'Wherever I Wind' Up by R.A. Dickey with Wayne Coffey
Now that 37-year-old New York Met Robert Allen Dickey has won the 2012 Cy Young award as the National League's best pitcher, his inspiring life story makes better conversation fodder than ever. Dickey's improbable professional career began in 1996 as a phenom first round draft pick, fell apart when he was diagnosed with a freak anatomical anomaly that should prevent him pitching at all, limped along as he toiled for more than 10 years in the minors, and finally resurrected as he mastered the knuckleball, a pitch so enigmatic and unpredictable that he's currently the only major leaguer throwing it. His memoir bleeds authenticity, from his revelations about suffering sexual abuse to the rock bottom feelings of a minor league failure trying to support a family to almost drowning -- and re-affirming his Christian faith -- attempting to swim across the Missouri (a prelude to climbing Kilimanjaro for charity in the off season last year). If that doesn't make you a Dickey fan, you should know he named his bat Orchrist the Goblin Cleaver. -- David Katzmaier
November 16, 2012 4:18 PM PST
Photo by: Amazon
