Randy Johnson's Power Pitching: The Big Unit's Secrets to Domination, Intimidation, and Winning
Twelve years after the publication of Nolan Ryan's Pitcher's Bible comes this pitching manual from Ryan's successor as King of the Ks, with a foreword by Ryan. Whether the world needs yet another power pitcher's how-to is debatable, but Johnson certainly knows of what he writes, and he brings a particular emphasis on a pitcher's mental stance in this clear, well-illustrated (albeit b&w; photos) volume, as evidenced in the subtitle. About pitching inside, that is throwing a fastball close to a hitter, Johnson writes, "the plan is never to hit the batter, because that's like handing him a free pass to first base"-never mind a free pass to the hospital. It's this emphasis on getting the job done no matter what that Johnson emphasizes over and over, with little modesty ("that emotional intensity is what makes me unique") but with justification based on his record. The book covers not only the mental aspects of the game but also pitching mechanics, conditioning suggestions, and two particularly interesting chapters, one on "a day in the life of a power pitcher," chronicling a 2002 game in Colorado, the other on how a pitcher works with a catcher, which extend the book's reach slightly beyond the aspiring pitcher to the general baseball fan. Two appendices, one a list of all the batters Johnson has struck out, fill out the volume.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.