The “perfect” place for information, news, links, and more about the book, “The Perfect Pitch.”

Amazon’s Search Inside The Book
“The Perfect Pitch” is available on many online bookstores, but Amazon allows you to browse through the hardcover copy of it. Just click here and then you can start searching for people and places or anything else mentioned in the book. Everyone from Sandy Koufax, Muhammad Ali, and Pres. Jimmy Carter to Johnny Carson, Peter O’Malley, Mel Brooks, Barbara Walters, and Drew Carey are mentioned in it.

Update: Actually, what used to be “Search Inside The Book” is now Amazon’s Online Reader, which now allows customers to continue browsing in addition to enabling those who have actually purchased a copy, to highlight and bookmark anywhere they want on the online version of the book.  Here is C. Max Magee’s take on it at The Millions, A Blog For Books.

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Movie Writing Contest - Clerical Error In Your Favor…Collect $200
A movie writing contest can be kinda like a game of Monopoly.

One minute, you’re as dejected as the time you lost your “Free Parking” windfall to the other player, while silently scowling over your only hotels, set squarely on miserable Baltic Avenue.

The next minute, you get that Community Chest “Bank Error” card, and suddenly you’re celebrating like you’re building a Trump Tower on Park Place.

And lastly, after a couple trips around the board, you roll a 9, counting ahead to yourself, slapping palm to forehead, realizing you’ve lost it all (even selling the hotels and mortgaging your pathetic purple places), on St. James Place with only four houses on it.

Well, when I submitted an entry for a movie writing contest at www.writemovies.com, I thought “The Perfect Pitch” had a good chance of contending, if not a reasonable one. Looks like I was wrong, then right, then wrong. Apparently, the book didn’t make it as semi-finalist. So, naturally I felt bad about it. Then about two weeks later, I got an e-mail.

Clerical error in your favor…collect $200.

Okay, it wasn’t $200, but I smiled nevertheless. Due to a clerical error, they had misplaced a number of entries, or a list thereof, and my entry was one of them. I was excited to say the least. It was a semi-finalist.

Then the next round came around. The list of finalists had arrived, and after keeping my eye on the list and not seeing it there, I realized that another clerical error would just be asking for too much. A one week delay came, but no clerical error. So now, winners and runner-ups are being selected. Well, I’m happy for them. They must have some good stuff to beat out such an amazing story as Roger’s and as well-written as so many heartfelt reviews have stated. Well, it is just one movie contest. There are plenty more.

But in the meantime, I think I’ll take a ride on the Reading, or try to corner the utility market. If I keep on with getting the word out about the book, or do better on the next contest, I just might be able to take that advance token to Boardwalk…or Pacific Avenue.

Either one.

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Growing Demand
“The Perfect Pitch” has found its way into the hands of more and more readers this year, and also found its way into the hands of a top UK production company. Like ESPN’s Sports Center feature on Roger in 2005 and a feature this year on Japan’s long-running show, “Good Morning, Japan,” on the NHK network on Japanese TV, this came about from someone loving this remarkable, true life story. Even one of Hollywood’s top 10 talent agencies has requested a copy.

And while copies are also on file at Harvard University’s library and in Cooperstown, NY, in the research library collection at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, a growing buzz surrounding the book has helped usher in more appearances and features.

The Los Angeles Chapter of Journalists requested a signed copy of the book to auction off for one of their events, and KTLA’s highly-rated “Morning Show” had Roger on as a guest, displaying the book cover as well as the cover of Los Angeles Magazine, Sept. 2007 issue, which also had a one page feature on the Famous Peanut Man at Dodger Stadium.

“The Perfect Pitch” has yet to be considered a national best seller, but that could be just a matter of time, especially when you have a story that Disney or Oprah would embrace in the time it takes to catch a behind-the-back peanut bag toss.

Updated: 10-07-2007 9:57 pm