Throwing Strikes with R. A. Dickey

Throwing Strikes: My Quest for Truth and the Perfect Knuckleball, by R. A. Dickey.  Dial, 2013, 296 pages.  Age/interest level: 12-16.

Last year Dickey’s autobiography, Wherever I Wind Up, won fulsome praise across the reviewing spectrum, from Publishers Weekly to ESPN to WORLD Magazine.  The particular qualities praised were the author’s literary style, humility, and brutal honesty: all compelling and appropriate in a book written for adults.  Throwing Strikes is an adaptation for younger readers, and parents who are familiar with Dickey’s tortuous journey to fame may wonder how honest R. A. is about certain unsavory facts of his life in this version of the story.  Does he go into detail about his mother’s alcoholism?  Does he mention the rough times he put his marriage through, including an extramarital affair?  And–most worrisome of all—does he write about the two people who sexually abused him as a boy?  The answers are: 1)not much; 2)no; and 3)yes, but not in detail.

His is certainly one of the more convoluted life journeys in professional sports, marked with brilliant opportunities and breathtaking setbacks.  Born to an unloving couple, brought up in poverty by daycare providers and a mother who found more and more consolation in the bottle, he was nonetheless accepted as a scholarship student at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville.  There he met his wife-to-be, whose family introduced him to Christ, and racked up an impressive sports resume.  He majored in English Literature at the University of Tennessee, but had his eye on Major League Baseball.  He appeared to be going places: an All-American at UT, he won a place in the starting baseball lineup for Team USA in the Atlanta Summer Olympics, 1996.  As #1 pick for the Texas Rangers, Dickey imagined his future was secure.  Then, in a classic reversal of the kind he studied in literature classes, it all went south.  Suspecting that there might be something wrong with his elbow, the management ordered additional tests.  An MRI revealed that Dickey had no UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) in his elbow.  It wasn’t merely that the ligament was stretched or stunted or torn—it simply wasn’t there.  He shouldn’t have been able to pitch at all. 

Thus began a 14-year odyssey through the minor leagues, with occasional, brief elevations to the Majors.  Dickey struggled with himself, his wavering faith, his lack of confidence, his inner shame.  Therapy sessions unearthed the incidents of sexual abuse in his childhood, and though that part of the narrative only takes two pages, it’s clear what he’s talking about (which is why, though the age-level recommendation starts at 8, I upped it to 12).  There was probably some discussion about whether to include this in a book meant for young people, but he sees it as central to his story and possibly helpful to  young readers who may be enduring similar situations.  On the other hand, he does share much of the the stress that frequent moves and career uncertainty brought to his family, or the damage he did to his marriage during this time.  The focus is on baseball—especially the long and difficult mastery of his signature pitch. 

My Quest for the Perfect Knuckleball is an apt subtitle.  That’s the narrative thread: from the original suggestion that he should give up conventional pitching, through the grueling apprenticeship (which included “The Worst Night of My Life”–a disastrous game with the Detroit Tigers in 2006), finally ending in triumph with the Cy Young Award in 2012.  I skimmed over the stats and much of the inside baseball, but aspiring players will appreciate “R.A.’s Tips for Young Pitchers” scattered throughout the text.  These range from the practical (Play more than one sport) to the attitudinal (Be coachable).

“What I Believe” is another sidebar feature, wherein R. A. talks about the influences that have contributed to his character rather than his game.  The chief influence is faith.  He speaks of coming to Christ as a teenager in fairly conventional terms, and frequently mentions prayer, but as times got tougher, he had to man up and own his beliefs—more than once.  His faith wavered throughout the crazy ups and downs of his career, but he crossed a literal Rubicon on the banks of the Missouri River, while playing for the Oklahoma City RedHawks in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  On the evening before a game, away from his family and feeling low, he decided to fulfill a long-standing ambition and swim across the river.  But as the saying goes, “God had other plans.”

I dove into the water thinking I was in charge.  I emerged with a powerful reminder that God was in charge.  I thanked Him not just for sparing me but for teaching me.  I was looking to be a hero, to use my strength to forge some sort of epic transformation.  Instead, I was as humbled as a man can be . . .

This incident occurs just past the middle of the book, with lots of trials and tribulations to come—up until the last few chapters, in fact.  But from now on he’s on the way up: I was no longer trying to take on a river.  I was flowing with it. 

Like many books based on earlier books or movies, Throwing Strikes has a jerky feel to it at times.  His mother disappears, and we hear no more about her until a passing mention in the last pages.  His father drops out of the picture entirely, and the personal storyline is skimpy.  But it’s a book about baseball, after all, geared to young sports fans, Major League wannabes and (probably) boys looking for a father.  They’ll get some straight talk here, and an amazing story of overcoming.

• Worldview/moral value: 4.5
• Literary value: 4

For more sports books, see Betsy’s post from yesterday, and be sure to check out the links.