Spitball Magazine review

"This is a very sad book ... but also a well-written and important one."

It was special to receive the latest issue of Spitball, the literary baseball magazine, and read a heartfelt review of Playing Through the Pain.

Spitball, which presents the CASEY Award for the year's best baseball book (of which I'm nominated), is a trusted and respected publication that was established in 1981. The Fall 2022 issue features an illustration of Gil Hodges on the cover.

A write-up of my book is included in the "baseball book news" section on page 46.

"The author makes it clear that no one ever played harder or cared more about winning than Caminiti, and given his penchant for substance abuse, it was probably inevitable that he would use steroids. Less inevitable: Caminiti's willingness to own up to his use, a decision that blew the lid off the simmering scandal and forced the game to face up to the problem.

"Despite the many Caminiti triumphs on the field which Good duly chronicles, this is a very sad book ... but also a well-written and important one."

It means a lot for me when people get my book. And for the book to be grouped alongside other wonderful books like The Church of Baseball by Ron Shelton and Charlie Murphy by Jason Cannon (I've recently been reading Charlie Murphy, about the early 1900s Cubs owner, and it's riveting).

Not all reviews are created equal. The one by Spitball is one of my favorites.