Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Book Review: Dickey, Wherever I Wind Up

R.A. Dickey with Wayne Coffey. Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity, and the Perfect Knuckleball. New York, NY: Blue Rider Press., 2012, ISBN 978-1-101-56114-0

As much as I love to read, I usually have a hard time getting through an entire book without feeling like it's turning into homework, but this one was an exception. I enjoyed it so much that I looked forward to opportunities to read it.

The book chronicles his life through a difficult childhood, sexual abuse, self-loathing, finding faith, and of course, the ups and downs of baseball.

His baseball journey is quite interesting. Right after he was drafted by the Rangers in the first round, he learned that he didn't have an ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm. This crushing discovery re-routed his baseball career to struggling through several years in the minor leagues while supporting a young family. Eventually, he needed to learn the knuckleball in order to continue -- like chess, it's easy to learn, but difficult to master

He also recounts his path to a life of Christianity. I tend to be more of a secular person, but, even though I thought his religious reflections to be a bit many in number, I didn't think they were overly preachy. This insight is important in order to understand his life.

I definitely recommend this book. Reading it has made me want to root for him more than I did. And, he has nice things to say about his time with the Twins.

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