St. Louis Cardinals remove Christian symbol from pitcher's mound | Bob's Blitz

St. Louis Cardinals remove Christian symbol from pitcher's mound

Michael Vine noticed something on the pitcher's mound at Busch Stadium. (He snapped the pic below, apparently from his TV.)


So, Vine wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper:

Derrick Goold wrote a piece in StLToday.com (June 23, 2013) about a Christian cross etched into the dirt of the pitcher's mound at Busch Stadium. It was I who called attention to the cross, along with what I took to be the image of something commonly known as the "Jesus fish" also scratched into the mound. Goold says that the latter is the number "6", a tribute to Stan Musial. If so, it's a very oddly shaped "6" (see attached photo) and, considering its proximity to the cross, would seem to be serving a dual purpose.

Goold lead his piece with the headline "Mound Tribute," as if there were nothing inappropriate about displaying religious iconography on the infield at Busch Stadium, a place of hallowed ground not just for Christians, but for Cardinal fans of all religions, including none at all.

And there's this to consider. According to the Post (http://bit.ly/1caTLMW), team owners are the beneficiaries of ticket and real estate tax abatements that will save them $143 million in payments to the city over 25 years, as well as $54 million in state incentives and a $45 million county loan.

The team and stadium may be privately owned, but a they are civic institutions. Out of respect to a devoted and diverse fan base who also has some skin in the game, not to mention a diverse group of players, ownership has a responsibility and obligation to prohibit religious symbols of any kind from being placed in the field.

FOX News picks it up from there:

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the image is the number ‘6’ in honor of Cardinals great Stan Musial who died in January. However, a longtime Cardinals fan (Vine) suggested the image looked like the “Ichthys” also known as a “Jesus Fish.”

General Manager John Mozeliak said he was unaware of the mound decorations until he was alerted by a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“Once we learned of it, I did contact the grounds crew and just asked that they don’t,” he told the newspaper. “It’s just not club policy to be putting religious symbols on the playing field or throughout the ballpark.”


Wonder if Wainwright will no longer be allowed to cross his shoelaces now.

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