It's October and the battle of division playoffs is at its prime in major league baseball. Having missed the boat by reading The Art of Fielding, I decided to see if a lighter side of baseball would be entertaining, so I read an old story written by and about Jimmy Piersall, Fear Strikes Out.

Perhaps the book fell a bit short for me because I already knew most of Jimmy's story so the telling of his antics and mental breakdown just came as no surprise. The shenanigans he pulled on and off the field are still funny but when you look at the basis for his internal illness it becomes less funny and more depressing. I'm still not sure if his mental and anxiety issues stemmed from heredity (his mother had a revolving door relationship with the local mental hospital) or if it was the overbearing, berating and judgmental personality of his father that drove them both over the edge.

There were moments of redemption when he found acceptance and forgiveness from those he had tormented and was encouraged and uplifted by what he found were true friends and fans of the sport. He was a man blessed with God given talent who, for much of his life, lived with fear he could not overcome. Sometimes it just takes someone believing in you enough to give you courage to step up to the plate once more.

This isn't a book I would want to read again but it was nice to recall not only Jimmy Piersall's challenges in life, but his ability to overcome.