Between the Lines: Nine Things Baseball Taught Me about Life

Orel Hersheiser's book is excellent on giving advice for life. Unlike most athletes, Orel does not give a biography. Instead he picks nine principles he sees for a successful life, and then gives anecdotes, almost exclusively from his own life, to support those points. Orel does not come across as "Look at me! I have a Cy Young award, two league championship MVPs, and a World Series ring and MVP award, to go along with having the record for most consecutive scoreless innings." Instead, you have a normal person who managed to accomplish a lot, and a desire to encourage others to accomplish a lot in their lives. This book is very readable. In the introduction Orel paints the picture of the book being like a conversation in a diner. It is fun reading stories about Tommy LaSorda, especially when he is in the ear of his former pitcher before the 5th game of the '95 series. I would recommend for every parent to get this book for their son or daughter, and then read it with them so they can discuss the issues. One, this will help your child apply the lessons, and two, we oldies can use the advice as well.

I had always been amazed by Orel Hershiser's record of pitching 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988 . . . even typing that number now, I find it hard to believe that a pitcher could manage to keep opposing batters from scoring for so long. Thus when I had the chance to listen to his book, BETWEEN THE LINES (written with Robert Wogemuth), I was interested to see if he would talk about how he was able to accomplish this goal . . . he did, sprinkling in interesting tidbits about his personal philosophy toward both the game and life. This is not a tell-all book . . . Hershiser rarely speaks bad about any player, coach, manager, or even umpire . . . in fact, he even points out that he rarely ever argued about any ball or strike call. What he does well is emphasize the claim he makes in the book's subtitle: NINE THINGS BASEBALL TAUGHT ME ABOUT LIFE. There's nothing breathtakingly new here, but it still is the perfect book for any athlete at virtually any stage of his or her career . . . non-players will like it too. And anybody who reads it will come across convinced that it is the little things in life that can really make a difference . . . for example, Hershiser rarely varied from his everyday routine--no matter what was happening around him. He also seems to be one of the rare professional athletes who always placed his family over even his baseball career.

Orel Hershiser might seem to be one of those people who "had it all given to him" but after reading the struggles he had to overcome you'll discover that perception is wrong. He had to work hard and overcome numerous obstacles before reaching the top of his profession. The principles that led to success in his arena apply in all areas of live as he points out so clearly in this excellent book (with Robert Wolgemuth). One theme is to focus on what you can control and don't expend energy on the rest. He emphasizes how important the preparation process is because it's all about focus. That is what one can control. If one continually prepares, success is inevitable. He talks about building a mind-set where everyday counted. Excellence mattered to him. He wasn't trying to please his coaches, he was seeking excellence for its own reward. As a Christian he talks about how he came to know the Lord Jesus. I bought the book because I knew he was a Bowling Green man. It turns out he's a class act all the way around. His advice is solid.

Orel Hershiser was one of the most dominant pitchers during the 1980's and 1990's. He won over 200 games, he posted season ERAs of 2.66. 2.03, 2.26, and 2.31, he has 13 double-digit victory seasons and he helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series in 1988. During that magical season he won the CY Young Award, the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP. So it is safe to say that he is qualified to write a book on how to be successful in life.In his second book Between the Lines: The Nine Things Baseball Taught Me About Life, co-authored by Robert Wolgemuth, Hershiser writes about how his experiences in baseball taught him about perseverance in life. Although Hershiser stared in the Majors, his rise was not an easy one. He had to overcome many obstacles early on in his career. He was stuck in the minor leagues for four years and he had to come back from serious shoulder surgery in the prime of his career. Hershiser also talks about personal miseries with him dropping out of college after getting cut from the baseball team and then later in life dealing with the death of his good friend and agent Robert Fraley. The book was an easy read and Hershiser offers some very good advice about life or at least on how he became successful. The book is not organized chronologically but instead Hershiser and Wolgemuth headline each chapter with his principles of life. Readers looking for play by play analysis of his career will be disappointed with Between the Lines because Hershiser takes a more personal account of his life in and out of baseball. But overall the book taught me things about life and inspired me to strife for my goals not only in sports but in life.

Here's a book that in simple terms tells the reader about how overcoming the challenges in baseball are similar to those that average people encounter in life. I think that this would be a good book for young people who may be in team sports. It can help them see the greater benefit of playing sports rather than being caught up in winning and losing. Being from Los Angeles, I have a little more awe for Orel Hershier, who for a period of time was the best pitcher in the game of baseball. I hope that other mature athletes in football and basketball do books like this so that our youth can gain the full benefit of being in sports. I hope that parents buy this book for a Christmas present for the young athlete in the family.