Contact: Jackie Medina 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 Kershaws return from a trip to Zambia and about a month before major league pitchers report for Spring training. While in Africa, the Kershaws will break ground for a new children’s home. Clayton Kershaw was today 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 (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). 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 (kershawschallenge.org), 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 (ariseafrica.org). For the Kershaws, 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 (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: Clayton Kershaw writing in Arise: About Regal Books Review copies of Arise are available upon request.
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