BATTIN' 1000
The American Life League (ALL) has an ambitious plan to build a "Campus for Life" in northern Virginia, and an ambitious plan to fund it. The Campus for Life will bring people together from all over the world in order to educate them about life issues and activism. The method of funding the campus could fill a large hole in the domestic pro-life movement.
Unlike those in the movie, music, and many other industries with celebrities, sports professionals are often conservative religious people with pro-life views who are willing to air them. ALL's Battin' 1000 is gathering current and former Major League Baseball players and managers to raise money for the Campus for Life and to spread the pro-life message.
"I have had a proactive position in the pro-life movement for a number of years," said Jose Alvarez, former pitcher for Atlanta. "I have served on the active board and an advisory board of a crisis pregnancy center in Greenville, S.C. It takes care of the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of women."
When Battin' 1000 organizers asked him to join, Alvarez said, "I was willing. I think a lot of guys are willing to take a stand."
"Battin' 1000 is a unique national pro-life initiative designed around the theme of baseball. It seeks to promote a culture of life through the endorsements and engagement of major league personalities," says the project's literature. "Battin' 1000 is also a campaign that aims to raise funds to support American Life League's Campus for Life. The format mirrors the major league through the establishment of 30 teams, in friendly fund-raising competition complete with baseball paraphernalia and imagery."
Battin' 1000 Vice President Jim Sedlak explained that each "season," the 30 teams-based in cities with MLB teams-will compete to raise money. "The season has started," he said. "We're going to operate from now until September." Each team will have a local "owner." "These team owners will put on events in their communities," he said. "Ballplayers who used to play for the [MLB] team in that community or who currently live there will be invited."
Sedlak said that 66 acres in Stafford, Va. have been purchased and set aside for the Campus for Life, which ALL hopes to open in 2006 or 2007.
Sal Bando, former All-Star and chairman of Battin' 1000, said that no one has sought to organize pro-life baseball players before. "I don't think sports is all in tune with what is politically correct and incorrect," he said. "The only area which is really active is race relations. No one has ever asked them before." Current players and managers on board with Battin' 1000, Bando said, include Travis Lee and Lou Piniella of Tampa, Woody Williams of St. Louis, and Tony Graffanino of the White Sox.
"More than 90 former and current players have endorsed Battin' 1000, including six Hall of Famers, 20 All-Stars, a former commissioner, one former and one current owner, and a former team president," reports Battin' 1000. "Representatives for 27 of the 30 major league franchises are now involved."
The Campus for Life will be divided into several subdivisions. "The School of Bioethics will form the foundation of the scientific research and science-based instruction of the campus. Headed by biologist, educator and theologian Rev. Joseph Howard, Jr., the Bioethics School will provide students with an essential understanding of how science supports the material, the cultural and the spiritual/moral aspects of the pro-life position. An integral part of the research component will be the Culture of Life Library. For the first time ever, the pro-life movement will have one centralized resource where virtually every book, treatise, article or monograph addressing any aspect of the pro-life dialogue can be accessed."
The School of Life Leadership will teach people how to convince others of the pro-life position, and the School of Communications "will provide ample opportunity for hands-on experience with mass communication techniques and practices," says Battin' 1000.
Battin' 1000 member Gene Walter, former pitcher, said, "The basis of my faith made me decide to sign up. When Christ says something, I think it ought to be supported." He said that one thing he favors is an emphasis on alternatives to abortion. "There are a lot of couples who would love to adopt," he said. The only way to end abortion, he said: "You have to change the hearts of people."
Alvarez said that though it is not the main thrust of Battin' 1000, he expected to influence young people. "I'm not ashamed to say that life begins at conception and abortion is wrong," he said.
Battin' 1000 may be reached at ALL, 1179 Courthouse Rd., Stafford, Va. 22554 (540-659-4171; website: www.battin1000.org)
