Mark Stevens's "The Fireballer," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: The Fireballer by Mark Stevens.

The entry begins:

I know full well that very few books get made into movies. Precious few.

But my editor at Lake Union told me she bought The Fireballer because she’s a big fan of baseball movies. Not the sport, but movies about the sport. And she could see The Fireballer on film.

Me, too.

It didn’t hurt that New York Times best-selling author William Kent Krueger offered a blurb that included this comparison: “The characters are beautifully etched, and pitcher Frank Ryder may be the most likeable hero since Gary Cooper gave life to Lou Gehrig on the big screen.”

That movie was The Pride of the Yankees.

Krueger called Ryder “likeable” and I certainly hope he is. Likeable, but not perfect by any means. He’s been carrying a heavy heart since the age of 12. But he’s also getting to do what he loves to do (pitching in the major leagues, for the Baltimore Orioles) and he’s got far more money than he knows what to do with. He’s also inscrutable on the mound when he pitches.

I think Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) would be perfect for Frank. Hedges has got gravity and an earnest look. Whoever plays Frank needs a good pitchers’ stare on the mound and I think Hedges has got it.

Hedges is known for immersing himself in his roles and I think, as an actor, he would appreciate how much Frank Ryder drove himself to do one thing and do it better than anyone else has ever done it.

Plus, Hedges is...[read on]

Visit Mark Stevens's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Fireballer.

Q&A with Mark Stevens.

My Book, The Movie: The Fireballer.

--Marshal Zeringue