The Man with Two Arms

by Billy Lombardo

He even turns the basement into an indoor stadium. Enthralled by possibility, Henry begins guiding every instance of Denny's behavior, ensuring that every action performed on one side is matched by an equal action on the other-whether it's throwing a ball, swinging a bat, brushing his teeth, coloring, and even wiping his ass. Denny quickly distinguishes himself from his peers, most conspicuously by his ability to throw perfectly with either arm, a feat virtually unheard of in baseball. But he also possesses a visionary gift that not even he understands. Denny becomes a superior athlete, skyrocketing through the minor leagues and into the majors where he experiences immediate success, breaking records held for decades. When a journalist, a former student of Henry's hungry for a national breakout story, exaggerates the teacher's obsession and exposes him to the world as a monster, all hell breaks loose and the pressures of media and celebrity threaten to disrupt the world that Henry and Denny have created. A baseball novel-and much more--The Man with Two Arms is a story of the ways in which we protect, betray, forgive, love, and shape each other as we attempt to find our way through life.

Genres: Fiction, Sports

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 4, 2010

Reviews

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy a good baseball yarn as much as the next guy, so I was intrigued by the premise of Billy Lombardo’s debut novel, The Man With Two Arms, about a major league switch pitcher.

Before I started reading Two Arms, I did a little research to see if anyone had ever pitched a major league game from both sides of the rubber. It seems that Greg Harris threw one inning of shutout ball for the Expos (before they left Montreal for Washington to become the Nationals) against the Cincinnati Reds in 1995. Harris faced four hitters, two as a righty, and two as a lefty (walking one batter). Before Harris, I had to go back to 1888 to find another instance of a switch pitcher. However, as of 2008, Pat Venditte pitched minor league baseball for the Staten Island Yankees (Class A) from both sides and hopes to become the first full-time major league switch pitcher. It seems a ruling had to be made when he faced a switch-hitter and the hitter kept changing sides when Venditte changed arms (Venditte, too, like the fictional Danny Granville, uses a specially made six-finger glove). The ruling stipulates that the hitter can change from which side of the plate he bats only once per at-bat.

But, back to Two Arms. Henry Granville is a baseball buff and when he discovers his infant son’s ambidexterity, he encourages him to become a switch pitcher. From tee ball to high school, Danny is a man playing amongst boys. Eventually forgoing college to sign with the Cubs, Danny rockets to the starting rotation at age 18, throwing like Tom Seaver from the right side and like Sandy Koufax from the left. Oh, and he hits both with power and for average.

Unlike Harris and Venditte, Danny throws games using one arm and then, after two days rest (rather than the customary four)—he needs to give his legs and back time to recuperate from his outings—he pitches using his other arm.

By the All-Star break Danny’s record is perfect (with only a few no-decisions the result of blown saves) and he is on his way to shattering Denny McLain’s modern day record of 31 wins in a single season.

If all of that isn’t enough to give a Field of Dreams feel to Two Arms, throw in a touch of the paranormal: Danny, it seems, is blessed with clairvoyance—he’s able to center the ball on his bat in a batting cage with his eyes closed, and he also prevents the death of a girl on a school bus when he foresees a car crashing into the bus’s door just as she is about to step off.

Yet all of this isn’t enough to save Two Arms.

Lombardo shows glimmers of being a gifted writer—the opening chapter, which details Henry making love to his pregnant wife, Lori, is poetic, borderline stunning; while the shared scenes between Danny and Bridget, the young art student with whom he falls in love, capture the essence of young love very well and are some of the best in the novel, even as they come across wise beyond their years.

But it’s in the details that Two Arms flounders. While less observant readers may accept this, I was left to scratch my head over Danny’s first home start at Wrigley Field. Lifted late in the game, the closer blows the save with two pitches and the Cubs all head to the clubhouse. Apparently they were all so dejected that the closer had given up the go ahead runs they decided not to take their last at-bats to try to pull out a win for him in the bottom of the ninth.

It is only hinted that Danny’s clairvoyance is tied to his ambidexterity—Bridget sketches him, measuring all of his limbs to determine he is perfectly symmetrical (whereas the rest of us mortals vary, by inches in some instances, from one side to the other)—but is never fully explored to a satisfactory conclusion.

Bridget shows only perfunctory disappointment in that Danny chooses baseball over college, and the reader is left to accept as satisfactory that Danny has written into his Cubs contract that they will fund his college education.

The occasional conflict between Danny’s father, Henry, and mother, Lori—seemingly blind to Danny’s love of the game, she blames Henry for driving him too hard to excel in baseball, and nearly drives Henry into the arms of another woman—seems but a literary device to force additional, and unnecessary, conflict into the plot.

Danny struggles with his newfound superstardom which, for a somewhat contrived reason, eventually turns him against his family and Bridget; while the denouement (in which Danny’s clairvoyance again comes into play) seems an afterthought, perhaps designed to give the book broader audience appeal.

Finally, there are a host of annoying typos throughout the text—misspellings, missing words, duplicate words, misused words—that not only detract from the story, but leaves one to wonder what happened to the editorial process. I’ve read better (structurally) written books from self-published writers.

Award-winning sportswriter and novelist Frank Deford praised Two Arms; but I found it a major league disappointment.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading about baseball and over the last year have read some really good ones, mostly historical fiction.

This one was different...about a man who decides to work with his infant son who shows some early signs of athletic ability. He is a highschool biology teacher and has always been interesting in development of animals, so he decided to work with his son with regard to which arm he uses for eating, throwing, etc. He sees that his son can use either hand as well as the other and thus begins the journey.

From little league to the Chicago Cubs, we travel with Danny, the young man, and watch him evolve. There is also a love story in here and a twist with some other gift that Danny posesses that changes the lives of people around him.

One thing I did notice, LOTS OF ERRORS as far as wrong words, duplicate words, etc.!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Billy Lombardo's two previous books. I guess I should say I really liked them because I gave them four stars. This book is harder to rate. There are some outstanding things to recommend, and a couple things that disappointed me.

I thought the first chapter was beautiful, but much of the early parts of the story were a bit stiff. Then Lombardo seemed to hit his stride and I was thoroughly into the story, only to be disappointed at the ending. I think that Lombardo writes very well about sadness, couples and baseball.

Another reviewer stated there were a number of errors in the book. I agree that the publisher should have had a better editor and proof reader, but I hardly blame the author. All in all I'm glad I read the book, and recommend it.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Man With Two Arms" is a gorgeous book and has a real John Irving quality - beautifully written characters who have something amazing happen to them or are amazing themselves...and yet...they are flawed humans who don't always behave in ways you hope they will or do foolish, selfish things. It's what makes them feel so downright, well, true.

Danny and Henry are incredibly appealing protagonists - joyful, dedicated, hardworking, and confused. Lombardo infusion of true and absolute love for baseball is infectious. You'll never look at the game in the same way again.

My only quibble - the screen tested feel of the ending wasn't as strong as the rest of this incredible book.

[Gary Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might just be the best baseball novel ever. My favorite baseball novel is W. P. Kinsella's The Iowa Baseball Confederacy. Billy Lombardo's The Man with Two Arms is every bit as good.

If you liked the sensitivity, emotion, drama of Billy's other books, you'll like this one too. If you're a baseball fan, read this now.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love baseball and you love good writing, this is a terrific book for you. A summer read immersed in the details of baseball but warmed with loving characters and set in a Chicago neighborhood. Could there be a perfect baseball player? Danny Granville is a sweet young man with special gifts for sports and much more.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great concept. I love sports novels and the concept of this scientist father developing his son into a great athlete based on his understanding of animal behavior was fascinating. However, the psychic angle did nothing to enhance the story and even made it a bit ridiculous. There was no reason to throw it in. It just detracted from a really good idea. Disappointing ending too.

[Jack Sutrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book if you like baseball.

[Zac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining book, however, the numerous typos/mistakes are very distracting.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I received a copy of Billy Lombardo's "The Man with Two Arms," my first thought was "Rookie of the Year." For those fortunate enough to have forgotten it, that was the inane 1993 movie about a 12-year-old Chicago boy who stars for the Cubs after elbow surgery allows him to throw 103 mph. But while Lombardo's hero grows up in the Windy City and likewise signs with the Cubs, the similarities end there. Whew.

The novel opens with Henry Granville reading "The Natural" to his yet unborn son, in the hopes that his love for baseball will be passed along. When Danny, not long past his first birthday, uncorks a beautiful lefthanded throw, after previously throwing righthanded, Henry dreams of bringing the boy up to be ambidextrous. He embarks on a symmetry campaign, teaching Danny how to do everything with both hands, with the ultimate goal of producing a major league caliber switch-pitcher.

A high-school science teacher who has spent much of his life studying animal behavior, Henry pushes his son to excel, much to the chagrin of his wife, who only wants Danny to live a normal childhood. Of course Henry's project comes with the unexpected side effect of turning Danny clairvoyant. (Aren't most ambidextrous people able to see the future?) Once Henry realizes he's messing with things he can't control, he backs off. But Danny is already a superstar, pitching from both sides of the rubber as he leads his high school team to victory after victory.

Drafted by the Cubs, Danny instead heads to college until a last minute change of heart sends him rushing back to Chicago to reunite with his much older girlfriend and ink a pro contact. Despite signing in mid-August, he somehow shoots from low Class A all the way up to Triple-A by the end of the year, going 10-0 to earn a spot in the Arizona Fall League, where he wins another five games. Of course he makes the big leagues the following spring, and the All-Star team in July, tosses a perfect game, etc., etc., before it all comes crashing down when a reporter digs the secret of the symmetry project out of his father.

It's fiction. I'm willing to suspend disbelief for the sake of a good story. The kid can throw equally well with both hands, and he's ridiculously good. Fine. But given all the precision regarding Henry's animal behavior studies, it's fair to expect details and realism when we get to the baseball. If we can accept the Cubs signing Danny to a current year contract in late August, the minor league season still ends on Labor Day. There's no time for anyone to shoot through four levels of the farm system.

To top that, Danny goes 8-0 in spring training, including a complete game one-hitter. Apparently the Cubs' staff is so established no one else needs to get any innings in. The 19-year-old rookie, now the ace of the Cubs rotation, is on a tight pitch count, which would be realistic if it weren't self-imposed. Danny won't throw more than 80 pitches in a game, a limit so rigid he pulls himself with one out to go in a perfect game. Maybe this willingness to allow rookie pitchers to dictate when the manager pulls them helps explain Chicago's inability to win a World Series over the past century.

Picayune? Perhaps. But none of these violations of baseball reality are necessary. The story would have worked well within a realistic baseball world. There are 19-year-old rookies. There are first-year all-stars. There have even been switch-pitchers (though not to this extent). I could buy all of those, but only in a child's story do we usually find the pitcher who can never be beaten. This, however, is not a child's story. There are too many gratuitous F-bombs for that. Not to mention too many love-making scenes involving Danny's parents.

So we have an adult, or at least teen, novel, loosely following Bernard Malamud's lead, with a ruthless reporter—who happens to be a former student of Henry's—attempting to make a name for himself as a journalist. Much like Max Mercy in "The Natural," he is bent on breaking the story of a baseball freak. But would this expose really be that shocking? We've survived Gregg Jefferies' father training him to swing bats in a pool and take BP with the lights out. I think the world would forgive Henry Granville for teaching his son to throw with both hands.

I give Lombardo credit for coming up with a somewhat original idea. And even with the reality issues, this isn't "Rookie of the Year." You won't wish you hadn't read it when you're done. There's not a lot of new baseball fiction out there, and those who enjoy baseball novels may want to give it a look. But take some of the cover blurbs ranking it with "The Natural" and "The Celebrant" with a grain of salt.

[Vic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you just get lucky. The library was about to shutter its doors due to Covid-19 and and off I went to see what I could find. Up and down the aisles I went scanning shelves, waiting to be drawn to something, and there it was, Billy Lombardo's, The Man with Two Arms. On the spine of the book was a baseball underneath the word "with" and that was all it took.

On the front cover was a comment from Bob Costa, "A switch pitcher? A guy as good as Seaver righty and Koufax lefty. . ." He was talking my language, baseball talk from a time when I knew almost every player in the major leagues. A north side Chicago kid, who loved the White Sox and the Cubs growing up and here was a baseball story set in Chicago.

So was it a good baseball story? Yes. Well written? Yes and no. At times the writing was magnificent. Lombardo's characters beautifully crafted and loaded with charm. The story itself a blend of fiction and fairy tale. Although billed as a baseball story, the writing reflected Lombardo's grasp of relationships and intimacy—between parent and child, married couples, friends and new lovers. He wrote with a lighthearted seriousness, a pleasurable mixture of baseball jargon and emotional intensity about baseball and life.

As good as the writing was the story was marred by terrible editing. There were obvious mistakes that should have been caught and corrected. This was annoying—like nobody bothered to check the manuscript before publishing—but forgivable. The story also seemed to veer off track on occasion. I wanted more baseball and less other stuff. More about the young phenom, Danny Granville, and his baseball exploits. I was being victimized by my own expectations.

Even with the mistakes the technical aspects of Lombardo's writing still passed the test of wonderful storytelling. His dialog was engaging. His characters full of life. The relationships between his characters are what made the story, baseball aside. As the plot developed and Danny Granville matured and grew and learned and fell in love with more than baseball, something opened up. No longer one dimensional, no longer limited by a quest for superstardom, Danny became someone to fall in love with.

Born to a baseball loving father who was intrigued with the idea of symmetry in the animal kingdom and how it gave a competitive advantage to those animals that exhibited this trait, Danny Granville became his father's greatest experiment and obsession. The stuff of comic books and fairytales—how to balance Danny's life and turn him into a superstar. To Danny it was just how he grew up, until the moment he surpassed even his father's wildest dream.

Lombardo did not disappoint with the baseball parts of his story. There were moments in the writing—the sights and sounds of stepping into a major league stadium, the feel of the crowd, the buzz, the energy, the thrills, the nail biting tension that would lead to a flush of excitement or difficulty putting down the book. Flashbacks to childhood and my own love of baseball: batting cages and pickup games in the park; memories of playing high school baseball and the thrill of having my father at a game; countless trips to Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park to watch the greatest players of the time—Koufax and Seaver among them.

And as wonderful as the baseball scenes were, as true and magical as baseball can be for those who love the game, there was so much more about life and love than playing a game, even it was baseball. A fun read, but then Lombardo was speaking my language.

[Allison Corin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm very torn on this book. One the one hand, there is some truly beautiful writing. On the other, this has to be the most poorly edited book that I have ever read.

Typos aside, this book was riddled with inconsistencies that made it hard for me to keep my focus. For instance, on page 146, it mentions that Danny "ate lunch wtih a boy named Jeff Letourneau, whom he had played baseball against that summer. Jeff's sister, Eve, was a senior and they sat with her..." Then, on page 168, chapter 14 begins as such: "From the first day of freshman year the world seemed to open its arms to Danny Granville. Jeff Letourneau, the captain of the varsity boys' baseball team said hellow to him in teh hall and called him by name.....Jeff's sister Even an dher girlfriends, all juniors, waved him over to their table..." How did Jeff go from being a Freshman to varsity baseball captain within 22 pages? Also, his sister seemed to get demoted a grade.

Here's another example. On page 185, it is mentioned that at the end of Danny's sophomore year, his best friend, Mickey was drafted midway through the third round by the Cubs. However, on page 193/194, on the day of Danny's highschool graduation two years later, Mickey called him really excited because they were both drafted by the Cubs in the third round. Then, to further muddle the story, on page 249, a man reading a scouting report on Danny in SI notes that he's "drafted in teh sixty-second round behind nearly three hundred other players no one will ever remember."

Every writer I know keeps copious notes on how each and every character will play out in their story to make sure that these type of inconsistencies don't even make it to their agent, let alone through editors and to print.

All of that aside, I found the story mostly enjoyable, though some of the details bordered on tedious. The ending was rediculous and felt cut short.

It's worth reading in its tool of using baseball as a metaphor for life, especially as it pertains to parenting and relationships.

[Michael Brockley · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE MAN WITH TWO ARMS is burdened with many editorial gaffes; so many that the reader wonders what mistakes s/he is overlooking during the reading experience. Crucial words are omitted from sentences. There are misspelled words and a character's name that was apparently changed for the final draft is not changed in every instance. Most egregiously, the author Billy Lombardo refers to a short fielder on a Major League Baseball team. The Chicago Cubs inexplicably do not bat in the bottom of the ninth inning after their closer blows a save in the top of the ninth. The protagonist's team wins a double-eliminate tournament coming out of the loser's bracket by defeating the team that defected them in the first game of the championship, resulting in each team having a single loss.


This editorial mess is unfortunate because Lombardo is attempting to tell a story like THE NATURAL, a tale about how differently mothers and fathers love their sons and a baseball fantasy about the nature of heroism but somehow the purpose fell short. The hero's father coaches his athletically-gifted son to develop a symmetrical body and the boy becomes not only a switch hitter but a switch pitcher. There are a few glitches along his path to stardom on the Cubs but not many. He falls in love and Lombardo writes about love with such grace that the reader longs for such a love as well. But the ending feels false and the baseball errors, editorial gaffes and under-developed challenges to the hero render THE MAN WITH TWO ARMS a middle-of-the-road baseball novel. But don't give up Lombardo. The potential is obvious and, if one enjoys baseball novels, THE MAN WITH TWO ARMS can serve as entertainment for a weekend.

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

Every Summer I read a baseball book, so I was very excited to read a reviewer of this book. Local author, baseball, Chicago, Forest Park (I spent a few years in near-by Oak Park). Only bad part was I already knew he makes the major leagues - w/ the Chicago Flubbies. But boy, was I disappointed.

Actually I gave up after half way through, when the "man" was still 14 yrs old! And the first 80 pp was more about learning than about baseball - I forced my way through all of that somehow. And he needs an editor really badly - this might make a good 80 pp novella. Plus at one point I counted 3 typos on 1 page! It appears Overlook Press overlooks a lot of things.

And the kid is like 10-14 and but they do not act kids, one of them is telling the team coach what to do. Right, like he wouldn't get his ass kicked off the team in the blink of an eye for that. And the pitcher/catcher are talking baseball like they were major league vets - not 14 yr old kids.

But it was when dad finds out the kid can also foresee future events, and I realized I was half way through and still dealing w/ a 14 year old "man", that I decided to quit.

Oh, and the kid is a burgeoning artist as well. Talk about throwing in the kitchen sink!

I have a couple other books by Lombardo - I'll give them a try since they are short stories, and hope for better.

Truly, one of the worst efforts at fiction I have ever read, and for the life of me I can not figure out how it ever made it into print by anything other than a self publisher.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite what you might believe from the title and reviews of this book, it is NOT a baseball book! What other baseball book would have the Chicago Cubs running away with the pennant late in the season and not tell you whether they won/went to the World Series/won the WS for the first time since 1908???

What this book is, is a sweet book that is peopled by characters who truly care about each other and have deep emotions that the author captures intensely. You can read other reviews for the plot, but I believe that Lombardo does a remarkable job capturing these people, the city of Chicago and the "reality" of playing baseball.

That said, I have some problems with the book:

• For parents who follow very closely the development of their son, Danny, they seem to have no problem letting him hang out until all hours with an older woman who rents the upstairs apartment.

• And that woman is the one character that is not so deeply drawn. You don't really know her background, her parents or why she is drawn to a boy four years younger than her.

• The father, Henry, apparently has an affair with a fellow teacher, but that thread is dropped never to reappear through the book. What happened there and if nothing happened, why even bring it up?

But in the end, this is a touching book, which is set up for a sequel. Not sure Lombardo can hit the same "home run" the second time around.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all good sports stories, this isn't really about baseball. Yes, Danny Granville is the main character and he becomes the first switch-pitcher in pro baseball history. There are extensive passages that read like true Inside Baseball, but those lend authenticity to the fantastical story. It's more of a father-son story without the mysticism of Kinsella's "Shoeless Joe." Granville is driven to succeed, but we question how much comes from inside and how much comes from his father, Henry, who conceives a symmetry campaign for Danny when he discovers his then 4-year-old son can throw a baseball equally well with either hand. Henry thinks if he can make Danny completely ambidextrous it might lead to a blending of the brain's hemispheres, and who knows what possiblities lie beyond that. As Danny develops he becomes a star and soon is pitching for his hometown Cubs, though he grew up a White Sox fan. He also becomes a gifted artist who spends most of his free time drawing pictures of his love, Bridget. Danny also has another gift that I was never quite sure how it related -- at certain times he can see the future. This is Lombardo's first novel, and it wasn't without some rough patches. I noticed some errors that should have been caught in editing. But it was a strong debut nonetheless. I'm already a fan of his from this short story collections, so I can't wait to see what he has next for us.

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two charmers in a row. This one is for anyone who is a baseball fan (especially if they're a Cubs fan) and for anyone who is a father who's dreamed of and worked for big things for his son. Those of us who qualify on both counts will really love this. A schoolteacher raises his son to be ambidextrous, and he eventually becomes a star pitcher for the Cubs who can throw from either side. The father & son are both really fine people that we can love. Alas, the female characters--the wife & the girlfriend--are just backdrop for the male characters. And this is a very sloppily edited book, with way, way, too many typos, missed & added words, and a few other instances of sloppiness: a character who's treated as if he's just been introduced when he hasn't been; an impossible walkoff home run by the visiting team. But it's all forgivable in a story this charming about a father's dream for his son.

[Robertha · Rating 4 out of 5]

How much do I know or care about baseball? Apparently, so little that the exact meaning of having "two arms" did noit strike me until about 30 pages in, right when The Baseball Phenom's ambidexterrity is discovered by a sports fanatic mad scientist father.

Lomardo's clear yet cleverly detailed prose is a favorite of mine. Moreover, the scenes of marital calm and acrimony between the Granvilles, starkly opposed on the matter of a parent's right and ability to control childhood development, echo Lombardo's bittersweet depictions of fading romance in a marriage in his later novel, "How to Hold a Woman."

This dude made me kinda care about baseball for a second there, and I know more about the sport than I ever did before, so... that happened.

[Ellen Polishuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is about so much more than baseball. It's about balance and love. I have been a fan of baseball and books about baseball (The Brothers K) before, but the game has gotten lost for me in the last 10 years or so. This story reminds me of what a great game it is and also a great metaphor for life. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, gobbled it up quickly. I cared about all the main characters and found the writers descriptions of parenting and marriage to be especially insightful and poignant.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. (But the jacket is misleading. That infamous article expossing everything comes out on page 303 of 335. This book is not about the article's aftermath; it's about everything before.) This was a wonderfully written book about love. Love for baseball and love for a son, which is not usually written about so poetically. The first two chapters of this book rank among the best two chapters I've ever read. Read this book if you love baseball and if you love families.
PS the ending needs a rewrite and the whole book needs a better proofreader.

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A baseball book and more, Lombardo's lyrical writing draws you in on the first page and even though the pace is sometimes as slow as a baseball game, he manages to keep up interest if you can suspend reality a bit much like you would do in a story of mystical realism. May appeal to women more than men in spite of the baseball/sports theme if they get past the baseball blurbs. Great descriptions of the challenges of early parenting.

[Steve Battisti · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a baseball fan, this is a very enjoyable read. You don't HAVE to be a baseball fan, mind you, but it's steeped in a lot of the history and mores of the baseball world. I like the feel of the novel, which is light, yet touching, and clever, yet serious at times. It has kind of a "Northern Exposure in a novel" feel to me.

Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot.

[Injuneer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baseball segments were very good. Don't mind leaving plot lines to be completed by the reader, but too many uncompleted here to give 4 stars.
He could have stopped just as easily, say four chapters sooner.

[Marisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, and when it stuck to baseball and the relationship between Henry and his father, I did. But when it delved into Danny's supposed clairvoyance, ugh. And the ending was unfortunately just preposterous.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Facinating story of a man who cultivates his child from birth to be totally ambidextrous so that he can pitch a baseball equally with both arms. Great story.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly a fantastic book, with great commentary about talent, love, success, society. The timeline didn't gel, which is a personal pet peeve, so I had to drop this to 4 stars.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good writer and an ok read, but the ending...isn't. Eager to see what Lombardo can do with a story that hasn't been workshopped to death.

[Robs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept, I've always wondered if someone could do this.

[Pablo]

Switch pitcher, switch hitter, Chicago Cubs savior?

[Steve Tripp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Descent baseball book with an ending that could have been magical, but just seemed too rushed and too forced.