I Told You I Wasn't Perfect
by Denny McLain, Eli Zaret
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Book Summary Information
Author: Denny McLain, Eli ZaretEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-04-01
ISBN: 1572439572
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Triumph Books
Book Reviews of I Told You I Wasn't Perfect
Book Review: RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "FROM 31 WINS, TO SUSPENSION FOR GAMBLING, TO FEDERAL PRISON!"
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a sports fanatic, and have read "literally" hundreds of sports books over the last decade or so. This autobiography has much more in it than a normal sports fan would expect. Sure, it has his baseball history, which shows him as perhaps the first "modern day", totally spoiled, self-possessed, spoiled brat, baseball star, who took advantage of the media's growing fascination with spoiled, rich ballplayers. He admittedly let his mouth run wild as his fame grew. Alienating, not only his teammates, but also, all "old school" players, executives, and fans. (Me!)
The beginning of the book, which traces his abusive childhood, up to his making the major leagues, leads us to the information that I already knew and expected: The last player to win 30 games in a season, (31 in 1968), the youngest player in major league history (At that time.) to win 100 games, (25 years old.) being suspended from baseball for gambling. Interesting, but old ground. Here is where his trouble really begins, and it seems like it takes forever, for Denny to realize he's the problem, not everyone else.
Here's where this book became absolutely fascinating to me, and became way more than your every day baseball book! When Denny went to federal prison, he describes in agonizing, claustrophobic, detail, what it's really like to be in federal prison, not a country club prison. What I tell you next is the absolute truth! A couple of times while I was engrossed in the portions of the book of what he went through, in his tiny, cramped cell, I actually got out a tape measure twice, and measured the size of my bed, to compare it to the cell he was in. To me this book is much more than a baseball book, it is also a "scared-straight" story. This is a story of success and arrogance gone astray. Denny went from 31 wins in a season and back to back Cy Young Awards, to Federal Prison, sharing a cell block with Gotti Jr., and innumerable de-humanizing body searches. I not only recommend this book highly; I feel it should be mandatory reading for every rookie entering the Major Leagues!
Summary of I Told You I Wasn't Perfect
I Told You I Wasn't Perfect begins on the night of March 20, 1992, when Denny McLain and his wife, Sharon, received the shocking news of their daughter's death. The book moves on from there, recounting McLain's loveless childhood and home life in working-class Chicago before his whirlwind marriage at age 19 and his meteoric rise to baseball superstardom. But the success was short-lived, as McLain found himself out of baseball and headed to prison after winning both the Cy Young and MVP awards in 1968.Few characters soar to such dizzying heights and then plunge to the depths of despair like McLain did. But it is his ability to finally reflect on his mistakes and self-indulgences that makes his story especially compelling.
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