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Published by Diversion Books
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Table of Contents
About The Book
Baseball’s most outspoken fireballer brings the high heat in a book that calls out the hacks, cheats, ridiculous rules, and more that have tarnished the game—from the field of play to the clubhouse, front office, broadcast booth, and beyond—and serves up A-plus stuff on how to make baseball pure, fun, and damn near perfect. Baseball has an image problem, the chorus of nonbelievers gets louder every year, and the Major Leagues have made an art of tuning them out. It wasn’t always this way, and it doesn’t have to be anymore. Enter Joe Kelly: a walking, talking, fastball-throwing embodiment of why baseball matters and why we should love it. He’s got some things to say about what’s gone wrong with baseball, what makes it great, and what needs to happen to make it damn near f*cking perfect. This is the loudest insider’s exposé of the laws and culture of Major League Baseball since Jim Bouton’s classic Ball Four. From his perspective as a two-time World Series Champion, baseball’s most meme-able player according to ESPN, Big League firebrand, and current pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, Kelly takes readers on a house-cleaning tour of the clubhouse, the field of play, the bullpen, the front office, the commissioner’s office, and a ballplayer’s restricted life off-the-field. Kelly goes off on rule changes that matter and sticking to them (pitch clocks, no designated hitter, and more); sterilizing baseball hacks (overused analytics, shifts, sign-stealing, and more); the promotion of baseball to a new generation of fans (letting players get edgy on social media, merchandising in truly trend-setting ways, and more); encouraging actual emotion (let the players fight, let them bat-flip, let them talk sh*t); and fixing all that’s wrong with the front office and the Commissioner’s Office. And to show what happens when baseball has some piss and vinegar and flair, he gives the inside scoop on his legendary exploits--starting a bench-clearing brawl with the Yankees’ Tyler Austin, his famous “pouty face” scene when calling out the notorious sign-stealing Houston Astros, and wearing a Mariachi jacket to the White House visit with his World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. From the player who lit a fire under baseball’s ass during the insufferable 2022 lockout with his instantly-viral Los Angeles times op-ed “, Joe Kelley--[some superlative title for him]--penned an op ed that appeared in the Los Angeles Times and quickly went viral. It was a plea to fans: don’t give up on baseball. https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-03-03/mlb-joe- kelly-love-of-baseball-lockout-dodgers
Product Details
- Publisher: Diversion Books (February 28, 2023)
- Length: 288 pages
- ISBN13: 9781635768893
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Raves and Reviews
"This is the message that baseball fans need now more than ever: Baseball is life, and life is baseball. Joe Kelly gives us the gift of this book to serve as a perfect reminder."
—David Ortiz, 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee
"This book represents an important message for all who want to understand the greatness of our game, and there is nobody more equipped to deliver it than Joe Kelly. A Damn Near Perfect Game is the ultimate wake-up call for sports fans."
—Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers, former Boston Red Sox, Two-time World Series Champion, 2018 American League Most Valuable Player, Six-time All Star
"A defense of baseball, an explanation of its evolution and a suggestion manual for how to improve it."
—Tyler Kepner, New York Times
"Joe Kelly is a fan favorite wherever he goes. A passionate competitor who rides hard for the uniform he wears, Joe brings the same intensity to this very important book. It's a great look at our great game—America's pastime—from someone who still lives life on the diamond."
—Rob Lowe, Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy Award-nominated actor, diehard baseball fan
"A fun springboard to help us all appreciate baseball that much more. Joe Kelly is one of the great personalities in the game today, and you'll be smiling as you read about Joe and his friends bringing a new vision of our national pastime to life."
—Joe Davis, lead Major League Baseball play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports
Further testimonies inside the book by...
Andy Cohen (Television Personality)
Jon Hamm (Actor)
Dennis Eckersley (Hall-of-famer)
Torey Krug (Professional Hockey Player)
Nestor Cortes (All-Star Pitcher)
Mark Hoppus (Musician)
Rob Friedman ("Pitching Ninja")
David Ross (Manager)
Bo Bichette (All-Star Shortstop)
Alex Cora (Manager)
Adam Wainwright (All-Star Pitcher)
Kurt Busch (NASCAR Driver)
Dylan Cease (Pitcher)
David Price (All-Star Pitcher)
Matt Strahm (Pitcher)
Julio Rodriguez (All-Star Outfielder)
J.D. Martinez (All-Star Designated Hitter)
Travis d'Arnaud (All-Star Catcher)
Kyle Schwarber (All-Star Designated Hitter)
Joe Mantiply (All-Star Pitcher)
Corey Seager (All-Star Shortstop)
Ken Griffey Jr. (Hall of Famer)
Ian Happ (All-Star Outfielder)
Liam Hendriks (All-Star Pitcher)
Ty France (All-Star First Baseman)
Paul Blackburn (All-Star Pitcher)
Mookie Betts (All-Star Outfielder)
Paul Goldschmidt (All-Star First Baseman)
Max Fried (All-Star Pitcher)
Austin Riley (All-Star Outfielder)
David Bednar (All-Star Pitcher)
Shawn Green (Former All-Star Outfielder)
CC Sabathia (Former All-Star Outfielder)
Anthony Volpe (Top Infield Prospect)
Tai Bradley (Top Pitching Prospect)
Mike Burrows (Top Pitching Prospect)
Terry Francona (Manager)
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): A Damn Near Perfect Game Hardcover 9781635768893
