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Starting and Closing

Perseverance, Faith, and One More Year

This book is available for download with iBooks on your Mac or iOS device, and with iTunes on your computer. Books can be read with iBooks on your Mac or iOS device.

Description

I wasn't afraid to fail. It's really as simple as that.

As a seven-year-old kid pitching a ball against a brick wall, John Smoltz decided to be a professional baseball player when he grew up. And from that simple decision until his last season on the mound in the major leagues, it was his faith, work ethic, and love for the game—even more than God-given talent—that propelled him through challenges that would have ruined other athletes.

Starting and Closing chronicles John Smoltz's final season in a major league uniform, capping a legendary career that included fourteen years as part of one of the most dominant starting rotations in baseball, a Cy Young Award, and a World Series title—all while battling and overcoming "career-ending" injuries. At age forty-one, Smoltz was making yet another unlikely comeback from his fifth surgery. Recounting the story of a season that tested his perseverance and deepened his faith, Smoltz flashes back to watershed moments in the skeptic-defying journey from being one of the best starting pitchers of all time, to closer, to starter again.

One of the most intelligent, talented, and passionate players in the game, Smoltz delivers insights into modern major league baseball, its place in popular culture, and the value of competition. He writes with unflinching honesty about becoming a true Christian and finding in his beliefs the peace and strength to stay focused—through postseason triumphs and defeats, upheavals in his personal life, and the sting of being sent to the bullpen. What emerges is an inspirational story of spiritual growth and family values, from a man who believed not just in himself but in God's plan for him—and one more year.

Publishers Weekly Review

Mar 12, 2012 – Smoltz, an eight-time All-Star pitcher with the Atlanta Braves from 1988 to 2008, took an unusual path toward a likely Hall of Fame career. A premier starting pitcher before having Tommy John surgery, Smoltz became a dominant closer, a role requiring a completely different mindset. In his late 30s, Smoltz rejoined the Braves’ starting rotation, where he enjoyed more success before shoulder surgery marked the beginning of the end. An interesting career does not make for interesting copy, especially when the author admits that he “never wanted to write a book.” Ever so accommodating, Smoltz decides to tell his life story as a way to help others, a nice way of saying you’re in for 300-plus pages of inspiration-tinged platitudes. Among the anecdotes and observations, Smoltz describes a sports-playing childhood in Michigan that fed his competitive spirit, the struggles of rehabbing from career-threatening injuries in 2000 and 2008, and his Christianity. Sadly, Smoltz keeps the reader at arm’s length, whether he’s skimping on the details behind his departure from the Braves or repeatedly offering clichés as keen insight (failure, according to Smoltz, is “an opportunity to grow”). Those qualities, along with Smoltz’s defensive, immodest tone, make for a memoir that reads like an extremely lengthy cover letter. 16-page color insert not seen by PW.

Customer Reviews

Rettnag

I've already finished the book, couldn't put it down

Starting and Closing
View In iTunes
  • $11.99
  • Available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.
  • Category: Baseball
  • Published: May 08, 2012
  • Publisher: William Morrow
  • Seller: HarperCollins
  • Print Length: 304 Pages
  • Language: English
  • Requirements: To view this book, you must have an iOS device with iBooks 1.3.1 or later and iOS 4.3.3 or later, or a Mac with iBooks 1.0 or later and OS X 10.9 or later.

Customer Ratings

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