Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Triumph Books, and author Mark Whicker for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

In modern baseball, the idea of the starting pitcher pitching a full nine-inning game has become anathema. Managers aim for 6 innings and then usually pull the starting pitcher in favor of the bullpen. In addition, the number of pitches thrown (pitch count) has become a staple of judging when to take the starting pitcher out, regardless of how well he’s pitched until that point. Whether the idea has merit or not is debatable. On one hand, there are some records out there that will likely never be broken with this new way of managing the pitching staff. On the other hand, hopefully careers will last longer, Nolan Ryan excepted.

Don Drysdale: Up and In—The Life of a Dodgers Legend is the story not just of Don Drysdale’s career, but of a number of pitchers who are from that different era. If you’re a baseball fan, you’ll know it’s impossible to talk about Drysdale without bringing up his teammate, Sandy Koufax. Koufax’s career was cut short by injury. Although Drysdale’s career lasted longer, it was also ended by injury, after which he ended up in the Dodgers’ broadcast booth.

Drysdale penned his own biography years ago, which made me ask myself what else Mark Whicker could contribute to his story. The answer is to put his career in the context of other players of the era, as well as highlighting what was different about the game when Drysdale pitched as opposed to modern baseball. Don Drysdale is a name probably not recognized among many younger baseball fans, except for occasional mentions during broadcasts in terms of the records he set. This book brings him and the era he pitched in to life.

Drysdale was the last of the players who were a part of the Brooklyn Dodgers when he retired from the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the end of an era, so to speak. Whicker not only takes in Drysdale’s career, but there’s a lot about Koufax as well. Both players were instrumental in the Dodgers’ dominance during the 1950s and 1960s. He details how hard it was pitching in the Los Angeles Coliseum after they moved from Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. My grandmother, once a Brooklyn Dodger fan, would have little sympathy, though. He also delves into the career of Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser, who broke one of Drysdale’s seemingly “unbreakable” records.

I enjoyed Don Drysdale: Up and In—The Life of a Dodgers Legend quite a bit. It brought back memories of my early days of baseball fandom, which were just after Drysdale retired. Whicker does a great job putting Drysdale’s accomplishments as a pitcher in the context of the times he pitched, as well as showing what baseball was once like. If you yearn to see more pitchers pitching complete games, I think you’ll enjoy the perspective in this book.