Complete Game - 09 edition

Summary: ''[Darling] has written a thoughtful and lively new book about the art, craft and business of his trade. It's a nuts-and-bolts kind of baseball book-a pitcher's answer to Ted Williams's classic,The Science of Hitting. . . [Darling is] an affable, frank and witty guide . . . [He] has a sense of humor about the game's ups and downs . . . He also sees its elegiac potential.'' -Bruce Handy,The New York Times Book Review ''My kind of guy . . . [Darling] writes soulfully about coming into ...show moreand 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.'' -Allen Barra,Newsday ''Incisive, in-depth . . . Fascinating . . . [Darling] seems to have an almost photographic memory of every game he pitched . . . His pitch-by-pitch descriptions . . . illustrate the complexity of baseball . . . The antithesis of the sordid baseball tell-all.'' -Rege Behe,Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ''An insightful story for anyone who loves the game.'' -Maureen McCarthy,Minneapolis Star Tribune ''An unconventional baseball book . . . [And] a very good one, too . . . [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.'' -David Hinckley,New York Daily News ''Baseball generates dozens of books every year . . . This is easily the best of the year so far . . . 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 serves up his keen recollections in a finely shaped memoir with the game-and the task of pitching-at its core.'' -Library Journal ''Mets fans already know Ron Darling as one of ...show less