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The Complete Game: Reflections On Baseball, Pitching, And Life On The Mound (2009)

by Ron Darling(Favorite Author)

3.66 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0307269841 (ISBN13: 9780307269843)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Knopf

review 1: In a word: solid.In more words: Darling breaks 9 chapters out into "innings" - each chapter covering a different inning from a different game that he either pitched in or for which he was a broadcaster. (There is 1 "extra inning" as well, covering an entire collegiate game that he pitched in.)Interesting to have read it immediately after Christy Mathewson's "Pitching in a Pinch" which was written exactly one century earlier just as a study in compare/contrast.Was somewhat disappointed, but only because I seemed to read many reviews saying this was probably the best baseball book that had been put out in the last few years. For me, anyhow, parts of it seemed like they could have been put in "Baseball For Dummies" or something. Just some basic strategy that was presented ... moreas though it would be eye-opening to the reader. For me, though, it came across as something that the average knowledgeable baseball fan would already be aware of.Would I recommend it? Kind of depends. I think if you are a casual fan and/or a Mets fan you may be more inclined to enjoy than if you are already some kind of hard-core baseball strategy nerd.On the plus side, I would read something else Darling wrote - he's got a skill for writing. And I'll definitely be more apt to tune in to any national games that he is broadcasting in the future based on having read this book.
review 2: Ron Darling was one of the few players from the Mets mid-'80's teams that I didn't actively loathe: him, Keith Hernandez (a carryover from his St. Louis years), Gary Carter (I pretty much always have a soft spot for old Expos), Doc Gooden. The rest? Buncha pricks. Okay, I liked Dykstra as a Phillie, and of course Mitchell and Straw as Giants. But again, however much I hated the Mets (which is and has always been about one iota less than I hate the Dodgers), I always respected Ron Darling.In the book, Darling shares his insights on the art, craft, and science of pitching. The book is divided up into one ten inning "game", each inning representing a different stage in Darling's development as a pitcher, with the 10th inning being an account of the fabled Yale v. St John's extra inning affair, in which he locked up in a hard fought duel with the Redmen's Frank Viola. Well written: Darling affords us the respect of assuming that a complex sentence won't confuse us, which is rare in baseball memoirs. less

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