JUST ENOUGH

Eckstein, with co-author Gronsky, chronicles his baseball career from Little League to multiple major league World Series.

The author, born in Florida in 1975, was the youngest of five children; he cites his homemaker mother’s passion for helping others as a cornerstone of his life and his schoolteacher father’s mantra of “family first” as a key motto. His family members had different ways of confronting their many health issues; he required intestinal surgery as an infant, and his siblings Christine, Susan, and Ken suffered from chronic kidney disease: “My Father showed us how to be unemotional; Momma showed us strength; Ken, Susan, and Christine showed us courage in the face of fear; and Rick showed us that living for one another was the only life that mattered.” (He later writes at length about injuries he sustained playing baseball.) Eckstein took to Little League early on, and he emphasizes how his father “always expected perfection”: “Three hits in ten at-bats could make you an All-Star. But to my father, it meant you’d let your team down seven times.” The author began his college baseball career at the University of Florida, and readers will particularly appreciate his account of a famous catch he made while playing against Minnesota: “It was out of my range, but I knew I had a shot….The ball stuck in the webbing of my glove, and I made the catch of my life.” Such triumphant play-by-play makes for a splendid book for baseball enthusiasts. Soon, Eckstein was drafted by the Boston Red Sox for their minor league affiliate. Eckstein called upon his protective brother, Rick, to help him with batting practice, and he effectively writes of the importance of “family first.” Later, Eckstein tells of playing with such major league teams as the Arizona Diamondbacks; he was part of the team that won the 2002 World Series. The author also engagingly discusses playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and receiving the 2006 World Series Most Valuable Player Trophy. He concludes the memoir by again emphasizing the importance of family and celebrating his devoted spouse, voice actor Ashley Eckstein.

A page-turning sports memoir with a solid message.