Throwing Bullets

The minor leagues never looked so major. In this compelling story of competition and sportmanship, long-time journalist and baseball enthusiast Roy Rowan takes the reader inside the hearts and locker rooms of two of minor league baseball's hottest pitching prospects pitching for the same team and against each other. On one mount is Justin Olson. A product of Big Ten baseball and an academic star, Olson is an accomplished student whose fastball tops out at 94 miles an hour. On the other mount is Francisco Liriano. Taken from the sandlot ball fields of the Dominican Republic, he possesses one of the most threatening arms in the minors. Widely considered to be the best pitcher outside of the big leagues, Liriano's arsenal of pitches humbles and awes the hitters that he faces. On one hand, they are teammates, pitching to get the New Britain Rock Cats to the postseason. But on the other, they are adversaries, pitching for their futures and locked in a head-to-head competition for the same opportunity—a chance to be one of the starting five for the Minnesota Twins. Throwing Bullets takes the reader through the trials and tribulations of these two young pitchers both on and off the field. A vivid story of competition, frustration, failure, and success, this book is an inside look at two minor league lives where every pitch is major.