Reviews for Changing Pitches

The average rating for Changing Pitches based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-01-08 00:00:00 James Fullinwider I confess I couldn't wait to read this book. Ostensibly-straight pro baseball player named Scotty starts crushing hard on his handsome teammate and ends up with, and I quote, "a major league problem on his hands"??? It sounded so bad that it HAD to be good. Tragically, it's just bad enough to be AWFUL, and not even in the you-secretly-kitschily-love-it way. ***Spoilers ahoy. But they're only things you should really, really know if you plan on reading this book. Don't worry, you never will, so go ahead and read with impunity.*** This book would have offended my very sensibilities even without the mediocre writing, contrived humor, and eye-rolling potshots at "health food" (okay okay, I get that it was the 1980s, but enough with the giant bowls of alfalfa sprouts already) - all that just added insult to injury. The ubiquitous racist jokes about Japanese ballplayers (let me sum it up for you: East Asians are tiny, sneaky, and bright yellow, just like all those charming old posters tried to tell you) are pretty jaw-droppingly offensive, but you will forget them all as soon as you reach the big climax because (***last chance to turn back before spoilers***) OMG IT TURNS OUT SCOTTY ISN'T GAY AFTER ALL HE WAS JUST STRESSED OUT ABOUT PROPOSING TO HIS GIRLFRIEND SO HE GOT CONFUSED AND THOUGHT ALL THAT ANXIETY WAS ACTUALLY A HOMOSEXUAL CRUSH. Dear lord. NOTHING makes me feel more betrayed or rage-filled than ostensibly gay stories with "oops, just kidding!" endings tacked on to make them palatable to mainstream audiences. Seriously, they make me just absolutely nuts. Again - I get that it was the late '80s. But if you're going to write a "gay" book, write a gay book. Or write a book about straight people. I know you know better than that, Steve Kluger.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-01-20 00:00:00 Thomas J Layman 3.5 I liked this story, especially the emotional issues the narrator has and how he deals with them. His "voice" is also sweet and funny. The baseball talk lost me most of the time. I also think the theme that plagues Scotty, the main character, thought most of the book wasn't done in a very rewarding manner, things could have been done better. I understand the whys, this was a book published originally in 1984 but at the same time, some steps taken by the author didn't add up and feel just like an excuse.