Contact: David Schrader

Phone: (615) 251-2559
Fax: (615) 251-2701

Email: david.schrader@broadmanholman.com

WORLD SERIES PITCHER ANDY PETTITTE ON TARGET WITH STRIKEZONE

Four-time World Series winner pens TruthQuest™ book about integrity and purity for teenagers

Major League Baseball pitcher Andy Pettitte, revered by sports fans everywhere for his World Series years with the New York Yankees and now a starter for the Houston Astros, shares the spiritual nature of his success in StrikeZone: Targeting a Life of Integrity & Purity (Broadman & Holman, March 2005).

StrikeZone, co-written with Bob Reccord, president of the North American Mission Board, is the newest addition to the TruthQuest line of book and Bible products designed to draw teenagers closer to God.  In the book, Pettitte and Reccord share their engaging personal sports and ministry experiences respectively to address the concepts of sexual purity and spiritual integrity.

Pettitte, who made his professional sports debut in 1995 and went on to be a major contender for the Rookie of the Year award, is known throughout the Major Leagues for his diligent Christian faith.  New York Yankees chaplain George McGovern once said, “Andy has the admiration and respect of all the players whether they are Christians or not, because he’s Mr. Consistent in terms of his walk with God.”

In a chapter entitled “Guard Your Heart,” Pettitte likens the moral temptations kids are facing today to life on the pitcher’s mound:

“I hate giving up walks.  Nothing infuriates me more than starting an inning by giving some guy a free pass to first base.   In the big leagues, when you start handing out walks you’re just playing with fire…Some of you guys reading this right now are struggling in the area of purity because you’re giving (the devil) a free pass right into your life…the movies you watch, the music you listen to, your favorite television shows are all building a fire inside of you that you’re having trouble keeping under control.”

Each chapter of StrikeZone concludes with study questions that are appropriate for personal reflection and youth group discussion and will appeal to baseball fans in general as well.

Broadman & Holman is best known for publishing books by Dr. Henry Blackaby (Experiencing God) and Beth Moore (Praying God’s Word) as well as New York Times bestsellers Payne Stewart: The Authorized Biography, Lt.Col Oliver North’s Mission Compromised and The Jericho Sanction, and the Chuck Norris autobiography, Against All Odds.  The company’s Holman Bible Publishers division, established in 1738, has developed the new Holman Christian Standard Bible^â translation and is also the largest publisher of Spanish language Bibles in the United States.

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StrikeZone: Targeting a Life of Integrity & Purity – by Andy Pettitte & Bob Reccord with Mark Tabb; ISBN-10: 0-8054-3087-3; ISBN-13: 978-0-8054-3087-5; printed hardcover; 154 pages; $14.99

About the Authors:

Andy Pettitte was selected by the New York Yankees in the twenty-second round of the June 1990 draft.  After nine seasons with the Yankees (and four World Series titles), Andy “returned home” by signing with the Houston Astros.  Andy lives with his family in a suburb east of Houston, Texas.

Bob Reccord serves as president of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.  He is the author of the B&H book Beneath the Surface.