This past week I finished reading Ron Darling’s new book:
-
The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound
. I liked it & thought it was pretty good. Every chapter of the book deals with a different “inning” and attempts to take you into the game and into the mindset of a pitcher. Most of the innings are one’s that Ron’s pitched, but there are a few in which he talks about other pitchers (mainly from the modern-day Mets staff).
My favorite chapter was the “Extra Innings” chapter where he goes through a playoff game between Yale (his school) and St. John’s. I thought it was really interesting when he says how leading up to the playoff game, most of the guys on the team didn’t even practice because it was finals week and it was Yale so they were studying. This was so different than say Josh Hamilton’s book where in HS he was trading grades from teachers for his autograph!
Last week at the Mets game, my friend I was with started saying she wonders what they talk about when there is a meeting at the pitcher’s mound. Well, Ron talks a bit about what goes on during those meetings in the book so I was able to answer her question, all thanks to reading this book! Haha. Of course, that doesn’t mean that everyone says or does the same thing but it is at least one person’s experience.
If you want to learn about what gets talked about on the pitcher’s mound, or are curious as to the in’s-and-out’s of a pitcher’s mind during a game, this is the book for you.
=====
I’ve got a bunch of books on hold at the library that are baseball related so reviews will be upcoming whenever my number comes up for those books. On tap: The Yankee Years (Joe Torre), Darryl Strawberry’s new book, and of course, the A-Rod “biography” written by Selena Roberts.
