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The Arm
- Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Thing in Sports
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
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Publisher's summary
Yahoo's lead baseball columnist offers an in-depth look at the most valuable commodity in sports - the pitching arm - and how its vulnerability to injury is hurting players and the game, from Little League to the majors.
Every year, Major League Baseball spends more than $1.5 billion on pitchers - five times more than the salary of every NFL quarterback combined. Pitchers are the game's lifeblood. Their import is exceeded only by their fragility. One tiny band of tissue in the elbow, the ulnar collateral ligament, is snapping at unprecedented rates, leaving current big league players vulnerable and the coming generation of baseball-playing children dreading the three scariest words in the sport: Tommy John surgery.
Jeff Passan traveled the world for three years to explore in depth the past, present, and future of the arm and how its evolution left baseball struggling to wrangle its Tommy John surgery epidemic. He examined what compelled the Chicago Cubs to spend $155 million on one arm. He snagged a rare interview with Sandy Koufax, whose career was cut short by injury at 30, and visited Japan to understand how another baseball-mad country treats its prized arms. And he followed two major league pitchers, Daniel Hudson and Todd Coffey, throughout their returns from Tommy John surgery. He exposes how the baseball establishment long ignored the rise in arm injuries and reveals how misplaced incentives across the sport stifle potential changes.
Injuries to the UCL start as early as Little League. Without a drastic cultural shift, baseball will continue to lose hundreds of millions of dollars annually to damaged pitchers, and another generation of children will suffer the same problems that vex current players. Informative and hard hitting, The Arm is essential listening for all who love the game, want to keep their children healthy, or relish a look into how a large, complex institution can fail so spectacularly.
"The Arm should be required reading for youth baseball coaches and parents with a child who appears to have a gift to throw a baseball. It also should be on the list for fans who want to understand why some of most expensive athletes in sports, pitchers, are such a fragile commodity." (Chicago Tribune)
;"By so thoroughly presenting a serious study of the arm — or more precisely, the elbow — Passan has written an important book. For arms, if there is Tommy John surgery, maybe we now also have Jeff Passan education." (Washington Post)
;"Sportswriter Passan delivers one of the more important books on baseball of the decade, a superbly researched and detailed look at the current "epidemic" of arm injuries in the sport." (Publisher's Weekly)
Featured Article: The Best Baseball Audiobooks of All Time
Ask any baseball fan and they'll tell you: some of their favorite sounds can only be heard at the ballpark—the smooth, satisfying pop of a catcher’s glove as a pitch hits its mark; the crack of a bat as it tears into a fastball, explosive and hopeful, drawing the crowd to their feet. Our list, a roundup of outstanding baseball audiobooks, offers a glimmer of that same ballpark magic with just a few of the greatest stories from our national pastime.
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Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball.
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Just too much cussing!
- By D Maybee on 04-19-20
By: Ben Lindbergh, and others
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Ball Four
- The Final Pitch
- By: Jim Bouton
- Narrated by: Jim Bouton
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.
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Three Ten Year Updates Give Bouton a 5th Star
- By Byron on 08-09-12
By: Jim Bouton
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Smart Baseball
- The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, the New Ones That Are Running It, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball
- By: Keith Law
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Predictably Irrational meets Moneyball in ESPN veteran writer and statistical analyst Keith Law's iconoclastic look at the numbers game of baseball, proving why some of the most trusted stats are surprisingly wrong, explaining what numbers actually work, and exploring what the rise of Big Data means for the future of the sport.
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If you sorta like baseball--save your money
- By david ortega on 05-11-17
By: Keith Law
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The Inside Game
- Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves
- By: Keith Law
- Narrated by: Rhett Samuel Price
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In this groundbreaking book, Keith Law, the ESPN baseball writer and author of the acclaimed Smart Baseball, offers an era-spanning dissection of some of the best and worst decisions in modern baseball, explaining what motivated them, what can be learned from them, and how their legacy has shaped the game....
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Narrator is negative value compared to replacement
- By Daniel W. Franzen on 11-28-20
By: Keith Law
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Ninety Percent Mental
- By: Bob Tewksbury, Scott Miller
- Narrated by: Bob Tewksbury
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In Ninety Percent Mental, Bob Tewksbury shows listeners a side of the game only he can provide, given his singular background as both a longtime MLB pitcher and a mental skills coach for two of the sport's most fabled franchises, the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants. Fans watching the game on television or even at the stadium don't have access to the mind games a pitcher must play in order to get through an at-bat, an inning, a game.
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Unique and fascinating perspective
- By elizabeth on 04-11-18
By: Bob Tewksbury, and others
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K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches
- By: Tyler Kepner
- Narrated by: Tyler Kepner
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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From the New York Times baseball columnist, an enchanting, enthralling history of the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching, based on years of archival research and interviews with more than 300 people from Hall of Famers to the stars of today.
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Attn authors: please use professional narration.
- By Mark Erickson on 07-10-19
By: Tyler Kepner
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The MVP Machine
- How Baseball's New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players
- By: Ben Lindbergh, Travis Sawchik
- Narrated by: Josh Hurley
- Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball.
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Just too much cussing!
- By D Maybee on 04-19-20
By: Ben Lindbergh, and others
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Why We Love Baseball
- A History in 50 Moments
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Posnanski, Ellen Adair
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski is back with a masterful ode to the game: a countdown of 50 of the most memorable moments in baseball’s history, to make you fall in love with the sport all over again. Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays’s catch, Babe Ruth’s called shot, and Kirk Gibson’s limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters.
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Why we love baseball
- By Michael Rooney on 08-03-24
By: Joe Posnanski
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Rickey
- The Life and Legend of an American Original
- By: Howard Bryant
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Few names in the history of baseball evoke the excellence and dynamism that Rickey Henderson’s does. He holds the record for the most stolen bases in a single game, and he’s scored more runs than any player ever. “If you cut Rickey Henderson in half, you’d have two Hall of Famers,” the baseball historian Bill James once said. But perhaps even more than his prowess on the field, Rickey Henderson’s is a story of Oakland, California, the town that gave rise to so many legendary athletes like him.
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An All Time Grewt
- By Anonymous User on 10-09-23
By: Howard Bryant
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Winning Fixes Everything
- How Baseball’s Brightest Minds Created Sports’ Biggest Mess
- By: Evan Drellich
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Baseball has been defaced and consumed by corporate America. As Moneyball-thinking and Ivy League graduates grabbed hold of the sport, the Astros set out to build a cost-efficient winning machine on the principles of the outside business world, squeezing every dollar out of every transaction, player and employee. In less than a decade, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow helped revolutionize the game and create an environment that led to one of the worst cheating scandals in baseball history, a Shakespearean tragedy of innovation and failed change management.
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The Houston Trashstros
- By DavidF on 02-20-23
By: Evan Drellich
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Big Data Baseball
- Math, Miracles, and the End of a 20-Year Losing Streak
- By: Travis Sawchik
- Narrated by: Peter Larkin
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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After twenty consecutive losing seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, team morale was low, the club’s payroll ranked near the bottom of the sport, game attendance was down, and the city was becoming increasingly disenchanted with its team. Big Data Baseball is the story of how the 2013 Pirates, mired in the longest losing streak in North American pro sports history, adopted drastic big-data strategies to end the drought, make the playoffs, and turn around the franchise’s fortunes.
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The Science of Baseball Choices
- By Lifeisshort on 06-03-15
By: Travis Sawchik
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The Shift
- The Next Evolution in Baseball Thinking
- By: Russell A. Carleton, Jeff Passan - foreword
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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With its three-hour-long contests, 162-game seasons, and countless measurable variables, baseball is a sport which lends itself to self-reflection and obsessive analysis. It's a thinking game. It's also a shifting game. Nowhere is this more evident than in the statistical revolution which has swept through the pastime in recent years, bringing metrics like WAR, OPS, and BABIP into front offices and living rooms alike.
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Baseball Players are Human? Who knew?
- By Casey on 06-20-19
By: Russell A. Carleton, and others
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Astroball
- The New Way to Win It All
- By: Ben Reiter
- Narrated by: Ben Reiter
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Astroball is the inside story of how a gang of outsiders went beyond the stats to find a new way to win. When new Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and his top analyst, the former rocket scientist Sig Mejdal, arrived in Houston in 2011, they had already spent more than half a decade trying to understand how human instinct and expertise could be blended with hard numbers. Astroball is the story of the next wave of thinking in baseball and beyond, at once a remarkable underdog story and a fascinating look at the cutting edge of evaluating and optimizing human potential.
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Now a book on cheating?
- By Peter R. on 02-01-20
By: Ben Reiter
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The Only Rule Is It Has to Work
- Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team
- By: Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne, John Pruden
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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It's the ultimate in fantasy baseball: You get to pick the roster, set the lineup, and decide on strategies - with real players, in a real ballpark, in a real playoff race. That's what baseball analysts Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller got to do when an independent minor-league team in California, the Sonoma Stompers, offered them the chance to run its baseball operations according to the most advanced statistics.
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Narrarators have never watched baseball. Ever!
- By Anon on 06-02-16
By: Ben Lindbergh, and others
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24
- Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid
- By: Willie Mays, John Shea, Bob Costas
- Narrated by: Bob Costas, Julian McWilliams, Larry Herron
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Widely regarded as the greatest all-around player in baseball history because of his unparalleled hitting, defense and baserunning, the beloved Willie Mays offers people of all ages his lifetime of experience meeting challenges with positivity, integrity and triumph in 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid. Presented in 24 chapters to correspond with his universally recognized uniform number, Willie’s memoir provides more than the story of his role in America’s pastime.
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Loved It
- By Peter on 07-01-20
By: Willie Mays, and others
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A Damn Near Perfect Game
- Reclaiming America's Pastime
- By: Joe Kelly, Rob Bradford - contributor
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Baseball’s most outspoken fireballer brings the high heat—calling out the hacks, cheats, and ridiculous rules that have tarnished the game—and pitches A-plus stuff on how to make baseball pure, fun, and damn near perfect.
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Could use a better narrator
- By Jason Monroe on 12-07-23
By: Joe Kelly, and others
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The Cubs Way
- The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse
- By: Tom Verducci
- Narrated by: Tom Verducci
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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With inside access and reporting, Sports Illustrated senior baseball writer and FOX Sports analyst Tom Verducci reveals how Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon built, led, and inspired the Chicago Cubs team that broke the longest championship drought in sports, chronicling their epic journey to become World Series champions.
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The best baseball book I’ve ever read
- By Michael Klotz on 04-15-17
By: Tom Verducci
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The Baseball 100
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 30 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious,The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski that tells the story of the sport through the remarkable lives of its 100 greatest players. In the book’s introduction, Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George F. Will marvels, “Posnanski must already have lived more than 200 years. How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport?”
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Just OK. Too Tangential & Distracting
- By Matthew R. on 01-21-23
By: Joe Posnanski
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Charlie Hustle
- The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball
- By: Keith O'Brien
- Narrated by: Ellen Adair, Keith O'Brien
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Pete Rose is a legend. A baseball god. He compiled more hits than anyone in the history of baseball, a record he set decades ago, which still stands. At the same time, he was a working-class white guy from Cincinnati who made it; less talented than tough, and rough around the edges. He was everything that America wanted and needed him to be, the American dream personified, until he wasn’t. Charlie Hustle tells the full story of one of America’s most epic tragedies, the rise and fall of Pete Rose, one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
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Unflinching look at America through Baseball and Pete Rose
- By Brian G White on 04-02-24
By: Keith O'Brien
What listeners say about The Arm
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jonathan Love
- 06-29-16
Baseball's Version of, 'Born to Run'
Wow, what an eye opening book. It seems like we just keep fighting nature and evolution. Luckily we have intelligent and passionate researchers who actually ask the question, "Why" instead of being content with the status quo. As mentioned in the headline, Christopher McDougall's, 'Born to Run' and Passan's, 'The Arm' have much in common; albeit different parts of the body, writing style and thesis.
Where McDougall identifies a complex problem, provides historical background, collects empirical and anecdotal data, as well as provides logical solutions to counter the initial problem set, Passan captures the problem and anecdotal information, but doesn't really present a solution. Essentially he is just stating that there is a really big problem, and nobody really knows what the solution is and unfortunately, it seems, nobody really cares. He does identify the challenges with overcoming this, but one is left feeling empty with this complex problem. It seems that Major League Baseball is in its infancy in just acknowledging the problem, but for such a profit oriented organization to simply accept Tommy John surgery as the rule rather than the exception seems counter intuitive.
The narrator was great and I had no difficulty listening at 3x speed.
I did only give four stars for the story, but that is based on a comparison to, 'Born to Run'. Christopher McDougall is a better story teller and I personally found more value in 'Born to Run' than 'The Arm' as I have not been, nor will I ever be, a MLB pitcher. However, I run daily and therefore subject to those injuries and 'fixes'.
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4 people found this helpful
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- TSPANG75
- 07-07-16
Best baseball book in years....
Must read for anyone with kids in baseball. Specialization and travel ball are ruining the sport.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Andrew
- 07-26-23
Insider perspective at the world of baseball pitching
I really enjoyed Passan’s thorough perspective on how the pitching arm is the most important commodity in all of sports. The book looks at the crazy culture of youth sports and the detriment it causes for young athletes; the decision- making from GMs to invest millions on top arms; the world of sports science and how arms have been repaired; and the psychology of pitchers overcoming injuring. I really recommend this book for baseball fans that enjoy and insider perspective on the sport. This book is to pitcher’s arm as moneyball was to saber metrics
decision-making of GMs, the
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- Chris
- 02-25-17
Baseball at its best
Would you listen to The Arm again? Why?
If you are interested in baseball and its current trends, specifically arm care, this is a must read. It is amazingly through in its documentation. But no it will not tell you how to prevent elbow injuries. But, you will have an amazing understanding of them
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-20-20
Baseball pitching Arm good read!
All baseball parents and coaches should read / listen to this book! it reveals many interesting studies and information.
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- John Cannon
- 10-11-23
Insights into Pitching and Recovery of the UCL
Overall, I liked the book The Arm by Jeff Passan. The author provides a comprehensive account of the journey from a blown UCL to rehabilitation and the triumphant return to the mound. The book successfully conveys the primitive understanding we have of the throwing motion and its profound impact on the body's biology. It's an informative read for parents concerned about their children's well-being in the world of baseball and for anyone eager to delve into pitching biomechanics, even though it was written seven years ago.
One of the book's strong points is the author's generous use of examples, which helps readers visualize the process. The journey is vividly portrayed, making it easy to empathize with the challenges faced by pitchers. I'd recommend taking a few minutes a look up on youtube a video on "Tommy John Surgery" -- it helps with the visualization of much of the descriptions.
However, a minor criticism lies in the author's downplaying or total avoidance of natural healing methods. While he acknowledges the efficacy of blood platelet therapy, and does highlight a couple instances when someone did not undergo surgery, there's an evident absence of discussion about the role of proper nutrition, low level laser therapy, and alternative bodywork in the recovery process. This one-sided perspective limits the book's holistic approach to injury management. I do appreciate he is focusing on peer reviewed research, but only in a certain medical lane.
Furthermore, the author's dismissive attitude toward certain alternative medical practices, like the suggestion that scoliosis may negatively affect biomechanics, is regrettable. While some ideas might sound unconventional, it's crucial to recognize that there's a body of peer-reviewed research supporting unconventional approaches that the author labels as "quackery."
Another comment that hasn't aged well, in my opinion, is the author's comparison of certain viewpoints to those who consider opposition to vaccination as well as some holistic approaches as 'quackery' and moronic thinking. It's reasonable to present both sides of a controversial issue, but the author's apparent medical bias hampers his ability to view these topics objectively. I do not think he believes there is any controversy.
In conclusion, "The Arm" is a valuable resource for those seeking to understand the intricate world of baseball, especially the biomechanics of pitching. However, readers should approach the book with an awareness of the author's biases and consider seeking additional resources for a more balanced perspective on injury management. Despite these criticisms, the book's core content remains informative and relevant in 2023, making it a worthwhile read for baseball enthusiasts and aspiring pitchers.
The narration by Kevin Pierce delivers a great performance. Easy to listen to, good voice inflection. I do wonder on some phrases, specifically when author quotes an individual whether the narration conveys the tone intended. But, that is being picky and his voice is great for non-fiction material.
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- John
- 07-01-16
The Arm
I thought this book was amazing it showed a whole dark side of baseball yet it also showed the great was to start fixing a big problem. It had me cheering for those two guys to make it. I really enjoyed this and if you're a baseball fan there should be no reason you shouldn't enjoy. The way it was told was great. It's just an all around great book, I hope everyone gets a change to read
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1 person found this helpful
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- RT
- 05-08-22
Exceptional book.
I came looking for some insight on how to approach teaching my son the best practices for pitching and left with much more knowledge and a greater appreciation for the realities of the enigma of the perfect pitch and the arm than i anticipated. Thanks for writing this book!
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-04-16
Well Told Review About Baseball's Biggest Problem
Where does The Arm rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I haven't listened to many, maybe just 3 or 4, so this ranks at the top as the one I've enjoyed the most so far. Very entertaining and informative listen.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Arm?
The trials the two pitchers of rehabbing after having Tommy John Surgery. I was rooting for them the whole time.
Which character – as performed by Kevin Pierce – was your favorite?
Todd Coffey
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It gave me a new perspective on what pitchers go through when dealing with the Tommy John Injuries. It made me frustrated right along with them.
Any additional comments?
Includes a lot of historical perspective about baseball in general which I liked.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Dr. Ron
- 06-20-17
Good book. Very informative!
As the father of an inspiring pitcher, I found this book interesting and helpful. It was well researched and presented in an entertaining fashion. Good performance too. I have changed my son's pitching regimen based on knowledge I aquired from this book. Overall, it is a very well written book.
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