Beware the Asides of Summer
When I write I often fall in love with my own asides. (Aside: a remark that is not directly related to the main topic of discussion.) I believe that what I want to say is so fascinating that it doesn’t matter if it fits the topic. Nope, I’m going to interject it simply because I can. I’ve just read a book that may—if not cure me—get me to think more deeply before heading down some rabbit hole. Terry McDermott’s Off Speed: Baseball, Pitching, and the Art of Deception comes close to being a wonderful book. Using the framework of Felix Hernandez’s 2012 perfect game, Seattle Mariners fan McDermott takes the reader through a nine-inning/chapter history of pitching, pitches, and—naturally, given the subject—deception. Hernandez is one of the best in the game and a terrific subject for this fan’s dive into the deep end of baseball. McDermott is a life-long lover of baseball, having been reared in the rural Midwest in “Field of Dreams” country. And that is where the trouble begins. McDermott finds his upbringing …