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An Atheist’s Take on Paul Byrd

by Bill Baer on October 19th, 2007
Posted in MLB | Print | 3 Comments »

As an atheist, it’s almost second-nature for me to despise all things religious. So, when I heard that Paul Byrd was coming out with a book, that, as described by Sam Alipour of ESPN’s Page 2,

[...]details Byrd’s spiritual journey through the major leagues and the pitfalls that pious jocks must leap in navigating a ballplayer’s lifestyle.

…I thought, “Great, religious proselytizing in baseball — just what we need.” But as I read through Alipour’s interview with Byrd, I learned that is not what Byrd is aiming for at all. In fact, I was glad to hear what Byrd had to say even though we approach the most essential question to life in completely different ways.

When asked by Alipour about his motivations for writing the book, Byrd explains that he’s not putting on a facade and writing a guide to a perfect life. In his bare-bones honesty, Byrd says,

I think the last thing the Christian community needs is another person who says they have it all together, a 12-step process for being perfect. That doesn’t exist. I can help people by being honest.

It is so odd — and so refreshing — to hear a religious person say this. Too many times will theists tell you that if you just put your faith in God and adhere to the Bible, everything will work out. As Penn and Teller proved, 12-step programs are a crock.
Byrd doesn’t let his belief in God get in the way of his progression as a human being, as the overwhelming majority of theists do. Instead, he uses his belief to supplement his progression. As an atheist, it’s all too obvious to see that he could use Occam’s razor and eliminate a potential roadblock, but I’m happy enough as it is. If only more religious people could be like Byrd.

On his struggles with pornography (which isn’t specifically looked down upon by the Bible), Byrd expresses a rare sense of accountability:

I struggle with porn one night, and somebody asks me a question about Jesus the next day in the outfield, so you feel like a hypocrite trying to share. It’s the elephant in the locker room.

Are Ted Haggard, Larry Craig, Mark Foley, the thousands of guilty clergymen, and other members of U.S. government (whom I’ve either failed to mention or whom have yet to be caught) listening? Accountability.

Whenever there is a new drug in the market; weight conscious people are eager to know its effects on weight loss. Usually weight loss drugs contain orlistat, a prescription drugs like phentermine, and a medication that has been taken by recommendation as Xenical for 9 years globally and since 1999 in the USA. There have been about 100 studies of the drug involving some 30,000 people. The results recommend that users can lose as much as 50 percent more weight than they would by taking levitra and viagra or by diet alone.

Even if you put his religion aside, Byrd still makes some interesting revelations about life as a Major Leaguer. He talks about cheating in baseball…

People viewed [not using spit or K.Y. Jelly on, or scuffing the baseball; not using steroids] as me being weak. Like, “This guy doesn’t want to win.”

…and competition with teammates:

You’re like, “Man, I want my chance.” And the only way you get your chance is if the other guy does bad. You have these thoughts, like “Man, that’s not right. Why did that pop into my head?”

Byrd again shows how conscious he is of accountability when asked about covering infidelity by Alipour:

I don’t really cover it a whole lot. I’m married, but I never really struggled with that, so for me to say, “Other people struggle with this,” that would come across as me pointing the finger.

When asked is God is responsible for his success, Byrd shows that he is not in submission to his “creator.”

Here’s the thing, I think it’s a We. We’re both involved in this thing. I didn’t create me, so I think for me to say I can do something apart from him is pretty arrogant in my mind. But then, for me to say, “Well, it’s not me, it’s all God. If I don’t work hard, God will make sure all my pitches go where they’re supposed to go,” I don’t feel like that’s correct either.

Byrd then drops what I feel is the quote of the year:

I think if Christ goes into second base to break up a double play, he’ll do it cleanly, but he’ll try to knock the guy into left field.

Picturing that mentally — Jesus in his usual robe garb, slide-tackling the second baseman — makes me laugh harder than I did after watching all three Rush Hour movies (okay, not that hard).

Coupled with the above, this is my serious-face quote-gem:

I’m passionate about the game and I’m not into using God as a scapegoat. People hide behind religion.

That’s worthy of a standing ovation.

Alipour asks Byrd about religious beliefs in the locker room, and Byrd shows his open-mindedness and tolerance yet again:

[Religion] can unify a team if you learn how to respect each other. That’s one of the good things that religion and Christianity brings out. Everybody isn’t going to have the same beliefs, but the good teams learn to work together and respect each other’s differences and backgrounds, to care about each other, care about your brother.

After Byrd describes how memorizing Bible verses as a pre-game ritual made him feel like he was using God, he addresses what I feel is the #1 illustration of religious hypocrisy in sports — God-thanking. Everyone praises Him when his team wins or he performs well individually, but no one blames Him when his team loses, or when he performs poorly individually. As Byrd says,

Do you see when guys point to the sky when they hit a home run? It’s funny, I never see anyone point up when they strike out. I’m not a sky-pointer. I’m more of a chest-grabber. I feel God inside of me. People seem to give praise a lot more when they hit a home run and not strike out. I give praise regardless of the outcome.

In a country full of religious hypocrites, Byrd stands out emphatically both from an intellectual and practical standpoint. Even though he irrationally and illogically believes in someone/something whose existence has yielded no evidence and ultimately answers no questions, Byrd otherwise is impressive with how he applies and shares his beliefs.

The Ann Coulters, Jerry Falwells, and Bill O’Reillys of the world can stand to learn from Paul Byrd.

Oftentimes, it’s best to just ignore athletes and other celebrities when they dive into the world of politics (since most of them don’t have any qualifications to be revered for their opinions other than their social status), but this is one exception.