New York Times

The New York Times

May 9, 2008

By Doug Glanville

Vicious curveballs are tricky, both on and off the field. And...

Once I had eluded the 90-mile-an-hour fastball sizzling toward my head, I knew it was time for me to keep my promise.

I lunged into a dead sprint toward the pitcher and managed to push him off of the mound. But for the rest of what became a bench-clearing brawl I saw virtually nothing. The opposing catcher had me face-down in a full nelson near the pitching rubber.

Why did I get myself — and everyone else — into this?

The New York Times

May 9, 2008

by Doug Glanville

So you want to learn how to hit a curveball?

In Major League Baseball, experience can take you only so far. ...

If in seven years you went from being a bouncing baby boy to Old Man River, you would most likely look around to try to figure out which mirror you had broken. But in the world of Major League Baseball, that is exactly what happens to you — if you’re lucky.

The New York Times

April 11, 2008

By Doug Glanville

Roger Clemens’s unshakable belief in himself made him one of baseball’s...

If Major League Baseball had a starter kit for players, it would no doubt contain a fortune cookie. Crack it open and you would find a little slip of paper with the message, “You have to believe in yourself or no one else will.” In general, good advice. But follow it too closely and you may end up believing in yourself so thoroughly that you trust no one else. This is usually where your problems begin.

The New York Times

January 16, 2008

By Doug Glanville

Moving forward, we must openly address not only the drug issues plaguing...

HE will always be a rookie to me, but Jimmy Rollins, the reigning National League most valuable player, once gave me a poignant piece of wisdom that typically would flow from mentor to mentee, not the other way around. “Do it afraid,” was his advice — and it’s a lesson Major League Baseball had best learn if it is to put the age of steroids behind it.