108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game

Baseball journalist, broadcaster, and former Mets pitcher Darling (The Complete Game) shows his deep love of the sport and the personalities that drive it in this collection of colorful anecdotes. The book is filled with short vignettes about players including such stars as Wade Boggs (who, after losing the 1986 World Series, had “tears running down his face like there’d been a death in his family”), as well as forgotten minor leaguers, loosely connected by such themes as “Some Crying in Baseball” and “Head Games.” Darling takes a critical but understanding tone on topics like Darryl Strawberry’s drug addiction, as well as the widespread use of steroids by Oakland Athletics players (Jose Canseco, an admitted user of steroids, called out teammates Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi, among others), showing how the stresses of the game can lead to regrettable decisions. He also includes his own stories, such as when he was hazed as a Mets rookie by an unsmiling Ron Hodges, who spit a stream of chewing tobacco onto his new uniform. Darling’s at his best when he pivots from career trivia to philosophical yarns, showing that “the thing about baseball is that it catches the light of how we live and reflects it back to us in meaningful ways.” This entertaining insider volume is sure to please baseball enthusiasts.[em] (Mar.) [/em]