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

Darling was a great pitcher for the Mets during the 80ies, is currently an excellent announcer in the Mets television booth, and now it turns out, he's a talented writer as well. The Complete Game gives us vivid and fascinating descriptions of some of the most important games during Darling's career. But he also goes beyond that, and brings the reader into the mind of the professional pitcher and what makes them tick. A compelling read !

As a disclaimer, I am a Mets fan and regularly watch Ron Darling as one of the commentators on SNY.

That said, this book is the best baseball book I have ever read because it is all about the game. Ron Darling takes a look at each inning from different games he has been in, commenting on the different things a pitcher will face. I never thought about how different the 2nd inning would be from the 4th inning or even the 5th to the 6th, but by that time the batter could have seen the pitcher a few times, and vice versa.

Mr. Darling is a smart man and it shows in this book. A must read for any baseball fan.

As a long time Mets fan, I have always liked Ron Darling and what I thought of as his no-nonsense approach to pitching. This is a no-nonsense book, part pitching advice, part autobiography, all good reading. Darling writes directly and honestly about mistakes, bad attitude, and the pain of realizing it is time to end his pitching career. Great book!