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The Fireballer
A poignant story about hopes, dreams, and how far one man’s talent takes him before he realizes it’s about what you do― and how you do it. Frank Ryder is unstoppable on the baseball field―his pitches arrive faster than a batter can swing, giving his opponents no chance. He’s being heralded as a game-changing pitcher. But within the maelstrom of press, adulation, and wild speculation, Frank is a man alone. Haunted by a tragic incident from years past, he yearns to be the best but cannot reconcile the guilt he carries with the man everyone believes him to be. Frank’s path to redemption leads him on a journey back to where his life changed forever, to visit his family, his high school coach, and his brother. Through reconnection and reconciliation with those also deeply affected by the devastating event of Frank’s youth, he finds peace and his place in the world both in and outside the game. The Fireballer is a lyrical, moving story of undeniable talent and the life-changing power of forgiveness and a subtly romantic ode to America’s favorite pastime.
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First published January 1, 2023
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About the author
Mark Stevens
7 books196 followers"No Lie Lasts Forever" was published by Thomas & Mercer in June, 2025. A sequel is due in 2026.
Lake Union published "The Fireballer" in 2023. It was my first non-mystery. It's about a pitcher for The Baltimore Orioles.
My previous five books are all part of The Allison Coil Mystery Series, set in the Flat Tops Wilderness in Colorado.
Number one, "Antler Dust," was published in 2007 and made the best-seller list on The Denver Post. The sequel, "Buried by the Roan," was published in 2011.
The third, "Trapline," came out in 2014 and won the Colorado Book Award. "Lake of Fire," number four, was published in 2015 and was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. Kirkus Review called that book "irresistible."
"The Melancholy Howl" (No. 5) was published in 2018. Kirkus Reviews called it "smart and indelible."
I’ve worked as a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor in Boston and Los Angeles, covering a variety of events and issues from the economy, commercial fishing, the environment, politics and all the colorful people and events of southern California.
I've worked for The Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post, also with the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. For six years, I produced field documentaries across the United States and Latin America.
Lake Union published "The Fireballer" in 2023. It was my first non-mystery. It's about a pitcher for The Baltimore Orioles.
My previous five books are all part of The Allison Coil Mystery Series, set in the Flat Tops Wilderness in Colorado.
Number one, "Antler Dust," was published in 2007 and made the best-seller list on The Denver Post. The sequel, "Buried by the Roan," was published in 2011.
The third, "Trapline," came out in 2014 and won the Colorado Book Award. "Lake of Fire," number four, was published in 2015 and was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. Kirkus Review called that book "irresistible."
"The Melancholy Howl" (No. 5) was published in 2018. Kirkus Reviews called it "smart and indelible."
I’ve worked as a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor in Boston and Los Angeles, covering a variety of events and issues from the economy, commercial fishing, the environment, politics and all the colorful people and events of southern California.
I've worked for The Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post, also with the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. For six years, I produced field documentaries across the United States and Latin America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 324 reviews
December 23, 2022
I'm mystified by the 4 and 5 star reviews. I've been a baseball fan my entire life and was excited to pick this book as my Amazon First Reads choice for December. I got 30% through it and finally threw in the towel. Totally boring. Nothing was happening. Ryder is haunted by his past. Ryder is wowing the players and fans with his skills. The league is looking into ways of slowing him down. There were rich descriptions of baseball games, stadiums, etc. This all sounds like it could make for an interesting book. But it wasn't an interesting book. I tried to get into it, I really did. It was mainly boring descriptions of fictional baseball games and long winded conversations between people. And the conversations? The dialogue read like a movie script, not actual real-life conversations. The characters were not interesting to me, and that includes the protagonist Frank Ryder. This book just wasn't what I had hoped for or expected.
November 5, 2022
The best way to begin a review of this book is to ask a few “what if?” questions. What if a rookie pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles has set the baseball world abuzz with pitches that exceed 105 miles an hour? What if batters are so helpless trying to get a hit off this pitcher that Major League Baseball is contemplating rule changes to limit the speed of pitches? What if this pitcher has a dark secret that has been haunting him since his days of Little League Baseball? These questions, and many more, are the heart of this outstanding baseball novel by Mark Stevens.
Frank Ryder has an amazing fastball, an uncanny means of keeping an even keel both on the mound and at a press conference but an unfortunate event when he was 12 has been weighing heavily on his mind. For such a complex character, Stevens does a wonderful job of portraying Frank in a manner that every reader who picks up this book will be cheering for him, baseball fan or not.
That is because while the book is full of baseball (more on that later), the non-baseball parts of the book and Frank’s life are wonderfully written and the reader will find out a lot about the pitcher whose fastball is unhittable, but whose psyche is very fragile. Other characters in the book such as Frank’s long distance girlfriend Maggie, his brother Josh (a minor league catcher) and the owner and manager of the Orioles are also well developed and characters the readers can connect with, even if they are not baseball fans.
However, with the many chapters that talk about baseball, specifically the games in which Frank pitches and the pennant race that involves his Orioles team, a baseball fan will truly enjoy this book. It addresses many issues that the game faces today – the “unwritten rules” that must be followed, the use of analytics, the lack of offense as pitchers are becoming faster, and even media coverage of the game. For a fictional book on the game, it has an authentic feel to the state of the sport. Even how one of those “unwritten rules” are discussed and handled by players, which is at the core of why Frank is facing his demons from that time long ago in the middle of a spectacular season.
This review cannot do justice for how much I enjoyed reading this book. Not just for the baseball, but for the various messages it tells about self-reflection and the care and compassion shown to Frank by those who either are close to him or whose thoughts were sought out by him. The book is just as big a winner as Frank’s won-loss record.
I wish to thank Lake Union Publishing for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
Frank Ryder has an amazing fastball, an uncanny means of keeping an even keel both on the mound and at a press conference but an unfortunate event when he was 12 has been weighing heavily on his mind. For such a complex character, Stevens does a wonderful job of portraying Frank in a manner that every reader who picks up this book will be cheering for him, baseball fan or not.
That is because while the book is full of baseball (more on that later), the non-baseball parts of the book and Frank’s life are wonderfully written and the reader will find out a lot about the pitcher whose fastball is unhittable, but whose psyche is very fragile. Other characters in the book such as Frank’s long distance girlfriend Maggie, his brother Josh (a minor league catcher) and the owner and manager of the Orioles are also well developed and characters the readers can connect with, even if they are not baseball fans.
However, with the many chapters that talk about baseball, specifically the games in which Frank pitches and the pennant race that involves his Orioles team, a baseball fan will truly enjoy this book. It addresses many issues that the game faces today – the “unwritten rules” that must be followed, the use of analytics, the lack of offense as pitchers are becoming faster, and even media coverage of the game. For a fictional book on the game, it has an authentic feel to the state of the sport. Even how one of those “unwritten rules” are discussed and handled by players, which is at the core of why Frank is facing his demons from that time long ago in the middle of a spectacular season.
This review cannot do justice for how much I enjoyed reading this book. Not just for the baseball, but for the various messages it tells about self-reflection and the care and compassion shown to Frank by those who either are close to him or whose thoughts were sought out by him. The book is just as big a winner as Frank’s won-loss record.
I wish to thank Lake Union Publishing for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
March 11, 2023
3.75
We have a story about a pitcher, from a young age, dealing with the consequences of a pitch he threw that went awry. A greater part of the novel is then about him being healed of the trauma that came with that. A key aspect being forgiveness.
He is concerned about the tradition of deliberately beaning batters with a fast ball to teach them a lesson and wants it stopped. He’s also concerned about his ability to pitch at speeds in excess of 100 mph. How careful he needs to be. At the same time, he feels it’s wrong for him to be asked to underperform, to pitch at much slower speeds so batters can get more hits.
Into that mix comes the hard-earned opportunity for his team to play in the World Series.
The book is well-written and the baseball sequences are exciting. At the same time, a lot of the drama is not finished well. We’re locked in a tense moment and the next thing we know we’ve moved ahead in the story and we’re talking about what happened in the past tense. We don’t experience the resolution. It doesn’t always happen that way but it happens often enough. On top of that, the ending to me was a huge letdown.
Stevens is a great writer, it is a solid and heartfelt story, I definitely enjoyed most of it. You yourself might give it a 4 or even 5. It is a story about emotional pain, healing, and restoration. And also a story of courage.
We have a story about a pitcher, from a young age, dealing with the consequences of a pitch he threw that went awry. A greater part of the novel is then about him being healed of the trauma that came with that. A key aspect being forgiveness.
He is concerned about the tradition of deliberately beaning batters with a fast ball to teach them a lesson and wants it stopped. He’s also concerned about his ability to pitch at speeds in excess of 100 mph. How careful he needs to be. At the same time, he feels it’s wrong for him to be asked to underperform, to pitch at much slower speeds so batters can get more hits.
Into that mix comes the hard-earned opportunity for his team to play in the World Series.
The book is well-written and the baseball sequences are exciting. At the same time, a lot of the drama is not finished well. We’re locked in a tense moment and the next thing we know we’ve moved ahead in the story and we’re talking about what happened in the past tense. We don’t experience the resolution. It doesn’t always happen that way but it happens often enough. On top of that, the ending to me was a huge letdown.
Stevens is a great writer, it is a solid and heartfelt story, I definitely enjoyed most of it. You yourself might give it a 4 or even 5. It is a story about emotional pain, healing, and restoration. And also a story of courage.
October 19, 2022
In fresh, evocative prose, Stevens spins the story of Frank Ryder, a young phenom major-league baseball pitcher whose 110-mph fastball makes him a national sensation but also threatens to upend the game. However, he is haunted by the memory of a fast pitch he made at age 12, which hit another player named Deon and killed him.
I'm not a particularly knowledgable baseball fan, and I was grateful that this book immersed me in the world of major league baseball without leaving me stranded amid jargon or obscure references. Yet it also transcends the genre of "sports fiction." At its heart, this book addresses some big themes -- pain, regret, compassion, and forgiveness. The tender scene between Deon's mother and Frank rings true, offering a compelling and humane look at the ways we can help each other be our best selves. Highly recommended.
I'm not a particularly knowledgable baseball fan, and I was grateful that this book immersed me in the world of major league baseball without leaving me stranded amid jargon or obscure references. Yet it also transcends the genre of "sports fiction." At its heart, this book addresses some big themes -- pain, regret, compassion, and forgiveness. The tender scene between Deon's mother and Frank rings true, offering a compelling and humane look at the ways we can help each other be our best selves. Highly recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2023
First off, this one was dragged out too much. It could have been told in about 200 pages, not nearly 400. It got tiresome and very repetitive. I am not a big sports fan, but I do watch baseball every now and then, and it is, by far, my favorite sport. I go to Rangers games here in Dallas (Arlington really), and I love the idea of baseball novels. I generally love baseball movies, just stories centered around baseball in general. They tend to feel non-elitist and folksy. They feel very rooted in small-town America, even when the MLB teams are all in large metro areas. That being said, the baseball action in this book was pretty meh. It was neither exciting nor totally boring. It just existed. It felt quite lifeless, and I never felt any tension, even in the World Series games.
SOME POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD:
Ryder, as a character- did not care much for him. He seemed too odd for me, and he felt fake. He felt robotic in a lot of ways. You never got a really good look at his personality. When he cheats on his totally cool and described as beautiful longtime girlfriend, I liked him even less. His entire dilemma with killing a kid with a fastball in little league was odd, mostly because halfway through the book, he meets with the kid's mom, and that entire storyline entirely goes away. He's cured out of nowhere, and his entire life changes. We go on to see that he quits MLB after one year? Seemed ludicrous to me. We are told over and over the guy lives for baseball and has ever since he was a kid, so he quits after one year to open a camp for kids who are in bad situations?
1) It makes him look like a white savior. Rich white dude is going to save all the downtrodden, no doubt, mostly black and brown kids, mostly from inner city areas. Why? Because he was sad at accidentally killing a kid in high school? Seems rather elitist to think you can even compare your life to their lives. I was sad in high school but had well-off parents who immediately moved me away from any sort of guilt or unhappiness at all. Just felt very phony and weird.
2) It was very out of character, even though we don't really get to see much of who he is as a person honestly, but we know his life is baseball. Hell, in the epilogue, his gf goes to sleep and he immediately goes out into a barn where he has set up a mound, home plate, backstop, etc and pitches, and feels like he's at home again. But, I'm supposed to believe he suddenly decided to quit baseball, his life dream, and a decade+ of work to get there, to start a camp for underprivileged kids? Come onnn. You can't be serious.
Anyway. Like I said- book was very repetitive, the first half going over and over and over the death of this one kid (Deon), then the second half is just a boring short rehash of every game to the world series win which was obvious halfway through. Never did you doubt the Orioles would win the World Series, so that action was all for nothing.
There is a side story of the MLB maybe, possibly, due to Ryder's amazing 110mph fastballs, deciding to maybe possibly make a rule where pitchers would have an upper limit on their velocity, and there is a story of the "unwritten rules" of baseball where you bean a guy who beaned one of your teammates, but honestly, these stories really go nowhere, and by the end of the book, neither story is even resolved.
I wanted to love this book, but it was too long for what it was, was too repetitive, the main character seemed like a robot with no deep internal characteristics, and the baseball action was just blah. I made it to the end, but it took me longer than it should have, and I was only looking forward to finishing it as opposed to being deep into the story by the end. I just wanted it, mostly, to end so I could move on to better books.
SOME POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD:
Ryder, as a character- did not care much for him. He seemed too odd for me, and he felt fake. He felt robotic in a lot of ways. You never got a really good look at his personality. When he cheats on his totally cool and described as beautiful longtime girlfriend, I liked him even less. His entire dilemma with killing a kid with a fastball in little league was odd, mostly because halfway through the book, he meets with the kid's mom, and that entire storyline entirely goes away. He's cured out of nowhere, and his entire life changes. We go on to see that he quits MLB after one year? Seemed ludicrous to me. We are told over and over the guy lives for baseball and has ever since he was a kid, so he quits after one year to open a camp for kids who are in bad situations?
1) It makes him look like a white savior. Rich white dude is going to save all the downtrodden, no doubt, mostly black and brown kids, mostly from inner city areas. Why? Because he was sad at accidentally killing a kid in high school? Seems rather elitist to think you can even compare your life to their lives. I was sad in high school but had well-off parents who immediately moved me away from any sort of guilt or unhappiness at all. Just felt very phony and weird.
2) It was very out of character, even though we don't really get to see much of who he is as a person honestly, but we know his life is baseball. Hell, in the epilogue, his gf goes to sleep and he immediately goes out into a barn where he has set up a mound, home plate, backstop, etc and pitches, and feels like he's at home again. But, I'm supposed to believe he suddenly decided to quit baseball, his life dream, and a decade+ of work to get there, to start a camp for underprivileged kids? Come onnn. You can't be serious.
Anyway. Like I said- book was very repetitive, the first half going over and over and over the death of this one kid (Deon), then the second half is just a boring short rehash of every game to the world series win which was obvious halfway through. Never did you doubt the Orioles would win the World Series, so that action was all for nothing.
There is a side story of the MLB maybe, possibly, due to Ryder's amazing 110mph fastballs, deciding to maybe possibly make a rule where pitchers would have an upper limit on their velocity, and there is a story of the "unwritten rules" of baseball where you bean a guy who beaned one of your teammates, but honestly, these stories really go nowhere, and by the end of the book, neither story is even resolved.
I wanted to love this book, but it was too long for what it was, was too repetitive, the main character seemed like a robot with no deep internal characteristics, and the baseball action was just blah. I made it to the end, but it took me longer than it should have, and I was only looking forward to finishing it as opposed to being deep into the story by the end. I just wanted it, mostly, to end so I could move on to better books.
January 4, 2023
I loved this story! Mark Stevens has created a novel with compelling and memorable characters and set them within a plot that keeps you on edge with emotional tension. My brother was a pitcher in high school and college, and boy did this story take me back! Well researched, well crafted, and stunningly written, I highly recommend this book for anyone, not just lovers of the game.
April 4, 2023
When I was a kid playing Little League at the end of the 70s, my favorite player was J.R. Richard, a pitcher with the Houston Astros. He was tall - 6'8" - and threw fastballs. Batters said he threw from too high, too close, and too fast! He regularly had games where he struck out over a dozen batters. And I'll never forget the 1980 All-Star game: the fastest pitch by AL starting pitcher Steve Stone of the Orioles was 91 mph. Starting NL pitcher J.R. Richard's slowest pitch was 93 - the fastest around 102 according to the announcers (at least as I recall). He could throw a baseball through a car wash and have it come out dry on the other end. Unfortunately, several weeks later Richard collapsed on the field from a stroke. He never made it back to the big leagues, but he played on a minor league team and when they played the Salt Lake Gulls (the team where I lived) I went to see him pitch - but he had pitched the night before. So all I ever got to see was my hero standing in the Visitor's dugout.
Since then I haven't really followed baseball. Yes, it's "America's Game" and all that, but I actually prefer football and the NFL. But still, baseball is a nostalgic thing for me and I still enjoy watching "The Sandlot" and "Field of Dreams" or going to a Dodger game once in a while. So I was a little surprised when I started this book and it's a story set in contemporary times - not something in the past that revels in the glory days of baseball. It bothered me at first, but not for long - it's just a really good story.
Frank Ryder has a wicked fastball - topping out around 110 mph or so. He's nearly unhittable, and he's taking the Orioles and the league by storm. But he also has a dark past from when a pitch got away from him in Little League and hit a kid - with tragic results. But the story doesn't just focus on Frank. It also pulls in the perspective of the Oriole's owner, who actually cares about his players. And it deals with what the MLB wants to do about an unhittable pitcher who is wrecking batting averages and statistics for hitters. They produce a "product," after all, and no-scoring games aren't particularly exciting. And this multi-layered look at the game was very interesting.
Although I'm not really much of a baseball fan anymore, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I finished it much faster than I had intended (the MLB season starts today, after all). It's still kinda got the nostalgia factor, but set in the present day. And as for J.R. Richard? He eventually wound up homeless and living under a bridge in Houston until some friends found him and gave him a purpose through church. He died in 2021 from complications of Covid-19. And he's still my baseball hero.
Since then I haven't really followed baseball. Yes, it's "America's Game" and all that, but I actually prefer football and the NFL. But still, baseball is a nostalgic thing for me and I still enjoy watching "The Sandlot" and "Field of Dreams" or going to a Dodger game once in a while. So I was a little surprised when I started this book and it's a story set in contemporary times - not something in the past that revels in the glory days of baseball. It bothered me at first, but not for long - it's just a really good story.
Frank Ryder has a wicked fastball - topping out around 110 mph or so. He's nearly unhittable, and he's taking the Orioles and the league by storm. But he also has a dark past from when a pitch got away from him in Little League and hit a kid - with tragic results. But the story doesn't just focus on Frank. It also pulls in the perspective of the Oriole's owner, who actually cares about his players. And it deals with what the MLB wants to do about an unhittable pitcher who is wrecking batting averages and statistics for hitters. They produce a "product," after all, and no-scoring games aren't particularly exciting. And this multi-layered look at the game was very interesting.
Although I'm not really much of a baseball fan anymore, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I finished it much faster than I had intended (the MLB season starts today, after all). It's still kinda got the nostalgia factor, but set in the present day. And as for J.R. Richard? He eventually wound up homeless and living under a bridge in Houston until some friends found him and gave him a purpose through church. He died in 2021 from complications of Covid-19. And he's still my baseball hero.
April 6, 2024
I'm no baseball fan, but I still enjoyed this KU gem - even if I saw the unrealistic ending from a mile away.
If you can muddle through the somewhat choppy sentences, The Fireballer is worth the read. Frank Ryder, a phenom since childhood now in his rookie year in the MLB, is setting all kinds of fastball records. The players can't hit what they can't see, and the owners are worried the lack of action will make fans lose interest. All Frank wants to do is throw no-hitters. To him, every matchup, every pitch is a test of skill between the pitcher and the batter - a sacred contest that ought not to be altered by the rules committee.
Internally, Frank's a mess. When he was a 12yo pitcher in Little League, a tragic accident changed the course of his life forever. After 10 years of not dealing with it, the pressure in the big league is bringing all that darkness to the surface. Only Frank can save himself from his guilt and grief - if he can ever figure out how. Chapter 35 made my eyes blurry.
Recommended.
If you can muddle through the somewhat choppy sentences, The Fireballer is worth the read. Frank Ryder, a phenom since childhood now in his rookie year in the MLB, is setting all kinds of fastball records. The players can't hit what they can't see, and the owners are worried the lack of action will make fans lose interest. All Frank wants to do is throw no-hitters. To him, every matchup, every pitch is a test of skill between the pitcher and the batter - a sacred contest that ought not to be altered by the rules committee.
Internally, Frank's a mess. When he was a 12yo pitcher in Little League, a tragic accident changed the course of his life forever. After 10 years of not dealing with it, the pressure in the big league is bringing all that darkness to the surface. Only Frank can save himself from his guilt and grief - if he can ever figure out how. Chapter 35 made my eyes blurry.
Recommended.
October 18, 2022
Mark Stevens knocked it out of the park with The Fireballer!
While not a baseball fan, per se, I've watched the sport for decades and appreciated learning about the nuances and politics behind the game. Frank Ryder was a compelling and intriguing protagonist I couldn't help but root for, and I just loved where the story took him. This was a well-written and wholly-engrossing novel that I recommend for fans of baseball and interesting character arcs!
While not a baseball fan, per se, I've watched the sport for decades and appreciated learning about the nuances and politics behind the game. Frank Ryder was a compelling and intriguing protagonist I couldn't help but root for, and I just loved where the story took him. This was a well-written and wholly-engrossing novel that I recommend for fans of baseball and interesting character arcs!
December 28, 2022
Yet another "woke" author, and one who capitalizes "Black" but not "White" or "Brown". I am a former West Point athlete and troop leader, and now teacher leader...as an athlete, I got this story, for the first 40%...once the author tossed in race and colors, it wasn't a valid read. It became a read for merely the peeps who would benefit from the superficial story of rags to riches...Exactly the peeps who fight against those trying to help.
April 2, 2023
This was a literary fantasia for anyone who enjoys reading about baseball. But it is the human drama that makes this book so compelling. If I weren’t so manly, I would probably have cried. Twice.
February 28, 2023
Reading this book was a perfect thing to do as baseball season is about to start. Sheila b, you'll love it! You might have to understand baseball to catch the ins and outs and to enjoy the play-by-play descriptions, but the story of the central players is meaningful and true.
January 26, 2023
I feel like a kid again immersed in baseball reading all the hitting and pitching statistics in the Sunday paper. The only thing that did not ring true other than a pitcher throwing 110 was that Frank gets into his hotel on a weeknight in Birmingham past 1 AM and orders room service - hard to believe it would be available that late on a weeknight in that town. I could not wait to finish this book, great story!
January 24, 2023
I picked this up right now because I'm desperately in need of baseball in my life. It's cold and snowy here and all I can think about is how many days until Opening Day. Which as of today is 64. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me. I really wanted it to because it sounded like such a great premise.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
December 23, 2022
An amazingly entertaining book. Yes, it’s about baseball but it’s about doing good for others. About using your incredible talent to help others and not to just amass a fortune for yourself.
January 21, 2023
Mark Stevens writes a wonderful story about a rookie phenom pitcher whose talent might just change the game of baseball significantly. Frank Ryder is a rookie pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles capable of reaching pitch speeds of 109 mph with pinpoint control. He loathes baseball’s code, which demand pitchers drill batters in retribution and for good reason as the reader will learn. The book takes you through Ryder’s season where he battles previous demons as well as baseballs powerbrokers so see his raw talent as detrimental to the game.
Ryder is a great character who evolves as the season unfolds. While I believe the story will appeal to non-baseball fans, Steven’s baseball scenes along with insights to owners and media frenzy enhanced my enjoyment as a baseball nut. Overall, I the book presents a commentary on how rapidly the game is changing as we already have the DH in both leagues and electronic umps. As Stevens writes in his author’s notes, pitch speeds have increased significantly in the past 20 years.
I loved the book and found Frank Ryder and most of the characters well developed. Read the acknowledgements section to see all the baseball books Stevens read as research for the book if you like reading baseball books.
Ryder is a great character who evolves as the season unfolds. While I believe the story will appeal to non-baseball fans, Steven’s baseball scenes along with insights to owners and media frenzy enhanced my enjoyment as a baseball nut. Overall, I the book presents a commentary on how rapidly the game is changing as we already have the DH in both leagues and electronic umps. As Stevens writes in his author’s notes, pitch speeds have increased significantly in the past 20 years.
I loved the book and found Frank Ryder and most of the characters well developed. Read the acknowledgements section to see all the baseball books Stevens read as research for the book if you like reading baseball books.
June 1, 2023
"The Scout" and "Rookie of the Year" have a love child in this poorly edited novel about a pitcher who throws so hard he's unhittable, and so precisely he's unbeatable. I mean, it seemed like Ryder won every single game he started and every single game was a complete game. It's an absurd notion. A good chunk of the book was more a commentary on how the baseball owners are trying to modify the game to make it more fan-friendly with all their new rule changes. I appreciated that aspect of the book.
I also appreciated the author putting real people in this book and giving them shoutouts such as Jessica Mendoza's knowledgeable analysis and broadcasting skills or references to Orioles legends Cal Ripkin and Mike Mussina.
What was really distracting was the lack of editing about simple baseball facts (?) in the earlier part of the book. Here are 3 glaring examples that are truly unacceptable (I say this because I read the Author's Note first and Stevens is clearly a baseball fan and not some novice writing about a foreign subject matter):
1. Chapter 1 - Ryder's first at-bat.
Pg. 8: "This is Ryder's first official trip to the plate as a batter in the major leagues."
Pg. 9: "It is now the fourth inning."
Anyone who has ever watched a baseball game knows that all 9 batters in the starting lineup will have had a plate appearance, barring injury, by the end of the third inning. So my first thought was "maybe he's coming in relief because the starting pitcher got injured." But alas, that belief is quickly eradicated with, "The sole flaw in Ryder's line so far tonight is the lone run, the first he has given up in his first ten starts" on page 15. So, it is impossible that Ryder gets his first official trip to the plate as a batter in the fourth inning!
2. Chapter 4 into Chapter 5 - Ryder plans on going back to his hotel to watch game film.
Pg. 35: "Later, in his room, he'll have one cold IPA and watch the video. Ninety-two pitches." This is quickly contradicted on pg. 40: "Each of his ninety-six pitches runs first in regular speed and again in slow motion." Consistency is important if you're going write such unnecessary details.
3. Chapter 13 into Chapter 14 - Diaz gets plunked by the Rays pitcher and the Orioles want Ryder to retaliate.
Pg. 106: "Bottom of the eighth. The Orioles are up 6-0." Diaz gets hit and breaks his wrist.
Pg. 109-10: In the dugout between innings, Lackland encourages Ryder to bean someone on the Rays and Ryder expresses that he'll get ejected: "Get two outs, do what you gotta do ... I think the bullpen can cover four measly outs with a cushion that fat." FALSE!!! It is now the top of the ninth inning. If Ryder gets the first two batters out, the bullpen only needs to get one out, not four, which is exactly what they did.
I get it, mistakes are made in books. But this is sloppy and really unacceptable the number of simple and glaring errors. Why even pay editors and have people proofread if these are going to slip through? It makes me think that the people who are paid to closely read the book and catch these errors are skimming the material. You don't have to a be diehard fan to know these basics.
I also appreciated the author putting real people in this book and giving them shoutouts such as Jessica Mendoza's knowledgeable analysis and broadcasting skills or references to Orioles legends Cal Ripkin and Mike Mussina.
What was really distracting was the lack of editing about simple baseball facts (?) in the earlier part of the book. Here are 3 glaring examples that are truly unacceptable (I say this because I read the Author's Note first and Stevens is clearly a baseball fan and not some novice writing about a foreign subject matter):
1. Chapter 1 - Ryder's first at-bat.
Pg. 8: "This is Ryder's first official trip to the plate as a batter in the major leagues."
Pg. 9: "It is now the fourth inning."
Anyone who has ever watched a baseball game knows that all 9 batters in the starting lineup will have had a plate appearance, barring injury, by the end of the third inning. So my first thought was "maybe he's coming in relief because the starting pitcher got injured." But alas, that belief is quickly eradicated with, "The sole flaw in Ryder's line so far tonight is the lone run, the first he has given up in his first ten starts" on page 15. So, it is impossible that Ryder gets his first official trip to the plate as a batter in the fourth inning!
2. Chapter 4 into Chapter 5 - Ryder plans on going back to his hotel to watch game film.
Pg. 35: "Later, in his room, he'll have one cold IPA and watch the video. Ninety-two pitches." This is quickly contradicted on pg. 40: "Each of his ninety-six pitches runs first in regular speed and again in slow motion." Consistency is important if you're going write such unnecessary details.
3. Chapter 13 into Chapter 14 - Diaz gets plunked by the Rays pitcher and the Orioles want Ryder to retaliate.
Pg. 106: "Bottom of the eighth. The Orioles are up 6-0." Diaz gets hit and breaks his wrist.
Pg. 109-10: In the dugout between innings, Lackland encourages Ryder to bean someone on the Rays and Ryder expresses that he'll get ejected: "Get two outs, do what you gotta do ... I think the bullpen can cover four measly outs with a cushion that fat." FALSE!!! It is now the top of the ninth inning. If Ryder gets the first two batters out, the bullpen only needs to get one out, not four, which is exactly what they did.
I get it, mistakes are made in books. But this is sloppy and really unacceptable the number of simple and glaring errors. Why even pay editors and have people proofread if these are going to slip through? It makes me think that the people who are paid to closely read the book and catch these errors are skimming the material. You don't have to a be diehard fan to know these basics.
December 13, 2022
Not for the baseball disInclined
I am a baseball fan and found this story very enjoyable. However, the truly sparse development of Ryder's psychological and emotional issues negatively impacts on the level of interest for non-fans of the game. I was hoping that these areas might be more fully developed.
I am a baseball fan and found this story very enjoyable. However, the truly sparse development of Ryder's psychological and emotional issues negatively impacts on the level of interest for non-fans of the game. I was hoping that these areas might be more fully developed.
October 11, 2022
An engaging, heartfelt story -- whether you're a baseball fan or not. As someone with a basic knowledge of the game but not a huge follower of pro teams, I enjoyed this peek into big league baseball as a backdrop for the story of Frank Ryder, a young man blessed with tremendous skill and cursed with a heartbreaking past brought on by that skill. The secondary characters, especially the warm-hearted and wise Maggie, were every bit as enjoyable as Frank himself. I found myself doing a lot of cheering from the sidelines while reading this one!
March 1, 2023
Frank Ryder is a young pitcher for the Orioles and creates quite a stir by pitching fast balls of over 105 MPH. As Frank creates a sensation on his way to the World Series, the baseball commissioner and company begin to consider making new rules that would limit pitch speed. Meanwhile, Frank is struggling with his guilt over accidentally hitting a fellow little leaguer with a fatal pitch prior to high school. Once Frank gets past his mental block, his focus changes to addressing the practice of pitchers intentionally hitting batters and in finding a purpose beyond baseball.
As a lifelong baseball fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love baseball “talk” - all the lingo, the detailed play descriptions and all the subtle nuances associated with the game. However, I can certainly understand some readers finding the baseball detail in this book to be slow-paced and boring. I wouldn’t even recommend it to my friends who aren’t into baseball. Frank’s story is very good - his past trauma and current mental blocks are described well and I think the author did a great job developing his character. It was also inspirational to see how he didn’t get ruffled by the proposed rule changes and was able to focus on what really mattered to him. It’s interesting that as I read the book, Spring Training has started with new rules around the timing between pitches, time in the batter’s box and base size to make the game faster and more exciting. So, it seems that baseball continues to evolve even though some of us fans love every slow but extremely meaningful minute of the game. As an aside, I agree with the author’s opinion around designated hitters. Bummer that this has been incorporated into the National League. Anyway, as much as I enjoyed the book, I don’t think Frank’s personal story is enough to draw in non-baseball fans but I’m rating it based on my reading enjoyment.
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishers for the Advanced Reader Copy and Amazon Publishing for the Goodreads giveaway.
As a lifelong baseball fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love baseball “talk” - all the lingo, the detailed play descriptions and all the subtle nuances associated with the game. However, I can certainly understand some readers finding the baseball detail in this book to be slow-paced and boring. I wouldn’t even recommend it to my friends who aren’t into baseball. Frank’s story is very good - his past trauma and current mental blocks are described well and I think the author did a great job developing his character. It was also inspirational to see how he didn’t get ruffled by the proposed rule changes and was able to focus on what really mattered to him. It’s interesting that as I read the book, Spring Training has started with new rules around the timing between pitches, time in the batter’s box and base size to make the game faster and more exciting. So, it seems that baseball continues to evolve even though some of us fans love every slow but extremely meaningful minute of the game. As an aside, I agree with the author’s opinion around designated hitters. Bummer that this has been incorporated into the National League. Anyway, as much as I enjoyed the book, I don’t think Frank’s personal story is enough to draw in non-baseball fans but I’m rating it based on my reading enjoyment.
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishers for the Advanced Reader Copy and Amazon Publishing for the Goodreads giveaway.
June 6, 2023
What if The Art of Fielding was about a pitcher?
That’s essentially what this book is. A bargain-bin version of The Art of Fielding, centered on a pitcher instead.
Consider:
- young, preternaturally talented player comes from nowhere
- is on a fast-track to be the best ever in the sport
- has one incident that destroys his confidence and gives him the yips
- struggles to work his way through the mental element of the yips
- sleeps around, kind of
- faces his fears and anxieties
- comes back and wins the big game(s) for his team
It’s the same story. The only difference is that Henry Skrimshander doesn’t have trauma while Frank Ryder does. And that The Art of Fielding fleshes out all of the ancillary characters far more fully than The Fireballer does.
It’s in no way a *bad* book; it’s just the same story I’ve already read, and executed less gracefully.
That’s essentially what this book is. A bargain-bin version of The Art of Fielding, centered on a pitcher instead.
Consider:
- young, preternaturally talented player comes from nowhere
- is on a fast-track to be the best ever in the sport
- has one incident that destroys his confidence and gives him the yips
- struggles to work his way through the mental element of the yips
- sleeps around, kind of
- faces his fears and anxieties
- comes back and wins the big game(s) for his team
It’s the same story. The only difference is that Henry Skrimshander doesn’t have trauma while Frank Ryder does. And that The Art of Fielding fleshes out all of the ancillary characters far more fully than The Fireballer does.
It’s in no way a *bad* book; it’s just the same story I’ve already read, and executed less gracefully.
January 16, 2024
As I watch the powers that be tinker with the sport I love so much over the past few years, this book is a resounding reminder that things evolve, but they also stay the same. In a world where sports is driven not by athletic ability, but by how many tickets it can sell and how many viewers it can entice, the story often isn’t the game itself but the drama surrounding it.
Frank Ryder is a pitching phenom. He throws the ball up to 110 miles-per-hour. Not only that, but he can disguise his pitches so well the hitters don’t know what’s coming. The Baltimore Orioles, who drafted Ryder out of college, are positioning themselves for a playoff run, thanks to the amazing rookie. However, the baseball powers-that-be aren’t too happy about Frank Ryder. They are afraid not just of him, but of others coming up from the minors like him. When hitters can’t hit a pitch, they feel the game will become boring and people will stop coming, knowing that when certain pitchers are on the mound that team is guaranteed to win. They begin to tinker with the idea of topping the speed a pitch can be thrown.
Ryder, meanwhile, is battling a ghost from his past. There’s danger in throwing that fast and that hard. It’s only happened once in major league baseball, but the potential is always there. Couple that with the unwritten rule that when a player on your team is deliberately thrown at, a pitcher must retaliate, Frank has to face a decision which could bring those ghosts to the forefront right at the time his team needs him the most after the All-Star Break.
The Fireballer is a great baseball book, but it’s also a good book about fallible humans who are brought together in a set of circumstances which end very badly. In our society, we’re always looking for someone to blame when something happens. We don’t accept that there are accidents that sometimes just happen in the normal chaos of our world. We are taught to keep things inside and not show weakness, and in our desire to just “get past” something we often shut out the discussion that is so badly needed to do just that.
To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
Frank Ryder is a pitching phenom. He throws the ball up to 110 miles-per-hour. Not only that, but he can disguise his pitches so well the hitters don’t know what’s coming. The Baltimore Orioles, who drafted Ryder out of college, are positioning themselves for a playoff run, thanks to the amazing rookie. However, the baseball powers-that-be aren’t too happy about Frank Ryder. They are afraid not just of him, but of others coming up from the minors like him. When hitters can’t hit a pitch, they feel the game will become boring and people will stop coming, knowing that when certain pitchers are on the mound that team is guaranteed to win. They begin to tinker with the idea of topping the speed a pitch can be thrown.
Ryder, meanwhile, is battling a ghost from his past. There’s danger in throwing that fast and that hard. It’s only happened once in major league baseball, but the potential is always there. Couple that with the unwritten rule that when a player on your team is deliberately thrown at, a pitcher must retaliate, Frank has to face a decision which could bring those ghosts to the forefront right at the time his team needs him the most after the All-Star Break.
The Fireballer is a great baseball book, but it’s also a good book about fallible humans who are brought together in a set of circumstances which end very badly. In our society, we’re always looking for someone to blame when something happens. We don’t accept that there are accidents that sometimes just happen in the normal chaos of our world. We are taught to keep things inside and not show weakness, and in our desire to just “get past” something we often shut out the discussion that is so badly needed to do just that.
To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
January 23, 2023
This novel by Mark Stevens is a well told, well crafted, and captivating read. I’m still processing all the parts that resonate with me. I’ve never played on a baseball team, I don’t like to watch baseball on TV, I don’t even follow baseball. I do however like attending baseball games, although that’s been pretty limited. Still this novel that is centered on the game and a pitcher kept my attention and gave me a better appreciation for the sport. Joy, grief, concern, anticipation, satisfaction, these are just some of the emotions this story invokes in its readers.
April 9, 2023
I could not finish this one. Got 4 chapters in and was just bored by the lack of action and character development. I’m a baseball mom, mother of a pitcher, and general baseball lover. I wanted to love this but did not connect with the narrator either. My husband and pitcher son agreed- we tried it on a road trip. My apologies to the author, but I felt I should give an honest review for any other baseball fans. 110 mph fast ball? 90+mph curveball? That would break all MLB records. Nobody can throw >100 mph consistently, fictional phenom or not.
January 4, 2023
I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Nothing against Amazon's "First Reads," but generally they're in there for a reason. But I decided to give it a shot because I've been getting into baseball recently (more in a theoretical way than any practical way) and I was surprised to find I really enjoyed it. Lots of good baseball stuff, both on the diamond and in the boardroom. And a good journey for the main character and the trauma he's dealing with.
December 2, 2023
This is a good book if you love baseball and character-driven stories. I do love both of those things. I liked the book ok, but it did sometimes feel ... aimless, like it wasn't sure what it was trying to be. It meandered, and could have done the same job in fewer pages.
If you notice casual sexism, such as talking about women's bodies more than men's bodies when introducing characters, or referring to men who are reporters as "reporters" and women who are reporters as "female reporters," there will be a lot to notice.
If you notice casual sexism, such as talking about women's bodies more than men's bodies when introducing characters, or referring to men who are reporters as "reporters" and women who are reporters as "female reporters," there will be a lot to notice.
December 31, 2022
It’s hard to imagine enjoying this if you don’t love baseball - there’s a ton of scenes that require a deep understanding of the game and none of it is explained. But a good baseball novel set in Baltimore? Tough to beat for me.
February 22, 2023
2.75★
Theme: 3
Writing: 3
Plot: 2.5
Pacing: 2
Character/s: 3
Entertainment: 3
Theme: 3
Writing: 3
Plot: 2.5
Pacing: 2
Character/s: 3
Entertainment: 3
March 12, 2023
What a great baseball story to read during Spring Training ⚾️⚾️⚾️
March 6, 2024
Maybe the best sports novel I’ve read
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