What do you think?
Rate this book
Don Drysdale: Up and In—The Life of a Dodgers Legend
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.
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.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published February 18, 2025
14 people are currently reading
1650 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 28, 2025
It is spring training, finally. In less than three weeks there will be games that matter. After two months that I’d rather not discuss, I am giddy because face it I live for baseball season. The Cubs open against the Dodgers in Japan necessitating a four am wake-up call. I’m not excited about it or the fact that both teams will lose a home game out of the deal. There is nothing like a summer afternoon at Wrigley, and I’m sure Dodgers fans will say the same about their stadium. The Dodgers won the World Series and then proceeded to buy star players to fill any possible hole in their roster. There will be twenty nine teams (ok, twenty eight because the White Sox don’t count) who would love to knock the Dodgers out. This year promises to be an excellent one for baseball book publications, which become my elixir of long summer days. Ironically, my first book this year is about a Dodger. I was reluctant to read yet another Dodger-centric book because last year my reading gravitated toward the Dodgers, Yankees, and Red Sox, partially because those teams are subject of more books than the rest of the teams combined. It is what it is and I have to accept baseball heirarchies, besides which, Don Drysdale is a hall of famer, and I am not one to say no to baseball, even if it is about a team that most of the baseball world loves to hate at the moment.
Koufax and Drysdale, Drysdale and Koufax. I have always been partial to Koufax, but from my dad’s recollections, he noted that the two of them were interchangeable and duel aces on a staff. The two actually came from disparate baseball backgrounds, leading to slightly different baseball trajectories. Don Drysdale was a lifetime Californian, growing up in wholesome Van Nuys before California became what it is today. His father Scott worked in various blue collar jobs but always had the time to shuttle Don and his lifelong friend Gene Mauch to baseball practice. Don started as a shortstop, and during his career, he was a feared hitter for a pitcher. By high school, his body matured, and it became apparent to his coaches that he had a pitcher’s body. He dominated in high school and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. As time went on, Drysdale, not Koufax, would be the team’s last link to its halcyon days in Flatbush. Drysdale broke in to the Dodgers’ rotation before Koufax because he had more minor league experience. Koufax might have had the left hand of G-D but his arms were meant for basketballl or perhaps the architecture that he once dreamed of. As a young pitcher, he was wild and did not become a star until the team moved west. In the early 1960s, rhe Dodgers, as they are now, were the cream of the national League, and their two ace pitchers lead the way.
Mark Whicker wanted this book to be about the life of Don Drysdale, but sadly his life was not long enough to make the biography just about him. Other athletes died young yet their lives dealt with social justice as much as their playing careers. Drysdale was one of the guys so generating material became a stretch. Whicker wrote about everything from the impetus of the Dodgers’ move west to Walter Johnson’s consecutive scoreless innings streak. The Big Train generated three pages of print as did the Dodger’s move west. The rest was about Drysdale and how he became who he did. He was the Dodger’s leader even when Koufax had a better year, as he often did. Players knew that the Dodgers were Drysdale’s team, and he was friends with everyone; however, he would not hesitate to throw at a batter if the opposing team’s pitcher knocked down one of his guys. That is how baseball was played in the 1960s, and the quality of play was probably superior to what it is now. The Dodgers were notoriously cheap in those days, and after three World Series victories Koufax and Drysdale held out of spring training for higher salaries. They both knew that they could go into acting or broadcasting should the Dodgers brass lowball them. Both settled for salaries around $125,000 and were most likely worth five times that. That year, Drysdale had a lackluster year for his standards and Koufax was Koufax; however, he was forced to retire after that 1966 season due to his injuries in the days prior to reconstructive surgery. The late 1960s Dodgers teams belonged to Drysdale.
People dub 1968 as the year of the pitcher. Drysdale was not the best of the best but he did record 58 2/3 scoreless innings in a row. In 1988 another Dodger named Orel Hershisher broke the streak by 1/3 of an inning. Those innings were Drysdale’s defining moment and what ultimately catapulted him into the hall of fame. His numbers might not match up with the top line hall of famers but he helped the Dodgers win three championships, and those numbers were enough for voters. After retiring from baseball, Drysdale turned to acting and broadcasting. He is underrated as a broadcaster, Vin Scully casting a long shadow over the rest of the team. Drysdale also felt at home among Hollywood’s stars and acted on many occasion. Even his marriage was a celebrity power couple because Ann Meyers was just as good of, if not better of an athlete as her husband. Their kids would have probably been star athletes, but they chose other lines of work, their parents’ celebrity too much pressure to overcome. Drysdale could list as his friends Robert Kennedy, a laundry list of Hollywood stars, and a who’s who of the baseball community. Even Willie Mays could poke fun at their confrontations when their careers ended, all in jest. He was best friend to all that he met, but when it was time to compete, he was game. The one thing Drysdale did not possess was a strong heart, which prematurely ended his life. Like other stars who died young, his star shined for a short amount of time and faded too soon, yet during the 1960s, he was one of the best.
I wonder what Drysdale would think of today’s Dodgers who have a team payroll of over $400 million. He had to negotiate every contract and only reached six figures at then end, and that was as a pitcher who was supposed to go nine innings every time. Today’s starters are lucky to go six innings on a good day. Whicker touches on this disparity as well and scratches his head when figuring why it took Drysdale ten years to reach hall of fame status. The gist is his numbers weren’t the greatest but he had a giant personality that made up for his very good, not necessarily great, numbers. In the game of life, I would rather take the personality. With the Cubs and Dodgers set to meet in Japan in a few weeks, both teams will be starting Japanese pitchers. The games might be more of a spectacle than anything else. After a long winter for me personally where the time without baseball seems to have been longer than usual, I am ready for the games to begin. I think Don Drysdale would have loved these games in Japan and the gathering of stars on the field. Of all the stars, he was the brightest on his team and a fun personality to read about. If today’s stars matched up, the game today would be much more entertaining, and Drysdale would have wanted it that way.
4 stars
Koufax and Drysdale, Drysdale and Koufax. I have always been partial to Koufax, but from my dad’s recollections, he noted that the two of them were interchangeable and duel aces on a staff. The two actually came from disparate baseball backgrounds, leading to slightly different baseball trajectories. Don Drysdale was a lifetime Californian, growing up in wholesome Van Nuys before California became what it is today. His father Scott worked in various blue collar jobs but always had the time to shuttle Don and his lifelong friend Gene Mauch to baseball practice. Don started as a shortstop, and during his career, he was a feared hitter for a pitcher. By high school, his body matured, and it became apparent to his coaches that he had a pitcher’s body. He dominated in high school and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. As time went on, Drysdale, not Koufax, would be the team’s last link to its halcyon days in Flatbush. Drysdale broke in to the Dodgers’ rotation before Koufax because he had more minor league experience. Koufax might have had the left hand of G-D but his arms were meant for basketballl or perhaps the architecture that he once dreamed of. As a young pitcher, he was wild and did not become a star until the team moved west. In the early 1960s, rhe Dodgers, as they are now, were the cream of the national League, and their two ace pitchers lead the way.
Mark Whicker wanted this book to be about the life of Don Drysdale, but sadly his life was not long enough to make the biography just about him. Other athletes died young yet their lives dealt with social justice as much as their playing careers. Drysdale was one of the guys so generating material became a stretch. Whicker wrote about everything from the impetus of the Dodgers’ move west to Walter Johnson’s consecutive scoreless innings streak. The Big Train generated three pages of print as did the Dodger’s move west. The rest was about Drysdale and how he became who he did. He was the Dodger’s leader even when Koufax had a better year, as he often did. Players knew that the Dodgers were Drysdale’s team, and he was friends with everyone; however, he would not hesitate to throw at a batter if the opposing team’s pitcher knocked down one of his guys. That is how baseball was played in the 1960s, and the quality of play was probably superior to what it is now. The Dodgers were notoriously cheap in those days, and after three World Series victories Koufax and Drysdale held out of spring training for higher salaries. They both knew that they could go into acting or broadcasting should the Dodgers brass lowball them. Both settled for salaries around $125,000 and were most likely worth five times that. That year, Drysdale had a lackluster year for his standards and Koufax was Koufax; however, he was forced to retire after that 1966 season due to his injuries in the days prior to reconstructive surgery. The late 1960s Dodgers teams belonged to Drysdale.
People dub 1968 as the year of the pitcher. Drysdale was not the best of the best but he did record 58 2/3 scoreless innings in a row. In 1988 another Dodger named Orel Hershisher broke the streak by 1/3 of an inning. Those innings were Drysdale’s defining moment and what ultimately catapulted him into the hall of fame. His numbers might not match up with the top line hall of famers but he helped the Dodgers win three championships, and those numbers were enough for voters. After retiring from baseball, Drysdale turned to acting and broadcasting. He is underrated as a broadcaster, Vin Scully casting a long shadow over the rest of the team. Drysdale also felt at home among Hollywood’s stars and acted on many occasion. Even his marriage was a celebrity power couple because Ann Meyers was just as good of, if not better of an athlete as her husband. Their kids would have probably been star athletes, but they chose other lines of work, their parents’ celebrity too much pressure to overcome. Drysdale could list as his friends Robert Kennedy, a laundry list of Hollywood stars, and a who’s who of the baseball community. Even Willie Mays could poke fun at their confrontations when their careers ended, all in jest. He was best friend to all that he met, but when it was time to compete, he was game. The one thing Drysdale did not possess was a strong heart, which prematurely ended his life. Like other stars who died young, his star shined for a short amount of time and faded too soon, yet during the 1960s, he was one of the best.
I wonder what Drysdale would think of today’s Dodgers who have a team payroll of over $400 million. He had to negotiate every contract and only reached six figures at then end, and that was as a pitcher who was supposed to go nine innings every time. Today’s starters are lucky to go six innings on a good day. Whicker touches on this disparity as well and scratches his head when figuring why it took Drysdale ten years to reach hall of fame status. The gist is his numbers weren’t the greatest but he had a giant personality that made up for his very good, not necessarily great, numbers. In the game of life, I would rather take the personality. With the Cubs and Dodgers set to meet in Japan in a few weeks, both teams will be starting Japanese pitchers. The games might be more of a spectacle than anything else. After a long winter for me personally where the time without baseball seems to have been longer than usual, I am ready for the games to begin. I think Don Drysdale would have loved these games in Japan and the gathering of stars on the field. Of all the stars, he was the brightest on his team and a fun personality to read about. If today’s stars matched up, the game today would be much more entertaining, and Drysdale would have wanted it that way.
4 stars
March 3, 2025
I expected more from this biography than I got. perhaps it is because I lived through the Drysdale years and followed the team closely. Drysdale was part of the duet of Koufax and Drysdale-the most imposing and dominant one two punch of the era. In the 1963 World Series, for instance, the Yankees scored a total of four runs and batted.171 in the four games. Koufax, Drysdale, and Podres pitched 35 and a third of the thirty-six innings. I learned very little from the read, most of which came from magazine and newspaper articles. In fact, the book reads like a long exclusive SI piece. That is not to say that the book isn't entertaining, because it is. It just doesn't compare to great biographies like The Kid by Ben Bradlee Jr., Billy Martin by Bill Pennington or Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle by Jane Leavy to name a few.
We learn very little about Drysdale's youth, and we get little insight into what made him tick. Who may have helped form his personality and drive? What was his family life as a child? On the one hand, the author dives immediately into the highlights of his life with the first chapter rather than detailing unnecessary facts of his youth or surroundings. But I needed a bit more of his makeup.
Drysdale pitched in baseball's golden age-in 1956. His road roommate at age nineteen was fellow Hall of Famer and Dodger great Gil Hodges. He was described by his peers as "A man's man"-he drank hard, was tough, and lived life like every day could be his last. When I read that he ate liver and onions and a couple of beers for breakfast, I could understand why he died at age fifty-six.
The author doesn't judge whether " a man's man "was an apt capsulation of Drysdale 's life. I have no doubt that it was apt for the 60's. Nevertheless, I'm going to be judgmental. No doubt he was fun to be around and admired as a competitor. But my perception differs. I prefer the taciturn Sandy Koufax. Drysdale was a hard drinker, proposed to Ann Meyers on the third date while he was seemingly happily married to Ginger. And oh, by the way, Ginger accused him of beating her on more than thirty occasions. I was also struck by the callousness with which Drysdale deliberately hit batters. I know it was a different game then, but he didn't just brush back hitters. He hit them to intimidate them. If Walter Alston would visit the mound to tell Drysdale to intentionally walk a batter, Drysdale would say, "why waste four pitches" and just hit the batter. Moreover, as Director of Pitching development for the Dodgers, he actually schooled younger pitchers on where and how to hit batters as part of their repertoire. And then there is the notorious spit ball that he used. So nefarious was that practice that he made a television commercial for Vitalis as a greaseless product to mock his use of foreign substances. So, my perception of him may be naive or too judgmental, but he was no Christy Mathewson.
I'd did enjoy the chapter on the 1968 record breaking six consecutive shutouts over 58 and two thirds' innings. The author, I think, rightly suggests that this accomplishment (later broken by Orel Hershiser), catapulted Drysdale over the hump into Cooperstown. Honorable mention to the author for titling each chapter after a Frank Sinatra classic. That was a great touch.
We learn very little about Drysdale's youth, and we get little insight into what made him tick. Who may have helped form his personality and drive? What was his family life as a child? On the one hand, the author dives immediately into the highlights of his life with the first chapter rather than detailing unnecessary facts of his youth or surroundings. But I needed a bit more of his makeup.
Drysdale pitched in baseball's golden age-in 1956. His road roommate at age nineteen was fellow Hall of Famer and Dodger great Gil Hodges. He was described by his peers as "A man's man"-he drank hard, was tough, and lived life like every day could be his last. When I read that he ate liver and onions and a couple of beers for breakfast, I could understand why he died at age fifty-six.
The author doesn't judge whether " a man's man "was an apt capsulation of Drysdale 's life. I have no doubt that it was apt for the 60's. Nevertheless, I'm going to be judgmental. No doubt he was fun to be around and admired as a competitor. But my perception differs. I prefer the taciturn Sandy Koufax. Drysdale was a hard drinker, proposed to Ann Meyers on the third date while he was seemingly happily married to Ginger. And oh, by the way, Ginger accused him of beating her on more than thirty occasions. I was also struck by the callousness with which Drysdale deliberately hit batters. I know it was a different game then, but he didn't just brush back hitters. He hit them to intimidate them. If Walter Alston would visit the mound to tell Drysdale to intentionally walk a batter, Drysdale would say, "why waste four pitches" and just hit the batter. Moreover, as Director of Pitching development for the Dodgers, he actually schooled younger pitchers on where and how to hit batters as part of their repertoire. And then there is the notorious spit ball that he used. So nefarious was that practice that he made a television commercial for Vitalis as a greaseless product to mock his use of foreign substances. So, my perception of him may be naive or too judgmental, but he was no Christy Mathewson.
I'd did enjoy the chapter on the 1968 record breaking six consecutive shutouts over 58 and two thirds' innings. The author, I think, rightly suggests that this accomplishment (later broken by Orel Hershiser), catapulted Drysdale over the hump into Cooperstown. Honorable mention to the author for titling each chapter after a Frank Sinatra classic. That was a great touch.
June 1, 2025
Calling this a biography is extremely generous and misleading. I felt like I was reading a history of the Dodgers, with a few things about Don Drysdale weaved in. At times I felt like I was learning more about other players than I was him.
The editing and flow of the book is extremely awkward as well. It felt like it was all over the place (with very little about the main character).
The editing and flow of the book is extremely awkward as well. It felt like it was all over the place (with very little about the main character).
June 30, 2025
As several reviews have noted the book has an awkward flow and is thin as an actual biography of the fellow. The author redeems himself however with a well written take on the scoreless streak and Don’s life after retiring as a pitcher. In particular writing about his wife Anne Myers and his passing. Very touching and merits five stars.
March 2, 2025
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: THERE’S A REASON IT SAYS ***NOTED***FOR***INTIMIDATING***STYLE***AND***DURABILITY***… ON “BIG-D’S” HALL OF FAME PLAQUE!! WHEN BASEBALL WAS STILL “THE-NATIONAL-PASTIME… AND MEN WERE MEN… ONE MAN STOOD TALLER THAN THEM ALL… AND PUT HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH WAS!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don Drysdale… was one of my idols growing up… and influenced me off the field as well as on the field… because as I subsequently raised my son and grandchildren… as to the benefit of not only playing sports… but the mantra to put everything into being the best and always realizing the object of anything they keep score of… THE OBJECT IS TO WIN! The hits… baskets… goals… you score on the field or court…and the awards you win… will translate into sales… and accomplishments in the business world. We vehemently denounce… and will never accept a despicable “participation-trophy”! For the holidays this year… I had a custom laminated picture of me pitching with my very long stride in a Babe Ruth League game… with the following words printed on it… **GOLDSTEIN FAMILY MANTRA #2… NEVER LET ANYONE TAKE THE INSIDE OF THE PLATE… ON THE MOUND… OR IN LIFE! **
That’s what I learned and adhered to from the time I was in Little League. My professors in that subject were “Big D”… Don Drysdale…. And Sal “The Barber” Maglie. As I was Brooklyn born into a family of devout Brooklyn Dodger fans… from the minute I picked up a bat and ball… these were my idols and mentors… and yes… even the hated Giant… Dodger killer… Sal “The Barber” Maglie was a role model on how to intimidate and win. And low and behold… when he was traded to our beloved Bums… in 1956… the same year Big D was a NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD-ROOKIE-WITH OUR BUMS… it took a short period of adjustment to not want to kill him… but love him… in the heavenly Dodger Blue! Once Carl “The Reading Rifle” Furillo… who for years… was a favorite… live target… for Maglie’s razors at the chin… while at the plate… accepted him during a tense private meeting in the Ebbets Field clubhouse… he became a favorite “Bum”… and without his no-hitter… and thirteen wins… we wouldn’t have won another pennant in 1956!
The author… Mark Whicker does a wonderful job… following Big D’s… life… from his youth in the San Fernando Valley… Van Nuys, California… who signed right out of Van Nuys High School… and twenty-two-months later… at the age of nineteen… was pitching at my personal “FIELD-OF-DREAMS” EBBETS FIELD! As I mentioned earlier… my family was/is DEVOUT **BUMS-FANS**…
I dare you to ask how devout we were??!! Well… when “OUR-BUMS”… announced they were moving to Los Angeles… my family moved the exact same time with them… and we wound up living in North Hollywood… which coincidentally is right next to Van Nuys… and years later I would be on the North Hollywood High School Basketball Team… which was in the same league as Drysdale’s alma mater!
It was quite fortuitous… when “The Barber” joined our Bums… during Don’s rookie year… as Drysdale already believed in a pitcher’s G-d given right… to protect “his-plate”… and when “The Barber” became his mentor… “chin-music” was raised to a brand new level. Drysdale was not shy with his pitches… nor with his all-time classic quotes… which he was never bashful about sharing:
“EVENTUALLY DRYSDALE LEARNED TO GO INSIDE TWICE. THE FIRST TIME, HE SAID, COULD BE INTERPRETED AS AN ACCIDENT. ”THE SECOND TIME WAS INTENDED TO DISPEL THAT INTERPRETATION.”
“THAT ESSENTIAL AND ALMOST EXISTENTIAL LESSON CAME FROM PROFESSOR MAGLIE.”
The absolute love affair between Brooklyn fans and our Bums is legendary. In fact when the Dodgers announced they were leaving after the 1957 season… Drysdale… a Southern California native said… that he and the team would vote 25-0 to stay in Brooklyn. He loved living right in the midst of Brooklyn fans… and them respectfully loving each other wherever they went.
This biography of Drysdale… is not only a treasure-trove of Don Drysdale’s life… and death… but coincidentally (I don’t believe the author set out to dramatically declare this) it is an absolute open and shut indictment of the vivid… decline of the game of baseball. By contrast… a complete game by a pitcher today… is as rare as a wet paper straw holding up the front of a Sherman Tank. To even have to discuss the OXYMORON… in today’s spineless game... “A QUALITY START”… is a disgrace to the historical significance of baseball! To try to declare that giving up 3 runs in six innings… and then leave the game and take a shower… and then have someone term it a quality start… surely causes two thousand plus… deceased players to roll over in their graves simultaneously. Here’s a statistic of one year of the greatest one-two pitching combo in Major League history…Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale:
“KOUFAX WAS 26 WINS 8 LOSSES WITH A 2.04 ERA, DRYSDALE WAS 23 WINS 12 LOSSES WITH A 2.77 ERA, KOUFAX STARTED 41 GAMES, DRYSDALE STARTED 42, THAT’S 83 STARTS FOR TWO PITCHERS IN A 162 GAME SEASON. KOUFAX COMPLETED 27 GAMES, DRYSDALE COMPLETED 20. KOUFAX THREW 8 SHUTOUTS, DRYSDALE THREW SEVEN SHUTOUTS, KOUFAX THREW 335 2/3 INNINGS, DRYSDALE THREW 308 1/3, KOUFAX STRUCK OUT 382 BATTERS, A RECORD POST 1900 BASEBALL, DRYSDALE STRUCK OUT 210.” 1965 WORLD CHAMPION DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!
***NOW… LET THAT SINK IN WITH THIS STATISTIC: ***
*** IN THE ENTIRE 2024 SEASON OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL… THAT’S THE “ENTIRE”… THE NATIONAL LEAGUE PLUS THE AMERICAN LEAGUE… THERE WERE 26 COMPLETE GAMES!! ***
NOTE: The great Sandy Koufax was asked what he thought of this new “quality-start” statistic… and he said: “MY IDEA OF A QUALITY START… IS WHEN YOU SHAKE THE CATCHER’S HAND AFTER GETTING THE LAST OUT IN THE GAME!”
The author deftly spins a tale… from start to finish… with no loss of literary velocity. It became apparent to me that… this book is not only a must-read for “OLD-SCHOOL-BASEBALL-FANS”… but it comes with a responsibility… for said fans… you must get the younger generation fans to read this… or there will forever be a generation gap wider than the Grand Canyon. You cannot come away from this book without being convinced… light years beyond a reasonable doubt… that today’s game is for very rich wimps! Big D led the league in hit batters 5 times… but remember this… THERE WAS NO DESIGNATED HITTER RULE… that means the pitchers batted… so when Drysdale hit someone… he had to “man-up” and face the music in the batter’s box… and while we’re talking about hitting (not like PHONY-TOUGH-GUYS… like Scherzer and Clemens… who would throw at people… but never have to get in the box!)… Big D was one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball history! He hit 7 home-runs in a season twice… HIS 29 HOME-RUNS IS SIXTH MOST LIFETIME BY A PITCHER… AND IN 1965 HE WAS THE ONLY 300 HITTER ON THE WORLD CHAMPION DODGERS!
Drysdale was outspoken… quotable… and absolutely loved by his teammates. One teammate said… “SANDY IS A BETTER PITCHER… BUT DRYSDALE IS THE HEART OF OUR TEAM!”
Drysdale loudly stated: “I HATE HITTERS! I START THE GAME MAD… AND I STAY THAT WAY!”
Big D always said half-the plate belonged to him… but he would never let the batter know which half it was. In ten years he never missed a start… and pitched a whole year with a broken bone in his left hand. He broke the all-time consecutive scoreless innings pitched streak… won the Cy Young Award… three World Championships… he hit Mickey Mantle with a pitch.. then he’d come around and look at the bruise on Mickey’s arm… and ask… “DO YOU WANT ME TO SIGN IT!”
What was Don **BIG D** proudest of…
“THAT I ALWAYS TOOK THE BALL”
PS. At Big D’s funeral… his really close friend… and a former big league manager… Gene Mauch… while giving a eulogy… stated: “DRYSDALE INDEED WAS A GIANT MAN WHO WALKED AMONG GIANTS. AND IF HE COULD HEAR ME, HE WOULD SAY, “EITHER SIT DOWN OR START OVER. I NEVER HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH GIANTS IN MY LIFE.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don Drysdale… was one of my idols growing up… and influenced me off the field as well as on the field… because as I subsequently raised my son and grandchildren… as to the benefit of not only playing sports… but the mantra to put everything into being the best and always realizing the object of anything they keep score of… THE OBJECT IS TO WIN! The hits… baskets… goals… you score on the field or court…and the awards you win… will translate into sales… and accomplishments in the business world. We vehemently denounce… and will never accept a despicable “participation-trophy”! For the holidays this year… I had a custom laminated picture of me pitching with my very long stride in a Babe Ruth League game… with the following words printed on it… **GOLDSTEIN FAMILY MANTRA #2… NEVER LET ANYONE TAKE THE INSIDE OF THE PLATE… ON THE MOUND… OR IN LIFE! **
That’s what I learned and adhered to from the time I was in Little League. My professors in that subject were “Big D”… Don Drysdale…. And Sal “The Barber” Maglie. As I was Brooklyn born into a family of devout Brooklyn Dodger fans… from the minute I picked up a bat and ball… these were my idols and mentors… and yes… even the hated Giant… Dodger killer… Sal “The Barber” Maglie was a role model on how to intimidate and win. And low and behold… when he was traded to our beloved Bums… in 1956… the same year Big D was a NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD-ROOKIE-WITH OUR BUMS… it took a short period of adjustment to not want to kill him… but love him… in the heavenly Dodger Blue! Once Carl “The Reading Rifle” Furillo… who for years… was a favorite… live target… for Maglie’s razors at the chin… while at the plate… accepted him during a tense private meeting in the Ebbets Field clubhouse… he became a favorite “Bum”… and without his no-hitter… and thirteen wins… we wouldn’t have won another pennant in 1956!
The author… Mark Whicker does a wonderful job… following Big D’s… life… from his youth in the San Fernando Valley… Van Nuys, California… who signed right out of Van Nuys High School… and twenty-two-months later… at the age of nineteen… was pitching at my personal “FIELD-OF-DREAMS” EBBETS FIELD! As I mentioned earlier… my family was/is DEVOUT **BUMS-FANS**…
I dare you to ask how devout we were??!! Well… when “OUR-BUMS”… announced they were moving to Los Angeles… my family moved the exact same time with them… and we wound up living in North Hollywood… which coincidentally is right next to Van Nuys… and years later I would be on the North Hollywood High School Basketball Team… which was in the same league as Drysdale’s alma mater!
It was quite fortuitous… when “The Barber” joined our Bums… during Don’s rookie year… as Drysdale already believed in a pitcher’s G-d given right… to protect “his-plate”… and when “The Barber” became his mentor… “chin-music” was raised to a brand new level. Drysdale was not shy with his pitches… nor with his all-time classic quotes… which he was never bashful about sharing:
“EVENTUALLY DRYSDALE LEARNED TO GO INSIDE TWICE. THE FIRST TIME, HE SAID, COULD BE INTERPRETED AS AN ACCIDENT. ”THE SECOND TIME WAS INTENDED TO DISPEL THAT INTERPRETATION.”
“THAT ESSENTIAL AND ALMOST EXISTENTIAL LESSON CAME FROM PROFESSOR MAGLIE.”
The absolute love affair between Brooklyn fans and our Bums is legendary. In fact when the Dodgers announced they were leaving after the 1957 season… Drysdale… a Southern California native said… that he and the team would vote 25-0 to stay in Brooklyn. He loved living right in the midst of Brooklyn fans… and them respectfully loving each other wherever they went.
This biography of Drysdale… is not only a treasure-trove of Don Drysdale’s life… and death… but coincidentally (I don’t believe the author set out to dramatically declare this) it is an absolute open and shut indictment of the vivid… decline of the game of baseball. By contrast… a complete game by a pitcher today… is as rare as a wet paper straw holding up the front of a Sherman Tank. To even have to discuss the OXYMORON… in today’s spineless game... “A QUALITY START”… is a disgrace to the historical significance of baseball! To try to declare that giving up 3 runs in six innings… and then leave the game and take a shower… and then have someone term it a quality start… surely causes two thousand plus… deceased players to roll over in their graves simultaneously. Here’s a statistic of one year of the greatest one-two pitching combo in Major League history…Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale:
“KOUFAX WAS 26 WINS 8 LOSSES WITH A 2.04 ERA, DRYSDALE WAS 23 WINS 12 LOSSES WITH A 2.77 ERA, KOUFAX STARTED 41 GAMES, DRYSDALE STARTED 42, THAT’S 83 STARTS FOR TWO PITCHERS IN A 162 GAME SEASON. KOUFAX COMPLETED 27 GAMES, DRYSDALE COMPLETED 20. KOUFAX THREW 8 SHUTOUTS, DRYSDALE THREW SEVEN SHUTOUTS, KOUFAX THREW 335 2/3 INNINGS, DRYSDALE THREW 308 1/3, KOUFAX STRUCK OUT 382 BATTERS, A RECORD POST 1900 BASEBALL, DRYSDALE STRUCK OUT 210.” 1965 WORLD CHAMPION DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!
***NOW… LET THAT SINK IN WITH THIS STATISTIC: ***
*** IN THE ENTIRE 2024 SEASON OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL… THAT’S THE “ENTIRE”… THE NATIONAL LEAGUE PLUS THE AMERICAN LEAGUE… THERE WERE 26 COMPLETE GAMES!! ***
NOTE: The great Sandy Koufax was asked what he thought of this new “quality-start” statistic… and he said: “MY IDEA OF A QUALITY START… IS WHEN YOU SHAKE THE CATCHER’S HAND AFTER GETTING THE LAST OUT IN THE GAME!”
The author deftly spins a tale… from start to finish… with no loss of literary velocity. It became apparent to me that… this book is not only a must-read for “OLD-SCHOOL-BASEBALL-FANS”… but it comes with a responsibility… for said fans… you must get the younger generation fans to read this… or there will forever be a generation gap wider than the Grand Canyon. You cannot come away from this book without being convinced… light years beyond a reasonable doubt… that today’s game is for very rich wimps! Big D led the league in hit batters 5 times… but remember this… THERE WAS NO DESIGNATED HITTER RULE… that means the pitchers batted… so when Drysdale hit someone… he had to “man-up” and face the music in the batter’s box… and while we’re talking about hitting (not like PHONY-TOUGH-GUYS… like Scherzer and Clemens… who would throw at people… but never have to get in the box!)… Big D was one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball history! He hit 7 home-runs in a season twice… HIS 29 HOME-RUNS IS SIXTH MOST LIFETIME BY A PITCHER… AND IN 1965 HE WAS THE ONLY 300 HITTER ON THE WORLD CHAMPION DODGERS!
Drysdale was outspoken… quotable… and absolutely loved by his teammates. One teammate said… “SANDY IS A BETTER PITCHER… BUT DRYSDALE IS THE HEART OF OUR TEAM!”
Drysdale loudly stated: “I HATE HITTERS! I START THE GAME MAD… AND I STAY THAT WAY!”
Big D always said half-the plate belonged to him… but he would never let the batter know which half it was. In ten years he never missed a start… and pitched a whole year with a broken bone in his left hand. He broke the all-time consecutive scoreless innings pitched streak… won the Cy Young Award… three World Championships… he hit Mickey Mantle with a pitch.. then he’d come around and look at the bruise on Mickey’s arm… and ask… “DO YOU WANT ME TO SIGN IT!”
What was Don **BIG D** proudest of…
“THAT I ALWAYS TOOK THE BALL”
PS. At Big D’s funeral… his really close friend… and a former big league manager… Gene Mauch… while giving a eulogy… stated: “DRYSDALE INDEED WAS A GIANT MAN WHO WALKED AMONG GIANTS. AND IF HE COULD HEAR ME, HE WOULD SAY, “EITHER SIT DOWN OR START OVER. I NEVER HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH GIANTS IN MY LIFE.”
April 28, 2025
I had been really excited to get my hands on this book. With the LA Dodgers the cream of the MLB crop at the moment, it seemed like an excellent time to bio Don Drysdale--a True Blue legend. Alas, Mark Whicker's work here could only be classified as "biography" by the slimmest of margins.
Is "Up and In" ostensibly about the career of Brooklyn/LA Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale? Sure. But in terms of actual info about Drysdale himself, Whicker is remarkably sparse. Even the Drysdale info that is present is scattershot--jumping seemingly at random from one story or time period to the next.
Instead of a heavy focus on the central figure, Whicker wanders down several authorial cul de sacs: the history of Beanballs, the Dodgers' move from Brooklyn to LA, Vin Scully, Sandy Koufax, and even (I kid you not) the history of the city of Van Nuys where Don grew up. It was almost as if the scene was so busy being set that the actual coverage of Drysdale himself was pushed to the margins.
While all of that info was accurate and baseline interesting, it has been covered in numerous (and, quite frankly, better) places of baseball history writing. So, while "Up and In" is well-written from a prose standpoint, it largely fails in the central goal of providing memorable coverage of the life/career of Don Drysdale--an odd thing to happen in a biography about that very individual.
Is "Up and In" ostensibly about the career of Brooklyn/LA Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale? Sure. But in terms of actual info about Drysdale himself, Whicker is remarkably sparse. Even the Drysdale info that is present is scattershot--jumping seemingly at random from one story or time period to the next.
Instead of a heavy focus on the central figure, Whicker wanders down several authorial cul de sacs: the history of Beanballs, the Dodgers' move from Brooklyn to LA, Vin Scully, Sandy Koufax, and even (I kid you not) the history of the city of Van Nuys where Don grew up. It was almost as if the scene was so busy being set that the actual coverage of Drysdale himself was pushed to the margins.
While all of that info was accurate and baseline interesting, it has been covered in numerous (and, quite frankly, better) places of baseball history writing. So, while "Up and In" is well-written from a prose standpoint, it largely fails in the central goal of providing memorable coverage of the life/career of Don Drysdale--an odd thing to happen in a biography about that very individual.
February 24, 2025
It’s hard to believe that a Hall of Famer actually was a second fiddle during a good chunk of his career. But Don Drysdale, an imposing 6’5” hard-throwing righty, had the “misfortune” of pitching on the same staff as Sandy Koufax. Veteran journalist Mark Whicker looks to give “Big D” his due in DON DRYSDALE: UP AND IN.
Drysdale grew up in California but was signed by the Dodgers while they were still in Brooklyn. In fact, when he retired in 1969 at the age of 32 --- just two years older than Koufax, who was forced to step down after the 1966 season because of injuries --- he was the last player from those “Boys of Summer” teams.
It might be unfathomable for younger fans to imagine a time when starting pitchers routinely pitched more than 250 innings a year. In fact, Drysdale had four consecutive seasons of more than 300 innings. He also was famous (or infamous) for throwing at batters, especially those who chose to challenge him by standing close to the plate.
As intimidating a presence as he was, Whicker wants readers to know that Drysdale had a kinder, gentler side. He was among the first to welcome rookies to the team, which was uncommon for veterans in those days. And while he might knock you down with an up-and-in pitch, after the game he would buy you a beer. Let bygones be bygones.
There are two events that stand out in Drysdale’s career, aside from eight All-Star appearances and a Cy Young Award, indicative of the league’s best pitcher. Prior to the 1966 season, he and Koufax took the unheard-of stance of joint contract negotiations. This was several years before free agency when teams still controlled the fates of their players. Koufax and Drysdale wanted a staggering sum of $1 million split between the two of them over three years and were prepared to hold out if their demands were not met.
Although Drysdale and Koufax didn’t get all that money, they did get hefty raises, both receiving more than $100,000. (Koufax would step down after the Dodgers lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series that year.) What would they have done if the Dodgers didn’t play ball? Perhaps acting would fill the void. Drysdale appeared in several TV shows, including “The Flying Nun,” “The Brady Bunch,” “The Greatest American Hero” and “Then Came Bronson.”
The second major accomplishment was breaking the record for consecutive scoreless innings, which occurred in 1968, known as “the year of the pitcher.” Drysdale did not allow a run to score for more than 58 innings, a number that was broken by another Dodger hurler, Orel Hershiser, with 59 in 1988.
Despite his stats, Drysdale was not a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame. While he eventually was inducted in 1988, it took him 14 years to make it to Cooperstown.
After Drysdale retired, he became a broadcaster. He worked for several teams, including the Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, California Angels and Montreal Expos. In 1993, while working a game for the Dodgers against the Expos, Drysdale was found dead in his hotel in Montreal. He was just 59 years old.
As for his life off the field, Drysdale was married twice, the second time to basketball legend Ann Meyers. He enjoyed good music and good booze, which Whicker suggests may have been a problem. Drysdale was involved in a DUI accident that cost him in fines and community service, but it never seemed to interfere with his vocation.
While it’s good to have Drysdale’s story told, UP AND IN does have a few flaws. In 1965, Koufax sat out of the first game of the World Series against the Minnesota Twins because it fell on Yom Kippur, which Whicker fails to explain is the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar. Perhaps he thinks everyone knows that. Another faux pas is suggesting that one can buy tickets to the Hall of Fame on Ticketmaster. One cannot.
Reviewed by Ron Kaplan
Drysdale grew up in California but was signed by the Dodgers while they were still in Brooklyn. In fact, when he retired in 1969 at the age of 32 --- just two years older than Koufax, who was forced to step down after the 1966 season because of injuries --- he was the last player from those “Boys of Summer” teams.
It might be unfathomable for younger fans to imagine a time when starting pitchers routinely pitched more than 250 innings a year. In fact, Drysdale had four consecutive seasons of more than 300 innings. He also was famous (or infamous) for throwing at batters, especially those who chose to challenge him by standing close to the plate.
As intimidating a presence as he was, Whicker wants readers to know that Drysdale had a kinder, gentler side. He was among the first to welcome rookies to the team, which was uncommon for veterans in those days. And while he might knock you down with an up-and-in pitch, after the game he would buy you a beer. Let bygones be bygones.
There are two events that stand out in Drysdale’s career, aside from eight All-Star appearances and a Cy Young Award, indicative of the league’s best pitcher. Prior to the 1966 season, he and Koufax took the unheard-of stance of joint contract negotiations. This was several years before free agency when teams still controlled the fates of their players. Koufax and Drysdale wanted a staggering sum of $1 million split between the two of them over three years and were prepared to hold out if their demands were not met.
Although Drysdale and Koufax didn’t get all that money, they did get hefty raises, both receiving more than $100,000. (Koufax would step down after the Dodgers lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series that year.) What would they have done if the Dodgers didn’t play ball? Perhaps acting would fill the void. Drysdale appeared in several TV shows, including “The Flying Nun,” “The Brady Bunch,” “The Greatest American Hero” and “Then Came Bronson.”
The second major accomplishment was breaking the record for consecutive scoreless innings, which occurred in 1968, known as “the year of the pitcher.” Drysdale did not allow a run to score for more than 58 innings, a number that was broken by another Dodger hurler, Orel Hershiser, with 59 in 1988.
Despite his stats, Drysdale was not a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame. While he eventually was inducted in 1988, it took him 14 years to make it to Cooperstown.
After Drysdale retired, he became a broadcaster. He worked for several teams, including the Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, California Angels and Montreal Expos. In 1993, while working a game for the Dodgers against the Expos, Drysdale was found dead in his hotel in Montreal. He was just 59 years old.
As for his life off the field, Drysdale was married twice, the second time to basketball legend Ann Meyers. He enjoyed good music and good booze, which Whicker suggests may have been a problem. Drysdale was involved in a DUI accident that cost him in fines and community service, but it never seemed to interfere with his vocation.
While it’s good to have Drysdale’s story told, UP AND IN does have a few flaws. In 1965, Koufax sat out of the first game of the World Series against the Minnesota Twins because it fell on Yom Kippur, which Whicker fails to explain is the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar. Perhaps he thinks everyone knows that. Another faux pas is suggesting that one can buy tickets to the Hall of Fame on Ticketmaster. One cannot.
Reviewed by Ron Kaplan
March 8, 2025
Baseball fans in the 1960’s saw some very good Los Angeles Dodgers teams and some of the best pitching in the history of the game, capped off by the “year of the pitcher” in 1968. A pair of Dodgers pitchers were among those pitchers who enjoyed much success and this by Mark Whicker tells the career of one of them, Don Drysdale.
Drysdale was the last player from the Brooklyn Dodgers to retire after the team relocated to Los Angeles. That move, along with a lengthy section on Walter Johnson’s scoreless streak for pitchers (why that’s included will be noted later) and many shorter passages about the many political and social issues of that time are interspersed in the book along with some excellent coverage of Drysdale’s baseball career. That is the bulk of the text Whicker includes in this book, so it doesn’t feel like a full biography but there’s still enough material on his life off the diamond to give a reader a good feel for the type of person he was.
While Drysdale was a California native and thrived after the team moved to his native state, he was gaining a reputation as being difficult as well as a pitcher who was more interested in hitting batters than throwing strikes. For the former, there are many examples of this in the book. This can range from mild, such as his frequent complaints about the dimensions of the baseball configuration of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (the home stadium for the Dodgers before Dodger Stadium was built in 1962), to the dangerous, such as the accusation by his first wife Ginger that Don had beaten her “30 times.” This is the only time in the entire book that any hint of domestic violence is mentioned. It is a good example to show that much of the book was dedicated to Drysdale’s activities on the diamond (although there are nice stories about his second marriage to basketball Hall of Famer Ann Meyers).
The baseball sections are excellent. Whicker writes about Drysdale’s successful accomplishments in great detail, and even some of his less than stellar days. For the latter, the best example is when he became the starter in game 1 of the 1965 World Series after Sandy Koufax famously refused to pitch that day as it was Yom Kippur. After the Minnesota Twins roughed up Drysdale to win the game 8-2, Drysdale quipped to manager Walter Alston “I bet you wish I was Jewish.”
However, as one would expect from a Hall of Fame pitcher’s career, there was much more good than this type of bad. He won a Cy Young award in 1962, pitched and won games on three World Series championship Dodger teams (including 1965 where he won game 4) and setting a new scoreless inning streak for pitchers of 58 ⅔ innings in 1968. This is his most famous accomplishment, the one that likely ensured his place in the Hall of Fame and is the best section of this book. It is where Whicker starts off with the passage about Walter Johnson, takes the reader through Drysdale’s amazing streak, and later illustrates the similarities between him and the Dodger pitcher who broke Drysdale’s record, Orel Hershieser.
Lastly, while Drysdale mostly played second fiddle to Koufax during this stretch of Dodger greatness (and otherworldly pitching by Koufax) the two would always be linked as teammates and of course for their famous holdout for new contracts in the spring of 1966. This event is also covered in the book and with good detail, especially on Drydale’s role. This is a book that any Dodgers fan will want to read to learn more about “Double D” and the legacy he left on one baseball’s most storied franchises.
I wish to thank Triumph Books for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
Drysdale was the last player from the Brooklyn Dodgers to retire after the team relocated to Los Angeles. That move, along with a lengthy section on Walter Johnson’s scoreless streak for pitchers (why that’s included will be noted later) and many shorter passages about the many political and social issues of that time are interspersed in the book along with some excellent coverage of Drysdale’s baseball career. That is the bulk of the text Whicker includes in this book, so it doesn’t feel like a full biography but there’s still enough material on his life off the diamond to give a reader a good feel for the type of person he was.
While Drysdale was a California native and thrived after the team moved to his native state, he was gaining a reputation as being difficult as well as a pitcher who was more interested in hitting batters than throwing strikes. For the former, there are many examples of this in the book. This can range from mild, such as his frequent complaints about the dimensions of the baseball configuration of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (the home stadium for the Dodgers before Dodger Stadium was built in 1962), to the dangerous, such as the accusation by his first wife Ginger that Don had beaten her “30 times.” This is the only time in the entire book that any hint of domestic violence is mentioned. It is a good example to show that much of the book was dedicated to Drysdale’s activities on the diamond (although there are nice stories about his second marriage to basketball Hall of Famer Ann Meyers).
The baseball sections are excellent. Whicker writes about Drysdale’s successful accomplishments in great detail, and even some of his less than stellar days. For the latter, the best example is when he became the starter in game 1 of the 1965 World Series after Sandy Koufax famously refused to pitch that day as it was Yom Kippur. After the Minnesota Twins roughed up Drysdale to win the game 8-2, Drysdale quipped to manager Walter Alston “I bet you wish I was Jewish.”
However, as one would expect from a Hall of Fame pitcher’s career, there was much more good than this type of bad. He won a Cy Young award in 1962, pitched and won games on three World Series championship Dodger teams (including 1965 where he won game 4) and setting a new scoreless inning streak for pitchers of 58 ⅔ innings in 1968. This is his most famous accomplishment, the one that likely ensured his place in the Hall of Fame and is the best section of this book. It is where Whicker starts off with the passage about Walter Johnson, takes the reader through Drysdale’s amazing streak, and later illustrates the similarities between him and the Dodger pitcher who broke Drysdale’s record, Orel Hershieser.
Lastly, while Drysdale mostly played second fiddle to Koufax during this stretch of Dodger greatness (and otherworldly pitching by Koufax) the two would always be linked as teammates and of course for their famous holdout for new contracts in the spring of 1966. This event is also covered in the book and with good detail, especially on Drydale’s role. This is a book that any Dodgers fan will want to read to learn more about “Double D” and the legacy he left on one baseball’s most storied franchises.
I wish to thank Triumph Books for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
January 7, 2025
I read an advanced reader's electronic copy thanks to NetGalley.
Drysdale. It's hard to say the name without "Koufax" somewhere in the conversation, but in fact Don certainly earned a legacy all his own. Together, Koufax and Drysdale made a one-two punch quite unbeatable in baseball history. Don both preceded and outlasted Koufax and indeed had his biggest moment after Koufax ad stepped away.
The author presents us with a larger-than-life baseball hero (admittedly, with flaws, as we shall see). He establishes his persona like a pitcher establishes the space he thinks he owns. From the start we understand that "Up and In" isn't just a subtitle; it was how Drysdale operated. No batter, no matter how good, was going to lean out over the plate to jump on a Drysdale fastball. One pitcher in a thousand these days boldly takes such command. Drysdale pitched in that "man's man" category.
But to Drysdale, it was just business. He might knock a guy down during a game, but after the game would buy him dinner if he ran into him. He let it be known that to ply his trade, he was never going to pull punches. And yet, he was also someone who showed self-reflection. If he pitched poorly, he did not blame it on anyone else. He accepted his lumps. This introspective trait is endearing and makes the brushback pitches that much more acceptable. He wasn't headhunting. He was establishing territorial dominance, playing the game without giving an inch. He made lifelong friends in the sport, and even opponents never truly became enemies. It was a game of back-and-forth respect.
His story is also the tale of the transition from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, from the "Bums" of the 1950s to the 1960s powerhouse Dodgers. When he retired, he was the last Brooklyn Dodger standing. His retirement ended a chapter in the franchise's history.
Before it was over, though, Drysdale provided one last blast of greatness, his scoreless inning streak of 1968. The author places it in its context. 1968 was the Year of the Pitcher, when Bob Gibson held an untouchable 1.12 earned run average, Denny McLain won 31 games and Drysdale went 58 2/3 innings without giving up a run. Still, it was a remarkable achievement that was only broken two decades later, by, ironically, another Dodger. Drysdale, by then an announcer, got to live the streak all over again.
The book balances baseball life with real life. We're given the statistical rundown at the end of the story that establishes Drysdale's Hall of Fame credentials. We're also given the divorce filing by his wife that alleges domestic violence. We see what Dodgers fans saw on the field, and get a glimpse into the everyday life of the man himself.
Drysdale. It's hard to say the name without "Koufax" somewhere in the conversation, but in fact Don certainly earned a legacy all his own. Together, Koufax and Drysdale made a one-two punch quite unbeatable in baseball history. Don both preceded and outlasted Koufax and indeed had his biggest moment after Koufax ad stepped away.
The author presents us with a larger-than-life baseball hero (admittedly, with flaws, as we shall see). He establishes his persona like a pitcher establishes the space he thinks he owns. From the start we understand that "Up and In" isn't just a subtitle; it was how Drysdale operated. No batter, no matter how good, was going to lean out over the plate to jump on a Drysdale fastball. One pitcher in a thousand these days boldly takes such command. Drysdale pitched in that "man's man" category.
But to Drysdale, it was just business. He might knock a guy down during a game, but after the game would buy him dinner if he ran into him. He let it be known that to ply his trade, he was never going to pull punches. And yet, he was also someone who showed self-reflection. If he pitched poorly, he did not blame it on anyone else. He accepted his lumps. This introspective trait is endearing and makes the brushback pitches that much more acceptable. He wasn't headhunting. He was establishing territorial dominance, playing the game without giving an inch. He made lifelong friends in the sport, and even opponents never truly became enemies. It was a game of back-and-forth respect.
His story is also the tale of the transition from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, from the "Bums" of the 1950s to the 1960s powerhouse Dodgers. When he retired, he was the last Brooklyn Dodger standing. His retirement ended a chapter in the franchise's history.
Before it was over, though, Drysdale provided one last blast of greatness, his scoreless inning streak of 1968. The author places it in its context. 1968 was the Year of the Pitcher, when Bob Gibson held an untouchable 1.12 earned run average, Denny McLain won 31 games and Drysdale went 58 2/3 innings without giving up a run. Still, it was a remarkable achievement that was only broken two decades later, by, ironically, another Dodger. Drysdale, by then an announcer, got to live the streak all over again.
The book balances baseball life with real life. We're given the statistical rundown at the end of the story that establishes Drysdale's Hall of Fame credentials. We're also given the divorce filing by his wife that alleges domestic violence. We see what Dodgers fans saw on the field, and get a glimpse into the everyday life of the man himself.
June 2, 2025
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.
To read my complete review, please go to Don Drysdale: Up and In—The Life of a Dodgers Legend by Mark Whicker – Exploring A Dodgers Legend
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.
To read my complete review, please go to Don Drysdale: Up and In—The Life of a Dodgers Legend by Mark Whicker – Exploring A Dodgers Legend
December 30, 2024
As a nearly lifetime baseball fan, Don Drysdale is a name I've known for years without really knowing anything about. I remember when he died in 1993, largely because I was still a budding baseball fan and I remember he and Roy Campanella dying within about a week of each other. Other than being a name that came up with Duke Snider and Sandy Koufax in mentions of the first iterations of the Los Angeles Dodgers, though, I knew little about the man.
Enter Mark Whicker and his upcoming book Don Drysdale: Up and In, releasing Feb. 16 on Triumph Books.
Whicker, a Los Angeles-area sportswriter, uses his own interviews as well as archival interviews to present Drysdale not only as a player, but also a human. Drysdale (who was known for being very tall and very intimidating) comes off a little bit larger than life, while Whicker examines his temperament (not always great) and his life in Sandy Koufax's shadow.
The book, especially as a season by season blow, provides a pretty straightforward explanation as to how Drysdale, despite perhaps not quite statistically lining up with others, put together a Hall of Fame career. At the same time, there are no apologies made. While it's clear this is a person the author knew and respected, he also leaves a lot of the warts in the story.
What Whicker does extremely well, however, is lay out the world around where Drysdale is coming up. He discusses how the Dodgers arrival in Los Angeles may not have been as popular as people are led to believe, for instance.
At the same time, there are some parts where I wish Whicker had dug a little deeper. He mentions at one point that Drysdale's first wife had filed for divorce citing domestic violence, but we never get any more information there. He was also apparently good friends with Frank Sinatra, but I feel like there were some dots that didn't quite connect to where you could quite see how that would happen.
Regardless, as a person who knew nothing about Drysdale except for the fact that he was a pitcher in the 1960s, I found this book to be fascinating.
Enter Mark Whicker and his upcoming book Don Drysdale: Up and In, releasing Feb. 16 on Triumph Books.
Whicker, a Los Angeles-area sportswriter, uses his own interviews as well as archival interviews to present Drysdale not only as a player, but also a human. Drysdale (who was known for being very tall and very intimidating) comes off a little bit larger than life, while Whicker examines his temperament (not always great) and his life in Sandy Koufax's shadow.
The book, especially as a season by season blow, provides a pretty straightforward explanation as to how Drysdale, despite perhaps not quite statistically lining up with others, put together a Hall of Fame career. At the same time, there are no apologies made. While it's clear this is a person the author knew and respected, he also leaves a lot of the warts in the story.
What Whicker does extremely well, however, is lay out the world around where Drysdale is coming up. He discusses how the Dodgers arrival in Los Angeles may not have been as popular as people are led to believe, for instance.
At the same time, there are some parts where I wish Whicker had dug a little deeper. He mentions at one point that Drysdale's first wife had filed for divorce citing domestic violence, but we never get any more information there. He was also apparently good friends with Frank Sinatra, but I feel like there were some dots that didn't quite connect to where you could quite see how that would happen.
Regardless, as a person who knew nothing about Drysdale except for the fact that he was a pitcher in the 1960s, I found this book to be fascinating.
May 28, 2025
The names Koufax and Kershaw are rightly revered at Dodger Stadium, twin titans in a franchise steeped in pitching greatness. But if you were lucky enough to grow up with the voice of Vin Scully in your ear, you knew there was another pillar—Don Drysdale, the fearsome right-hander who brought both grit and greatness to Chavez Ravine.
In “Up and In: The Life of a Dodger Legend,” Mark Whicker gives Drysdale his long-overdue moment in the spotlight. With insight and reverence, Whicker builds on the mythology that Scully helped create, painting a portrait of a man who was as complex as he was competitive.
Drysdale was the perfect complement to Sandy Koufax. Together, the fiery “Big D” and the serene "Left Arm of God" anchored a dominant Dodgers era, leading the team to three World Series titles and leaving an indelible mark on Los Angeles sports history.
Unfortunately, Whicker merely glosses over the claim of Drysdale’s first wife Ginger that she was abused on 30 different occasions. While much of his private life is covered in the book including him cleaning up his life for his second marriage to Ann Meyers, there is nothing to explain or elaborate on this accusation other than a brief mention of a 1969 divorce filing by Ginger.
What Whicker does so well is connect Drysdale’s legacy on the field to the broader Dodger narrative, bridging the Brooklyn roots with the bold new identity forged in LA. Five decades after his retirement, Whicker makes the case that Drysdale wasn’t just Koufax’s sidekick—he was a legend in his own right.
In “Up and In: The Life of a Dodger Legend,” Mark Whicker gives Drysdale his long-overdue moment in the spotlight. With insight and reverence, Whicker builds on the mythology that Scully helped create, painting a portrait of a man who was as complex as he was competitive.
Drysdale was the perfect complement to Sandy Koufax. Together, the fiery “Big D” and the serene "Left Arm of God" anchored a dominant Dodgers era, leading the team to three World Series titles and leaving an indelible mark on Los Angeles sports history.
Unfortunately, Whicker merely glosses over the claim of Drysdale’s first wife Ginger that she was abused on 30 different occasions. While much of his private life is covered in the book including him cleaning up his life for his second marriage to Ann Meyers, there is nothing to explain or elaborate on this accusation other than a brief mention of a 1969 divorce filing by Ginger.
What Whicker does so well is connect Drysdale’s legacy on the field to the broader Dodger narrative, bridging the Brooklyn roots with the bold new identity forged in LA. Five decades after his retirement, Whicker makes the case that Drysdale wasn’t just Koufax’s sidekick—he was a legend in his own right.
November 1, 2024
You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.
Thank you, IPG /Triumph Books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished Don Drysdale: Up And In: The Life of a Dodgers Legend, by Mark Whicker.
This book will be released on February 18, 2025.
Among the many topics covered by the book were Drysdale's intimidation of batters, his extreme competitiveness, his experience throwing the spitter (which he admitted to throwing 5-20 times a game), the three World Series championships the Dodgers won with Drysdale (1959, 1963, 1965), the 1962 pennant race with the Giants, his joint holdout with Koufax, the controversy over playing after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and Drysdale’s scoreless streak.
I give this book a B+.
Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book finished reading this on November 1, 2024.
Thank you, IPG /Triumph Books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished Don Drysdale: Up And In: The Life of a Dodgers Legend, by Mark Whicker.
This book will be released on February 18, 2025.
Among the many topics covered by the book were Drysdale's intimidation of batters, his extreme competitiveness, his experience throwing the spitter (which he admitted to throwing 5-20 times a game), the three World Series championships the Dodgers won with Drysdale (1959, 1963, 1965), the 1962 pennant race with the Giants, his joint holdout with Koufax, the controversy over playing after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and Drysdale’s scoreless streak.
I give this book a B+.
Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book finished reading this on November 1, 2024.
November 19, 2024
I received an ARC of this soon-to-be-released biography through NetGalley.
How can you not enjoy a biography of this great baseball legend? Drysdale was an iconic pitcher and personality, a guy who grew up in southern California and became one of the prime faces of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The author is a veteran and now retired sportswriter, based in SoCal. Drysdale's career as a pitcher was from 1956 to 1969, so the author relied on written archives and several interviews to put this together. Drysdale died at age 56, but maintained a high public profile as a sports announcer (not just baseball) and TV personality until his death in 1993.
Drysdale's life was always quite interesting, full of highs and lows, and the author did a good job of presenting both, though there was an obvious bias to present his life favorably. Not a whole lot of original information here, except notably that gained through interviews with Drysdale's second wife, Ann Meyers, the former basketball star.
How can you not enjoy a biography of this great baseball legend? Drysdale was an iconic pitcher and personality, a guy who grew up in southern California and became one of the prime faces of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The author is a veteran and now retired sportswriter, based in SoCal. Drysdale's career as a pitcher was from 1956 to 1969, so the author relied on written archives and several interviews to put this together. Drysdale died at age 56, but maintained a high public profile as a sports announcer (not just baseball) and TV personality until his death in 1993.
Drysdale's life was always quite interesting, full of highs and lows, and the author did a good job of presenting both, though there was an obvious bias to present his life favorably. Not a whole lot of original information here, except notably that gained through interviews with Drysdale's second wife, Ann Meyers, the former basketball star.
February 4, 2026
Having read extensively about Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax, I have long considered them my favorite Dodgers. I realized, however, that I knew embarrassingly little about Koufax’s legendary 'partner in crime,' Don Drysdale. Unfortunately, this book did not fill that gap. While chronological narratives can sometimes feel dry, they provide a necessary structure that is missing here; the author wanders into such long tangents that Drysdale himself often gets lost in the shuffle.
He is a fascinating character who deserves a more focused biography. And while I find his intentionally throwing at hitters to be more immature than heroic, his impact on the game is undeniable. I would rather see a pitcher show a hitter up by striking him out, but I still believe Drysdale deserves a book that keeps him center stage.
He is a fascinating character who deserves a more focused biography. And while I find his intentionally throwing at hitters to be more immature than heroic, his impact on the game is undeniable. I would rather see a pitcher show a hitter up by striking him out, but I still believe Drysdale deserves a book that keeps him center stage.
April 25, 2025
Mark Whicker long has ranked as one of America's foremost sports columnists, and what a pleasure to see him expand his chops to something so in depth and far from the length of a typical column (his typically leave you wanting to read more). Don Drysdale is a fascinating character study, and one joy of this book is in the legwork, interviews with luminaries from Sandy Koufax to Jeff Torborg to Joe Moeller, a staff-mate of Drysdale's in the 1960s who went on to become a crack scout for the Florida Marlins. Drysdale's chin music is examined and explained and so is the rest of his drive, ambition and character -- a nice reminder that there was so much more to this ace pitcher than simply him throwing the high, hard one.
April 9, 2025
It's average ... In fact, it seems only a small portion of the book is about Drysdale, it's far from "definitive" and the author takes a lot of side streets, going on about beanballs and the Dodgers move to LA and Sandy Koufax (at some points it almost seems like a book about Koufax, and there's a masterpiece about Sandy if you need one - Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy) and many other topics that only barely touch Drysdale ... Still, it was nice to go down memory lane and the Sinatra songs as chapter titles was a nice touch
November 28, 2025
I listened to the eAudio version, which was well read and kept my interest throughout. The author did a pretty good job; the storyline is a lot wider ranging than I expected. It's definitely one of the better sports biographies I've come across. I grew up as a Dodgers fan, near Van Nuys in the 60s- through the 80s, and I would occasionally pass by "Drysdale's Dugout", but regretfully I never stepped in. Who knows who I might have come across in there? I would recommend this book to any baseball fan, especially a Dodgers fan.
April 9, 2025
I grew up in the Drysdale-Koufax baseball era, but I have never been a Dodger fan. I thought this book was very interesting, especially when Mark Whicker writes about Drysdale’s success at the World Series and his shutout record. It is a good reminder about an era in baseball when it was played differently than today.
Thanks to Triumph Books and Goodreads for the free copy.
Thanks to Triumph Books and Goodreads for the free copy.
November 19, 2025
This is not your typical biography and it took me a while to get used to it but ended up loving it. I really liked how the author explained Drysdale’s significance alongside the history of baseball. As a kid I was surprised they had a character named Mr Drysdale on the Beverly Hillbillies. And what a nice surprise to learn about Ann Meyers Drysdale.
July 2, 2025
Mark Whicker has written a different baseball biography. He vividly relates the life and accomplishments of Don Drysdale. Additionally, he sets the historic stage past and future of when Don Drysdale pitched.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews