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Snap Me Perfect!
Hardback with Dust Jacket
259 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 8, 2019
This autobiography of Darrell Porter, an admitted alcoholic and drug addict, appears to have a happy ending, as it ends with him clean and a born-again Christian. Out of curiosity, I investigated his life after this book was written and learned that he died in 2002 at the age of 50. An autopsy revealed a level of cocaine in his body “consistent with recreational use.” Therefore, it is clear that he was never able to defeat demon coke.
Although Porter played 17 seasons in the major leagues and had some outstanding seasons, a strong argument can be made that he would be in the Hall of Fame if he had not been under the influence most of the time. In 1979 he led the majors with 121 walks and scored and batted in over 100 runs. Feats where the only other catchers to accomplish them are in the Hall of Fame.
This would be a better book of Porter had not descended to the level of seeking pity, often blaming his father for being unloving. Some of that is no doubt due to the fact that Porter never had to experience the issues of struggling for money. Many children of working-class parents that struggle to make ends meet resent their parents until they themselves are in that situation. Only then, do the appreciate what their parents did and sacrificed for them. Porter signed for a major bonus right out of high school, so lack of income was never an issue for him.
As you read this book, you are amazed that Porter was able to function as a star at the major league level. He claims that he strictly controlled his intake, but that is a delusion that is easy to see through. He describes being so paranoid and delusional that he kept a loaded shotgun near his bed and found conspiracies against him in chance encounters with people.
A natural athlete that was so gifted that he received multiple offers from NCAA football powerhouses as a quarterback, Porter could have been one of the greatest of all time. Yet, his significant feelings of insecurity and inadequacy were so strong that they were the stepping-stone to his drug use in an attempt to cope. This book is one that will make you sad, even more so because his story is not unique.
Although Porter played 17 seasons in the major leagues and had some outstanding seasons, a strong argument can be made that he would be in the Hall of Fame if he had not been under the influence most of the time. In 1979 he led the majors with 121 walks and scored and batted in over 100 runs. Feats where the only other catchers to accomplish them are in the Hall of Fame.
This would be a better book of Porter had not descended to the level of seeking pity, often blaming his father for being unloving. Some of that is no doubt due to the fact that Porter never had to experience the issues of struggling for money. Many children of working-class parents that struggle to make ends meet resent their parents until they themselves are in that situation. Only then, do the appreciate what their parents did and sacrificed for them. Porter signed for a major bonus right out of high school, so lack of income was never an issue for him.
As you read this book, you are amazed that Porter was able to function as a star at the major league level. He claims that he strictly controlled his intake, but that is a delusion that is easy to see through. He describes being so paranoid and delusional that he kept a loaded shotgun near his bed and found conspiracies against him in chance encounters with people.
A natural athlete that was so gifted that he received multiple offers from NCAA football powerhouses as a quarterback, Porter could have been one of the greatest of all time. Yet, his significant feelings of insecurity and inadequacy were so strong that they were the stepping-stone to his drug use in an attempt to cope. This book is one that will make you sad, even more so because his story is not unique.
September 17, 2011
This is one of the most well-written books I've ever read that tackles both athletics and addiction. And its author was the well-respected baseball player Darrell Porter. In this book, Porter goes into great detail of what it was like to be on drugs and how much freedom sobriety can bring once an addict tries to recover. Snap Me Perfect certainly reminds the reader that no one, not even an All-Star catcher, is immune to addiction.
April 27, 2008
Baseball, drugs, Jesus. Despite his tragic end, a great testimony.
December 21, 2025
I read this book ominously. It was written shortly after the 1982 World Series when Darrell Porter was flying sky-high having reclaimed his life and career. At that point, it was a reclamation story but as we know now, he never did kick the drugs or the personal issues completely and he ended up dying just twenty years later with cocaine in his system.
Darrell Porter was the best catcher in the American League when I started watching baseball in 1979 and I remember him as a dead-serious, no-emotion kind of player who just seemed to win wherever he went. I had no idea of what was simmering underneath and that the violence and drug abuse came to a head right after his greatest season of 1979.
It's a sad read because he's not likeable at all while he's raging but you want to believe him when he says he's done with drugs and committed to family. Gone-wrong stories are depressing, but gone-wrong-then-gone-right-then-gone-wrong-again stories are the most distressing for me personally because it testifies to the fragility of happiness.
As a gigantic baseball fan who is sentimental of the 1970s and 1980s, I really enjoyed learning more about Porter's background and his early years rising to the majors. I was saddened by his difficult childhood with an overbearing, abusive father who certainly influenced his own character as an adult. I found it fascinating that he never played football until high school and still became (what we'd call today) a four or five-star recruit as a quarterback committed to Oklahoma. But he was also the fourth pick of the MLB Draft, perhaps the nation's best baseball-football athlete coming out of high school in 1970.
The 259 pages understandably centered around Porter's personal struggles. I would have loved to have heard more about the teams and the great teammates he played with between the Brewers, Royals, and Cardinals. It was a great era for MLB and he was in the middle of it.
I recommend the book for like-minded niche baseball readers but beware that it will not be uplifting!
Darrell Porter was the best catcher in the American League when I started watching baseball in 1979 and I remember him as a dead-serious, no-emotion kind of player who just seemed to win wherever he went. I had no idea of what was simmering underneath and that the violence and drug abuse came to a head right after his greatest season of 1979.
It's a sad read because he's not likeable at all while he's raging but you want to believe him when he says he's done with drugs and committed to family. Gone-wrong stories are depressing, but gone-wrong-then-gone-right-then-gone-wrong-again stories are the most distressing for me personally because it testifies to the fragility of happiness.
As a gigantic baseball fan who is sentimental of the 1970s and 1980s, I really enjoyed learning more about Porter's background and his early years rising to the majors. I was saddened by his difficult childhood with an overbearing, abusive father who certainly influenced his own character as an adult. I found it fascinating that he never played football until high school and still became (what we'd call today) a four or five-star recruit as a quarterback committed to Oklahoma. But he was also the fourth pick of the MLB Draft, perhaps the nation's best baseball-football athlete coming out of high school in 1970.
The 259 pages understandably centered around Porter's personal struggles. I would have loved to have heard more about the teams and the great teammates he played with between the Brewers, Royals, and Cardinals. It was a great era for MLB and he was in the middle of it.
I recommend the book for like-minded niche baseball readers but beware that it will not be uplifting!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews