Dan

I have not seen the print version but I actually enjoyed the content that actually followed the original Ball Four text which was more about Jim's life after his baseball career. Jim was very honest and wasn't afraid to express his feelings about any subject whether it be about baseball or his own personal life. I can appreciate that this book was a ground breaker in it's time but I only really started to enjoy it after the original Ball Four story. As a baseball story I preferred Dirk Hayhurst's "The Bullpen Gospels" but Jim's book was very good at capturing life after baseball which is a story that a fan does not often get to hear.

The manager's trade mark quote "Okay boys lets go out and win so we can pound some Budweisers after the game" always made me laugh and Jim's heart wrenching narrative of his daughter's sudden death in a car accident was just pure raw emotion that brought me to tears.

Joe Shultz the manager.

Jim and Mickey Mantle's correspondence prior to the Mick's death and Jim's invitation to the Yankee's Hall of Fame Game.

I had to be patient. The original Ball Four was written before I was born so I didn't know any of the characters and I couldn't really relate to them. It seemed like a whole lot of complaining by Jim that he wasn't pitching enough in key situations and it got tiring, but the stories that follow Ball Four are very worth the wait. I really enjoyed the development of Jim as a person after baseball. He proved to be very extraordinary person and I could see his story inspiring many athletes when their playing days are over.

I would not listen to any audiobook more than once no matter how great it is. Life is short and there is much too much to enjoy and learn about.

Wade is my favorite character. I love a good story about an underdog rising to great heights of success and stardomI

This was the first performance I've heard from Wil Wheaton and I thought that he was great. He put so much enthusiasm and plenty of sarcasm into his narration and just totally became the main character Wade.

The ending was perfect! I was moved by the main character Wade's transition from virtual life to real life; how he gained an appreciation for what real life had to offer even though the Oasis (virtual world) was totally awesome.

Has a lot of elements that I really enjoyed about the Hunger Games series (minus the cheesy love triangle) and plenty of awesome eighties pop culture and video game references. Any Generation X'er who grew up with the Atari 2600 and the Commodore 64 will love this book, I highly recommend it.