Choice recently reviewed Pinnacle on the Mound and praised it, describing it as "a welcome addition to all collections. Recommended. All readers."  Thank you kindly!  Full review follows:  "Wedge, the author of two previous baseball history books, interviewed ten pitchers who had won the Cy Young Award, an annual award to Major League Baseball's best pitchers in both the National League and the American League, spanning 50 years: Jim Lonborg, Mike McCormick, Randy Jones, Ron Guidry, LaMarr Hoyt, Dennis Eckersley, Jack McDowell, Barry Zito, R. A. Dickey, and Corey Kubler. All pitchers interviewed are retired, with the exception of two-time American League winner Kubler. Common threads include that pitchers' successes result from years of work perfecting their craft, and that mentorship by coaches, managers, and fellow pitchers plays an important role. Interviews also touched on the close collaboration and teamwork between pitcher and catcher, the revelation of a particularly effective pitch and/or approach to pitching the subject developed and perfected, the superior defense on the field during a given year, and team chemistry, which may not necessarily be duplicated from year to year. The author complements the interviews with discussion of the finer points of technique in pitching. Readers will conclude that there is no sure-fire path to success in pitching. The book will be a welcome addition to all collections. Recommended. All readers." 

I am so thrilled that Bill Lee read my new book Pinnacle on the Mound and praised it.  Bill pitched fourteen years in the big leagues and won seventeen games three times.  At age 75, he's still playing baseball and pitching!  He's a gifted writer and a fantastic storyteller (his appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and Ken Burns's Baseball are joyful), and he's a cat you want to sit down and have a beer with and talk baseball, books, music, and the world's problems.  Lucky for me, he read my book and liked it.  Bill says, "I have believed and lived my life in serendipity. Doug Wedge’s book Pinnacle on the Mound is yet another example. I couldn't get past chapters one and two without a reread. Jim Lonborg and Mike McCormick. If Lonnie doesn't get hurt I don't get called up to the show. In my first game, on the very day I got called up, I am pitching with my Mike McCormick glove (not kidding). Written on the thumb and fingers is, “Be Smooth, Throw Strikes, Keep Ball Down, Don't Alibi, and Hustle!” All of these Cy Young winners had their mentors that subtly tweaked their deliveries to make all the difference. Mine was my dad, with my first major league glove! Amazing book, Doug."  Thank you so much, Bill!

Talk about a confluence of good things -- a book being published, a bookstore stocking and supporting it, and a kind, curious soul picking it up to check it out and read a few pages.  Thank you, Rowman & Littlefield for publishing Pinnacle on the Mound; thank you, Magic City Books (Tulsa, OK) for making space on your shelves for it and spreading the word about it; and thank you, Ms. Trickey, for buying a copy.  I hope you like it.  

Magic City Books is hosting a chat and book-signing for my new baseball history book Pinnacle on the Mound:  Cy Young Award Winners Talk Baseball.  The chat and signing will be on March 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Magic City Books -- 221 E. Archer Street in Tulsa.   Hope to see you there! 

Grateful for and excited by the recent review by Allen Adams of Pinnacle on the Mound in The Maine Edge.  "It’s a book by a baseball lover for baseball lovers – and Doug Wedge has his fastball working." 

https://www.themaineedge.com/sports/the-top-of-the-heap-%E2%80%93-pinnacle-on-the-mound

Book launch good times ahead at Commonplace Books in downtown Edmond.  Join us on Thursday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m. for a brief chat about and excerpts from Pinnacle on the Mound, question-and-answer, and mingling over beer and peanuts instead of the usual wine and cheese (a better fit for baseball, right?).  Commonplace will have books available to purchase and is located at 21 S. Broadway in Edmond, Oklahoma.  Hope to see you there!

Three-time American League Manager of the Year Buck Showalter likes Pinnacle on the Mound:  Cy Young Award Winners Talk Baseball.  "I enjoyed reading Pinnacle on the Mound. You can tell that this book is a labor of love, and it reminds me of what makes baseball such a great game -- the competition, the preparation, and the execution of nine guys on the field, working together. Read these stories about R.A. Dickey, one of my favorites, and Jack McDowell, one of the most competitive guys I ever coached. This book does them and the game great justice.

Good news!  My forthcoming book Pinnacle on the Mound:  Cy Young Award Winners Talk Baseball is the #1 rated new release in baseball history.  Publication date is February 9, 2022 -- available for pre-orders now. 

Good news!  My forthcoming book Pinnacle on the Mound:  Cy Young Award Winners Talk Baseball is the #1 New Release in Baseball History!  Publication date is February 9, 2022 -- available for pre-order now.   

Postseason baseball is an exciting time.  In Baseball in Alabama, Birmingham native Ron "Papa Jack" Jackson reflects on the 2004 World Series-winning Boston Red Sox and the ingredients to a championship team:  "We had some different type of people.  It takes that.  You can't have everybody being like a choir boy.  You can't have everybody being crazy.  It was a good mixture of everybody, and then guys go out to dinner and hung out together and end up being like a family."  Enjoy the World Series!