Changing Pitches

by Steve Kluger

Washington Senators star Scotty MacKay is a left-handed pitcher whose fastball isn't what it used to be. His team is in last place. His girlfriend just got an acting job as a pitcher of Kool-Aid on a TV commercial. And if that isn't enough, he's just been teamed up with a catcher he detests: Jason Cornell.

Jason is twenty-eight, has lots of teeth, and poses for underwear ads. He's blond and has blue eyes. Scotty's favorite color is blue...

By August, Scotty's got a major league problem on his hands.

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Baseball, Sports, Gay Fiction, Romance, Gay

260 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1984

About the author

Steve Kluger is an author and playwright, born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1952, who grew up with only two heroes: Tom Seaver and Ethel Merman. Few were able to grasp the concept. A veteran of "Casablanca" and a graduate of "The Graduate," he has written extensively on subjects as far ranging as World War II, rock and roll, and the Titanic, and as close to the heart as baseball and the Boston Red Sox (which frequently have nothing to do with one another). Doubtless due to the fact that he's a card-carrying Baby Boomer whose entire existence was shaped by the lyrics to "Abbey Road," "Workingman's Dead," and "Annie Get Your Gun" (his first spoken words, in fact, were actually stolen from "The Pajama Game"), he's also forged a somewhat singular path as a civil rights advocate, campaigning for a "Save Fenway Park" initiative (which qualifies as a civil right if you're a Red Sox fan), counseling gay teenagers, and--on behalf of Japanese American internment redress--lobbying the Department of the Interior to restore the baseball diamond at he Manzanar National Historic Site. Meanwhile, he donates half of his spare time to organizations such as Lambda Legal Defense, the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and Models of Pride, and gives the rest of it to his nieces and nephews--the nine kids who own his heart.

Reviews

[Sonia189 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
I liked this story, especially the emotional issues the narrator has and how he deals with them. His "voice" is also sweet and funny.
The baseball talk lost me most of the time.
I also think the theme that plagues Scotty, the main character, thought most of the book wasn't done in a very rewarding manner, things could have been done better. I understand the whys, this was a book published originally in 1984 but at the same time, some steps taken by the author didn't add up and feel just like an excuse.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book very much when I first read it back in the late 80's or early 90's. I have read it many times since then, and to be honest, it does not age at all well. There is still some entertainment value and it's kind of a comfort read for me, but really the whole thing reeks of homophobia. There are worse books about lgbtq athletes, but there are also much better books now. At least I hope there are.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good novel about a major league baseball pitcher who, at 36, is heading the last place team in the league as he slowly realizes he needs to make some changes in his personal and professional lives.

[Isaiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.

I grabbed this book out of a box full of free books at a queer counseling place in Berkeley (Thank you, Pacific Center). I didn’t expect it to be good. I expected it to be this awful book that I read for fun. Instead it was a book that went much deeper than that, then had such a horrible ending that I want to hate all of it.

Spoiler alert: The therapist that the main character goes to flat out says that him loving a man is a way to avoid committing to his girlfriend. Because, clearly, bisexuality does not exist and can’t exist for a sports player. I did however like that the catcher was gay. That was a good twist. End of spoiler.

So the book had a lot of sports talk which made it a bit boring to me. What I really liked was the way that the main character was clearly not wanting to tell the story for the same reason I wouldn’t have read it. It wasn’t anything majorly special, but the fact that he opened the book that way made him endearing to me.

Overall, this book wasn’t anything special and it was pretty damn annoying by the end. However, the beginning and the middle were very nice and I enjoyed reading it for no real reason. I would probably read more about the pitcher’s girlfriend than I would about him.

So, don’t buy this book full price. Wait until you get a good sale or can get an ebook copy. It is ok, but not really worth the cover price for me.

[Lyn Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book's key demographic is more likely baseball fans than readers of LGBT lit (yeah, I know, there's overlap) but we have here a wonderful, wonderful baseball book for baseball fans--especially the ones that lived through the seventies and eighties. Warning: if you're interested in lots and lots of hot gay sex, this may not be what you're expecting, but if you want a sports story that deals w/ an LGBT presence in sports, you've probably come to the right place.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the books I've read by Kluger. A little disappointed in this one honestly

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.7

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't help but think I might have enjoyed this book more if I liked/understood baseball:)

[Ron Nurmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you follow baseball this is a funny book.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll never be able to work up to the rant that the Phoenix airport was graced with after I finished this book and called Katie to sympathize. That was a cathartic layover. But I'm sure I can come up with a few of the reasons this book is out of print. For starters, it's pretty much a fraud to call this a gay romance - it's not very romantic and is rather offensively not gay. I'm not sure I ever got a sense of what any of the characters looked like or why they liked each other. There's a lot of bad baseball and bad health food and bad psychotherapy. Oh, and THEN.... there's the bit where the love interest tells some off-color jokes (about Japanese ball players and midgets, if I recall) and THAT's the moment the narrator falls for him!!! Dude, the 80s. Shudder.

Steve, you've come a looooooooong way. No wonder My Most Excellent Year is so overcompensatingly clever and progressive!

[Cnavata2177 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this while working my way through Kluger's bibliography. I so loved "My Most Excellent Year," "Last Days of Summer," and "Almost Like Being in Love" that I had to see what else he wrote. "Changing Pitches" was his first novel and it shows. Kluger uses a similar narrative device of notes, newspaper clippings, letters, journal entries, etc. (no emails, online chats, faxes, yet!). While I still like the book, the characters weren't as well-developed and I couldn't connect with them as well. Also, the story's pacing was a little on the slow side. And the if you haven't read Kluger's work before, the twist towards the end of the book comes out of left field (pardon the baseball pun). The resolution was unsatisfying, maybe due to the year it was written and published there really wasn't any other acceptable ending. Regardless, it still made me laugh, but not as heard as with the other 3 aforementioned books.

[Deeze · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as fantastic as Almost Like Being in Love this still bears the Halmark of a Steve Kluger book. The narration of his characters is brilliant. The conversations are so realistic and funny.

I admit to feeling a little lost due to my complete lack of knowledge to any and all things baseball, but even so I was interested and amused enough to not really care.

Scotty is going through a kinda mid life crisis I guess you could say. Along the way we get to meet a few characters that are important to him, and learn of his mixed feelings for said characters.

I would not class this as a romantic story, more a look at one guys thoughts and feelings about life love and baseball, just as the cover says lol. But if you are a fan of Steve Kluger you will enjoy this, just maybe not as much as his other more popular titles.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure what I was expecting from this book-- maybe a little more romance, as that's how it was described to me? It was still a really good read, stayed up late at night to finish it. My only quibble is that the ending was a little open and unresolved. Lead character had two roads and didn't really settle for either of them, but seems to be trying to have both. I loved all the baseball talk and the unique style of the book. Also it's nice to see a lead character who isn't a cookie-cutter hero, but who has flaws and makes mistakes like a normal person.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

notes, 4 years late: fictional 1980s "Ball Four" with a monogamous bisexual protagonist, in a universe where the Washington Senators never relocated to Arlington. Yes, I said the Bi Word. Book couldn't have ended any other way than how it did; this is mainstream fiction, not m/m romance. Sorry. Main problem is that I kept thinking of protagonist as Scott McGregor; welcome to 1980s Orioles fandom.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

was not expecting the gay love story angle. after last days of summer (favorite book of all time) i found this to be less enjoyable. granted it was up against impossible odds and i will say that i still read it cover to cover. i didn't hate it but i do not sing its praises either.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think I enjoyed this more the second time around. It so clearly has the Kluger writing style, full of quippiness paired with sincerity and heart. On a reread, I knew I was in for more of a character study than a romance, so I could appreciate it for what it was.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining read, although Kluger's later works are stronger.

[qx · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5