The Last of His Kind

March 25, 2024
Athletic writer McCullough debuts with a commanding biography of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ ace pitcher. According to McCullough, Kershaw was profoundly influenced by his high school sweetheart, Ellen Melson, whom he married in 2010. Early on in their relationship, Ellen, a devout Presbyterian, encouraged Kershaw to see God at work in his life, leading him to view his burgeoning athletic talent as a divine gift and to double down on his dedication to baseball. McCullough offers a granular account of how Kershaw navigated the scouting process (the Florida Marlins “chided him for wearing shorts and a T-shirt” to a meeting), traces the pitcher’s rise to the top of the pros after getting drafted by the Dodgers in 2006, and recreates the highs and lows of Kershaw’s quest for a World Series title, which he attained in 2020 after a near miss in 2017. (That year, the Dodgers lost the series to the Houston Astros, who were later found to have engaged in illegal sign-stealing.) McCullough enriches his narrative with humanizing detail (Kershaw once rebuffed Samuel L. Jackson for upsetting his rigid game-day routine with a visit to the Dodgers locker room), offering an intimate portrait of an athlete who understands that to stay on top, “he could never stay satisfied” yet “could also never lose what made him special.” Dodgers fans should consider this a must. Agent: David Black, David Black Agency.

April 1, 2024
A portrait of a great pitcher in action. By sportswriter McCullough's estimation, Clayton Kershaw (b. 1988) is "the best left-handed pitcher of his generation, the spiritual heir to Sandy Koufax." It didn't hurt that Kershaw, pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, took notes from Koufax himself. At 27, Kershaw had already won three Cy Young Awards, pitched more than 1,600 innings, and signed one of the richest contracts in baseball history. There were technically better pitchers out there; as the author notes, "Kershaw threw hard, but others threw harder. His curveball and his slider were sharp, but others were nastier." What Kershaw had in abundance, though, was a competitive sense that caused him to try just that much harder. Raised in Dallas, Kershaw courted controversy by speaking out for the Black Lives Matter movement, a sentiment born of growing up without much money in a town full of it. That circumstance was also motivation for excellence, since "Kershaw did not want to flame out and leave his mother strapped with bills." McCullough delivers a view of a fundamentally decent man with the usual foibles, one who brings kindness as well as ungodly pitches to the game. Kershaw, for example, ended the hazing of rookies, holding them up "as teammates trying to help capture a title" and sitting next to them in the dugout, quietly coaching them during the game. The author also addresses the financial realities of a sport turned into a big business, where players come and go as pawns on the board, especially when the chips are down. Whatever Kershaw winds up doing, though, this vigorous account gives the sense that he will do it well. Dodgers fans and aspiring pro pitchers alike will enjoy this report of how a master of the diamond works his magic.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2024
There's sports hate--and few MLB franchises are as disfavored as the Los Angeles Dodgers--and then there's longtime Dodger ace and likely first-ballot Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, whose blue-collar dedication to his craft, sportsmanship, accountability to his team and fans, family focus, and dedication to humanitarian issues all outclass the antipathy and are detailed here by McCullough. The former Dodger beat writer for the Los Angeles Times and now senior writer for the Athletic, McCullough certainly gives full attention to Kershaw's development as a lockdown pitcher, especially his ridiculously devastating curveball and seemingly rising fastball, the bane of generations of hitters. But it's Kershaw's humanity, from the pressure he put on himself as an only child to lift his single mom and himself out of poverty--incongruously, in the ultra-wealthy Dallas suburb of Highland Park--to his 2012 Roberto Clemente Award as an exemplar of character and community involvement, to his forthright stand in support of Black Lives Matter following the murder of George Floyd, among other attributes, that will win over pretty much any baseball fan.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.