The phenomenon

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The heartbreak, the humiliation and the highpoint--fewer than expected, but memorable still. All told with honesty, humility, empathy and an eye for telling detail.

"He had phenomenal talent, and when he faced hardship, he proved he had phenomenal character too. His book is a candid and powerful story of his pitching success, his cruel and dramatic career derailment, and his historic resurrection as a power-hitting outfielder"

A great story of a young man’s ability to persist in the face of complicated and difficult issues—I admire him for it and the success he eventually achieved.

"His great talent did not account for the inexplicable demons that he had to endure, from an abusive home to a career-altering mystery, The Phenomenon is bravely candid about his challenges in life and his journey through a game that humbles all of us"

Like all great baseball stories, this one is metaphysical: a young prodigy stricken with an inexplicable curse. In Tim Brown’s expert hands, Rick Ankiel’s journey is heartbreaking, unsentimental, and, in an entirely unexpected way, victorious. The moral to the story, the test of us all, can’t be measured with a signing bonus or by a radar gun. It’s how we repair ourselves. This is a superb book.

THE PHENOMENON is a must read for anyone who has wrestled with his own demons—which is everyone. I couldn’t put this book down, maybe because I knew parts of the story, but more likely, because it displays the power of the human spirit to overcome the odds.