Don Drysdale: Up and In: The Life of a Dodgers Legend

by Mark Whicker, Steve Garvey (Foreword by)

Overview

The definitive biography of Dodgers legend Don Drysdale

Larger than Life. In the history of American sports, rare is the athlete who fits that description better than Don Drysdale. On the mound, the towering 6-foot-5 righthander intimidated National League hitters for more than a decade, amassing career totals of 209 wins, 2,486 strikeouts…and hitting 154 batters, a stat he lead the major leagues in four times. Off the field, Drysdale’s personality dominated every room he walked into. With a smile as immense as the sun, Drysdale’s contemporaries included Frank Sinatra and Howard Cosell.

In Up and In, longtime Orange County Register sportswriter Mark Whicker takes readers on a remarkable journey through Drysdale’s life and career. Featuring exclusive interviews with Drysdale’s teammates, broadcasting, and colleagues, this new biography paints a complete portrait of an unparalleled baseball life – from Drysdale’s early years in Van Nuys to his sudden passing in 1993 at age 56.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637275740
Publisher:	Triumph Books
Publication date:	02/18/2025
Edition description:	Burger
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Mark Whicker began his career as a sportswriter in 1974 and worked for SCNG newspapers from 1987 until his retirement in 2022. He was selected for induction to the U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Fame in 2020. 
 

Editorial Reviews

03/10/2025

Sportswriter Whicker debuts with an affectionate biography of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale (1936–1993). Drysdale joined the Bakersfield Indians, the Dodgers’ Class C team, in his late teens and finished his first season with an 8–5 record. Despite his “fiery” temper (he was once kicked out of a game for disputing balls and strikes), Drysdale moved up to the majors in 1956 and became known for intentionally pitching at batters’ heads to intimidate them. Whicker notes that in contrast to contemporary pitchers, Drysdale excelled as a batter, hitting 29 homers over his 14 seasons in the majors. Elsewhere, Whicker covers Drysdale’s forays into acting, which included guest appearances on Leave It to Beaver and Lawman, as well as his postretirement stints in the broadcasting booth for ABC and, in his later years, the Dodgers. There’s not much on Drysdale’s personal life, and the narrative sometimes meanders, as when Whicker devotes the bulk of a chapter to the ill fates that befell batters hit by pitches thrown by Drysdale’s near contemporaries, but the reverent tone will appeal to Dodgers fans (“When Drysdale walked to the top of a mound, it seemed to grow and rise, and everyone in the ballpark knew anything was possible”). This gets the job done. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

01/01/2025

Retired sports columnist and U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Famer Whicker mines a deep trove of primary sources in this breezy biography of the life and times of Don Drysdale, Hall of Famer and Los Angeles Dodger pitcher from 1958 to 1969. This book talks about how Drysdale joined the Brooklyn Dodgers just before they shocked the baseball world and moved across the country to Los Angeles in 1958. Alongside teammate Sandy Koufax, Drysdale led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a chain of World Series championships in the 1960s, at a time when baseball's popularity in the U.S. was at its peak. A born-and-raised Southern Californian with an aggressive pitching style and larger-than-life personality, Drysdale hung out with friends such as Frank Sinatra and Howard Cosell, made numerous television guest appearances, raised horses, and became a broadcaster before his death at age 56 in 1993. The book does a good job navigating Drysdale's remarkable life but never gets below the surface, and readers might find that the narrative tends to wander. VERDICT This is definitely a book for readers familiar with Drysdale and fans of baseball. It's a good story about a time gone by.—James Woods Marshall

Library Journal