrom might be the hardest-throwing Swedish-speaking former Mormon missionary in baseball.
It's a large leap from Stockholm to the big leagues, but Lindstrom has a shot at becoming the Florida Marlins' closer this season.
A fastball clocked last fall at 102 miles per hour makes the rookie right-hander a strong candidate, and his missionary background may help, too.
Lindstrom spent two years in Sweden, where he went door to door trying to spread the Mormon faith in Swedish with decidedly mixed results.
He was once chastised by a 350-pound bus driver who said Mormons try to steal money.
In comparison, nursing a lead in the ninth inning might seem stress-free.