The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound - Hardcover

Darling, Ron

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0307269841 ISBN 13: 9780307269843

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 2009

Synopsis

Ron Darling has been beloved by Mets fans since he helped his team win the 1986 World Series. Today he is considered one of the most articulate and insightful broadcasters in baseball, bringing the game to life in ways that few can match. Now he gives us an engaging, sophisticated, practical, and philosophical exploration of the art, strategy, and psychology of pitching.

Darling takes us inside the pitcher’s mind, illuminating the subtler aspects of the game and providing a deeper appreciation of what happens on the field. He explains why the position of pitcher is uniquely strategic and complex and explores the various tactics a pitcher uses in different scenarios, including the countless factors in deciding what to throw and how he bounces back from a tough inning. Throughout, we get a glimpse of what it feels like to stand alone on the mound, the center of attention for tens of thousands of fans.

While there are technical books on pitching, there is no other book that examines the position in such compelling depth as The Complete Game. Filled with captivating, real-life anecdotes, it will do for pitching what Ted Williams’s The Science of Hitting did for batting—and it will be an essential book for every fan and aspiring player.

About this title

Review

"A pitcher's answer to Ted Williams's classic, "The Science of Hitting." . . . Thoughtful and lively. . . . [Darling is] an affable, frank and witty guide."
--Bruce Handy, "The New York Times Book Review"
"[Darling] writes soulfully about coming into and leaving the game. . . . When most former major leaguers write memoirs, you wonder why they bothered; with Ron Darling . . . you wonder why it took him so long."
--"Newsday"
"Incisive, in-depth. . . . The antithesis of the sordid baseball tell-all. . . . Darling's pitch-by-pitch descriptions . . . illustrate the complexity of baseball. . . . Fascinating. . . . [Darling] seems to have an almost photographic memory of every game he pitched."
--"Pittsburgh Tribune-Review"
"[Darling] can explain all the cerebral stuff while also answering some questions fans always wonder about. . . . It's a snapshot inside a pitcher's head, and for a baseball fan, it's worth framing. . . . An unconventional baseball book. . . . A very good one, too."
--"New York Daily News"
"An insightful story for anyone who loves the game."
--"Minneapolis Star Tribune"
"Darling comes up a winner in his rookie writing effort. There's plenty to satisfy Met fans--and more. . . . In his typically engaging style, [Darling] lets the reader in on the parts of the game fans can't see from the stands or on their TVs."
--"The New York Post"
"[Darling's] recall is 20/20, his reflections revealing for anyone interested in a true inside view of his sport. . . . This is a book for the curious and the purist, full of anecdotes but always focused."
--"The Toronto Star"
"Darling offers pitches and outcomes . . . from ten selected games in his career. . . . Among them are enough oddities and thrilling turns of baseball to make a reader glad to be here and-well, not out there."
--"The New Yorker"
"Mets fans already know Ron Darling as one of the game's most insightful commentators, but this is a book for all of Baseball Nation to cherish. Just as artfully as he once changed speeds, Darling moves adeptly between his own experience on the mound and his probing analysis of the art and psychology of pitching to offer us a rare glimpse inside the world of the loneliest man on the field. The result is the pitching equivalent of Ted Williams' "The Science of Hitting.""
--Jonathan Mahler, author of "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning"
"It's hard to recall a baseball book that offers as much information about the game--from a player's perspective--as this one."
--"Booklist"
"Darling's little gem of a book immediately takes its place alongside "Ball Four "and "Moneyball "as a classic, and the best account ever of the way pitchers think."
--Joseph J. Ellis, author of "American Creation"
"Totally absorbing. Ron Darling takes us inside the mind of a pitcher, and a funny, thoughtful, and observant one at that."
--Kevin Baker, author of "Sometimes You See it Coming" and "Paradise Alley"

A pitcher s answer to Ted Williams s classic, The Science of Hitting. . . . Thoughtful and lively. . . . [Darling is] an affable, frank and witty guide.
Bruce Handy, The New York Times Book Review
[Darling] writes soulfully about coming into and leaving the game. . . . When most former major leaguers write memoirs, you wonder why they bothered; with Ron Darling . . . you wonder why it took him so long.
Newsday
Incisive, in-depth. . . . The antithesis of the sordid baseball tell-all. . . . Darling s pitch-by-pitch descriptions . . . illustrate the complexity of baseball. . . . Fascinating. . . . [Darling] seems to have an almost photographic memory of every game he pitched.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
[Darling] can explain all the cerebral stuff while also answering some questions fans always wonder about. . . . It s a snapshot inside a pitcher s head, and for a baseball fan, it s worth framing. . . . An unconventional baseball book. . . . A very good one, too.
New York Daily News
An insightful story for anyone who loves the game.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Darling comes up a winner in his rookie writing effort. There s plenty to satisfy Met fans and more. . . . In his typically engaging style, [Darling] lets the reader in on the parts of the game fans can't see from the stands or on their TVs.
The New York Post
[Darling s] recall is 20/20, his reflections revealing for anyone interested in a true inside view of his sport. . . . This is a book for the curious and the purist, full of anecdotes but always focused.
The Toronto Star
Darling offers pitches and outcomes . . . from ten selected games in his career. . . . Among them are enough oddities and thrilling turns of baseball to make a reader glad to be here and well, not out there.
The New Yorker
Mets fans already know Ron Darling as one of the game s most insightful commentators, but this is a book for all of Baseball Nation to cherish. Just as artfully as he once changed speeds, Darling moves adeptly between his own experience on the mound and his probing analysis of the art and psychology of pitching to offer us a rare glimpse inside the world of the loneliest man on the field. The result is the pitching equivalent of Ted Williams The Science of Hitting.
Jonathan Mahler, author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning
It s hard to recall a baseball book that offers as much information about the game from a player s perspective as this one.
Booklist
Darling s little gem of a book immediately takes its place alongside Ball Four and Moneyball as a classic, and the best account ever of the way pitchers think.
Joseph J. Ellis, author of American Creation
Totally absorbing. Ron Darling takes us inside the mind of a pitcher, and a funny, thoughtful, and observant one at that.
Kevin Baker, author of Sometimes You See it Coming and Paradise Alley"

About the Author

Ron Darling was a starting pitcher for the New York Mets from 1983 to 1991 and was the first Mets pitcher to be awarded a Gold Glove. Since 2006 he has been SportsNet New York’s game and studio analyst; since 2007 he has also been a game and studio analyst for TBS, for that network’s game-of-the-week and postseason broadcasts. Darling won an Emmy Award for best sports analyst in 2006. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and attended Yale University, where he was a two-time All-American. He currently lives with his family in Manhattan.

Daniel Paisner has collaborated with dozens of athletes, actors, politicians, and business leaders on their autobiographies and memoirs. He is coauthor of Last Man Down: A Firefighter’s Story of Survival and Escape from the World Trade Center with FDNY battalion commander Richard Picciotto and The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust’s Shadow with Krystyna Chiger.

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0307269841
• ISBN 13: 9780307269843
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272