Paulo's Book Club: "The Complete Game"

If you ever wanted to be a Major League Baseball pitcher you should read “The Complete Game” by Ron Darling.

The book goes through a game one inning at a time, plucking one of each inning from Darling’s career – including two games he broadcast but didn’t pitch.
Each inning is selected for its ability to prove a point. His first major league inning perfectly describes his nervousness, while other innings discuss things the lefty-righty specialization in today’s game and one inning even covers Darling get rocked and throwing at a batter. That leads to several pages of discussion on pitching inside and even hitting guys when necessary.

The book doesn’t really explore each inning pitch-by-pitch, which I would have liked but I understand may have bored some. Instead the book explores the mental aspect of the game leading up those these different circumstances. And this is where Darling is refreshingly honest. Not honest in that he provided every detail of life with the mid-80s Mets, but honest in that he shares what he was feeling at the time. He was nervous for his first ever start, pumped for his World Series start after seeing his dad on the field, and he even admitted when he was scared or distracted on the mound.

It’s that honesty – and the cool stories like the one about where he was when Terry Pendleton hit that infamous home run in 1987 – that make this book a must read for any Met fan, or any baseball who wants to get a better understanding of what a major league pitcher goes through.