Million Dollar Arm

Sometimes to Win, You Have to Change the Game

By: J. B. Bernstein

Narrated by: George Newbern

From the farmlands of India to the fields of major league baseball, this fascinating memoir tells the story of a man who forever changed the lives of two talented young men through a pitching contest in India. The official tie-in book to Disney’s major motion picture, starring Jon Hamm.

A TRUE STORY OF FINDING THE AMERICAN DREAM . . . ABROAD

India is a country with more than one billion people, a fanatical national cricket obsession, and exactly zero talent scouts. There, superstar sports agent J. B. Bernstein knew that he could find the Yao Ming of baseball— someone with a strong arm and enough raw talent to pitch in the major leagues. Almost no one in India is familiar with the game, but Bernstein had heard enough coaches swear that if you gave them a guy who throws a hundred miles an hour, they could teach him how to pitch. So in 2007, Bernstein flew to Mumbai with a radar gun and a plan to find his diamond in the rough. His idea was The Million Dollar Arm, a reality television competition with a huge cash prize and a chance to become the first native of India to sign a contract with an American major-league team.

The result is a humorous and inspiring story about three guys transformed: Bernstein, the consummate bachelor and shrewd businessman, and Dinesh and Rinku, the two young men from small farming villages whom he brought home to California. Million Dollar Arm is a timeless reflection on baseball and the American dream, as well as a tale of victory over incredible odds. But, above all, it’s about the limitless possibilities inside every one of us.

Delightfully fun listen for a spring weekend

Oh, what a fun audiobook!! This is the true story of a U.S. sports agent, author J.B. Bernstein, who decides to try to replicate the Yao Ming story of a foreign national who became an NBA superstar by launching a reality show in India to find gifted pitchers to bring to the U.S. to launch baseball careers. Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel win the Indian competition and accompany J.B. back to the U.S. He gets them situated in a large house near USC and they put their hearts and souls into training to hopefully try out for a minor league baseball team.

That's the baseball story but the transformation of all involved is where the real story lies. The sports agent learns to care about someone beyond himself, the boys grow into men, and... well, you'll have to listen to the book to find out how it ends. This is one of those wonderful audiobooks where the narration is so perfectly paired to the story that at one point I checked to see if the author was also narrator... the pacing, mood, and tone is pitch-perfect. This was a delightfully fun listen for a spring weekend that I recommend to anyone who enjoys a good story, baseball fan or not.