Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity, and the Perfect Knuckleball [Kindle Edition]

R.A. Dickey (Author), Wayne Coffey (Contributor)

Book Description

With a new epilogue by author R.A. Dickey, winner of the 2012 Cy Young award

"An astounding memoir--haunting and touching, courageous and wise." - Jeremy Schaap, bestselling author, Emmy award-winning journalist, ESPN

In 1996, R.A. Dickey was the Texas Rangers’ much-heralded No. 1 draft choice. Then, a routine physical revealed that his right elbow was missing its ulnar collateral ligament, and his lifelong dream—along with his $810,000 signing bonus—was ripped away. Yet, despite twice being consigned to baseball’s scrap heap, Dickey battled back. Sustained by his Christian faith, the love of his wife and children, and a relentless quest for self-awareness, Dickey is now the starting pitcher for the Toronoto Blue Jays (he was previously a star pitcher for the New York Mets) and one of the National League’s premier players, as well as the winner of the 2012 Cy Young award.

In Wherever I Wind Up, Dickey eloquently shares his quintessentially American tale of overcoming extraordinary odds to achieve a game, a career, and a life unlike any other.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''MLB's only active knuckleballer--boasts a story compelling enough to be told forthwith…. Dickey credits his faith with overcoming myriad trials both personal and professional, but it never feels as if he's preaching. Once an English-lit major and now a starting pitcher for the New York Mets, the author emerges as one of baseball's good guys, and someone who can write as well as he pitches. Dickey has set a new standard for athlete autobiographies''
- Publishers Weekly, Starred review

''It's a gripping memoir, a brutally honest account of family woes, childhood abuse and his failures as a husband and father. But it's also a meditation on contemporary baseball that is insightful without throwing anyone under the bus, save the author himself. (And maybe Alex Rodriguez.) It might be the finest piece of nonfiction baseball writing since Ball Four. Perhaps above all, it's a classic epic quest, a flawed hero's unlikely odyssey to the major leagues and to discovering the mystical pitch that helped him get there.''
- Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated

''Wherever I Wind Up is an astounding memoir--haunting and touching, courageous and wise.''
- Jeremy Schaap, bestselling author, Emmy award-winning journalist, ESPN

''Nobody in baseball has overcome more obstacles than R.A. Dickey, and nobody writes about them with more honesty and insight. R.A. doesn't want to be called a hero, but he is exactly that, and when you read about his life's journey and his courage, you will agree with me. This is an awesome book by an awesome man.''
- Orel Hershiser, ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst, former MLB All-Star

''R.A. Dickey is one of the coolest athletes I've ever met - a great mixture of soul and intellect ... This is an athlete worth knowing better.''
- George Vescy, New York Times

''A wonderful and powerful new memoir.''
- Jim Caple, ESPN

''I can't recommend Wherever I Wind Up enough.''
- Gary Cohen, SportsNet NY (SNY)

''R.A. Dickey's book is unlike any other professional athlete's autobiography you have ever read. And that is a very good thing.''
- Mike Bauman, MLB.com --Review

About the Author

R.A. Dickey is a starting pitcher for the New York Mets. He is one of the top starters in the National League, not to mention a widely beloved figure within the clubhouse. When not on the road with the team, Dickey lives in Tennessee with his wife and children.

Wayne Coffey is an award-winning journalist for the New York Daily News and the author of more than thirty books, including The Boys of Winter, a New York Times bestselling chronicle of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. A three-time Pulitzer nominee, he has been named one of the nation's top sports feature writers by the Associated Press three times in the last five years.

Product Details

• File Size: 4977 KB
• Print Length: 369 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0452299012
• Publisher: Plume; Reprint edition (March 29, 2012)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005HN2080
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,057 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #21 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Baseball
  • #36 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Inspirational
  • #38 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Biographies

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 101 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Kilimanjaro was a walk on a spring day, comparatively March 30, 2012

By A. Hogan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

RA Dickey has co written[along with the wonderful Wayne Coffey] the singular most interesting sports biography in memory.As a group, sports bios are either gushing hagiography or attempts at shocking the reader with "inside" information. Dickey does neither. His titillating confessions are of a more sober, and painful sort.he related growing up poor,in an alcoholic home,one step ahead of the bill collectors[which is a job for vermin,by the way] beaten neglected then abused,sexually, by a woman and a man.he speaks of the deep,rotting shame that this installed in him, of how it colored every decision,every outlook form then on. In between, he seeks his salvation, as it were, in baseball.A star in college drafted by the Rangers,on the cover of Baseball america ,it begins to unravel. He is discovered to have no ulnar nerve in his right arm, and the bonus from Texas drops from 800K to 80K.He bounces literally around the minors, marries his sweetheart ,suffers from guilt and depression, has an affair,finally comes clean to his wife, and is convinced to try a knuckle ball. If anyone's life was meant to be a knuckle ball metaphorically ,it is RA Dickey. Finally he finds success with my beloved NY Mets,his home life is repaired and he even re-establishes a relationship with his estranged, now sober mother. The writing is crisp and at times elegant, something else you rarely find in a jock bio.The news this AM is that the Mets are going to guarantee Dickeys option year through 2013, bringing some stability at last to this baseball nomad.A great read from a good man, with kudos to Wayne Coffey,too. Intelligent,courageous and compassionate. And enjoyable. HUGELY RECOMMENDED!!!!

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars No Shame in Crying March 30, 2012

By Antony Chow

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Wherever I End Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball is an honest and open look at the life of Robert Allen Dickey, from his childhood through his professional life as a Major League Baseball Player.

Coming from a poor, broken family, R.A. Dickey reveals that he was sexually molested as a child. One individual was a trusted babysitter and the first instance occurs in the sitter's room while Dickey's mother was downstairs.

The description of Dickey's childhood was gut wrenching for me personally. But despite having the odds against him, R.A. Dickey eventually became a major league pitcher. In this book, he shares a lot of sports stories. He talks about having his signing bonus with the Texas Rangers drop down to ten percent of the original offer when it was discovered that Dickey is missing a ligament in his throwing elbow. He talks about his first major league game, where A-Rod winds up throwing the game ball into the stands. He also recalls the meeting where Buck Showalter asked him to reinvent himself as a knuckleball pitcher.

Wherever I End Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball is an inspirational tale of a man's perseverance and finally finding a home with a major league baseball team.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Inspirational March 31, 2012

By Mr. Dunkles

Format:Hardcover

If you're reading these reviews, you probably already know about R. A. Dickey's missing ligament, descent into obscurity, and rise as a knuckleballer pitcher. His perseverance in the face of adversity already seemed admirable, but reading this book makes it monumentally moreso. This is the most genuine and honest book by an athlete that I've ever read, and adds impressively to the author's other achievements. A very worthwhile read that took great bravery to write.

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