LOS ANGELES, CA (ANS) -- Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, have co-authored a book titled Arise. To be published by Regal Books, Arise: Live Out Your Faith and Dreams on Whatever Field You Find Yourself will be released January 18, 2012, just days after the Kershaw’s return from a trip to Zambia and about a month before major league pitchers report for Spring training. While in Africa, the Kershaw’s will break ground for a new children’s home.

Clayton Kershaw pitching for the LA Dodgers

Clayton Kershaw was today (Thursday, November 17, 2011) named the winner of the 2011 National League Cy Young Award, an honor presented annually to the best pitcher in each league by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (www.bbwaa.com).

In 2011, Kershaw accomplished a rare feat, capturing the pitcher’s Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (21), earned run average (2.28) and strike outs (248).

According to a news release from Regal Books (www.gospellight.com), Kershaw has also been honored with the 2011 Gold Glove award, the Warren Spahn Award (for best left-handed pitcher), the Players Choice Award for Outstanding National League Pitcher and The Sporting News’s National League Pitcher of the Year award. He was also a member of the 2011 National League All-Star team.

As great as all of this is, there is much more. Clayton and Ellen Kershaw have hands-on involvement helping children around the world. They have launched Kershaw’s Challenge (www.kershawschallenge.com), personally giving $100 per batter that Kershaw struck out in 2011 to build a new children’s home in Zambia, where they work with the non-profit charity, Arise Africa (www.ariseafrica.org).

Book cover

For the Kershaw’s, giving is as important as winning. In fact, Clayton says that as we pursue our dreams, we need to build a relationship with God, build solid relationships with others and become givers from the start. Clayton says, “I want every pitch and every batter faced to be about something more than a game.”

In Arise, Clayton and Ellen tell their story so far—from meeting in junior high school in Texas, to eye-opening visits in Africa, to dreams come true in the Major Leagues. Clayton’s teammate and accountability partner, A.J. Ellis, pens the foreword. Ellen’s sister, Ann Higginbottom, helps shape their story into the printed word. And Dodger (www.dodgers.com) legendary pitcher Orel Hershiser and legendary announcer Vin Scully endorse this book that is written for anyone who dares to dream big!

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis writing about Clayton Kershaw in the foreword for Arise: “His [Clayton’s] passion for winning and supporting the success of his teammates is genuine, and this is never more evident than on game day. After doing all he can to prepare between starts, Clayton walks into the clubhouse for his scheduled start with his game face on. For some pitchers this ‘game face’ is a façade, simply to show their teammates that they are serious about the game. For Clayton, it is obvious to all of us that the fire inside is real and that this game is important. It makes us want to win for him. You can see and feel his drive and passion.”

Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw writing in Arise said: “That day, on a dirt road in Africa, something amazing happened: I saw two passions collide. Standing in the middle of Africa (Ellen’s passion) I taught children to play baseball (my passion). For years, I had thought our different passions were too far apart to ever intersect. I never imagined a moment like the one that took place during that January [2011] sunset. For the first time, our two passions stood side by side.”

About Regal Books

Regal Books, one of the largest and oldest English-language Christian book publishers in the world, is a division of Gospel Light Publications. Headquartered in Ventura, California, Regal Books has published titles by legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, NFL hall of famer Mike Singletary, legendary college football coach Tom Osborne, NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip and Olympic gold medalist Josh Davis. Regal Books has also partnered with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to produce books that have included contributions from Bobby Bowden, Andy Pettitte, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Lance Berkman, Tony Dungy, Tim Tebow, Tamika Catchings, Jane Albright, Joe Girardi, Mariano Rivera and more.

For more information, please contact:
Contact: Jackie Medina
Regal Books Publicity
805-644-9721, ex. 1248
Jackie.medina@gospellight.com 

Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries and also provides a regular commentary for Worship Life Radio on KWVE. You can follow Dan Wooding on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.