Review: 'Off Speed: Baseball, Pitching, and the Art of Deception'

Terry McDermott, a native of Cascade, combines memoir, historical research, and the details of a perfect game thrown by Felix Hernandez in 'Off Speed: Baseball, Pitching, and the Art of Deception.'

As befits a book about baseball, 'Off Speed' is divided into nine chapters. Each chapter is named for a pitch — The Fastball, The Curveball, The Spitball, etc. McDermott explores the origin of each kind of pitch, considers the mechanics of the delivery, and gives examples of pitchers who threw it well.

He also reveals the role of baseball in his life over time, including during his childhood in Cascade and in his adulthood when he reluctantly became a Seattle Mariners fan. The Mariners have experienced limited success, which means their fans — McDermott included — are long-suffering in the manner of certain Midwestern fans until October of 2016.

Hernandez's perfect game, which he threw for the Mariners in August of 2012, is sketched inning by inning. McDermott, wisely, doesn't belabor his descriptions of the game. He tells us just what we need to know about each hitter and what Hernandez threw to get him out. The Mariners' turns at bat are barely mentioned, coming into play only when the team scores.

McDermott has a wry sense of humor that is often self-deprecating. He transmits the frustration he and his fellow Mariners fans feel, even as he celebrates Hernandez's accomplishment. Here he writes about Hernandez as a star player on a hapless team:

'Being the best pitcher on the worst-hitting team in modern major league history has cost Hernandez countless wins, but he has grown used to this friendly ineptitude by now and almost never complains about it … Unusually, Hernandez's best friends on the team have almost always been position players, and he has emerged as a leader for the entire team.'

On occasion, McDermott's use of tense becomes muddled, and words seem to be missing from the text in several spots. But baseball fans — and fans of pitching, in particular — are going to love 'Off Speed.'

[naviga:h3 style="padding-left: 30px;"]BOOK READING

What: Terry McDermott reads from 'Off Speed'

Cedar Rapids: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Next Page Books, 1105 Third St. SE

Iowa City: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St.

Cost: Free