Dave Pallone was an umpire with two strikes against him. He worked ringed by fellow umpires aching to get even with him for landing his job when they were on strike. And he was gay in a sports world where you were supposed to be straight or get straight out.

In this revealing look at baseball, Pallone traces his life both personal and public, and offers a behind-the-scenes account of the players, owners, managers, and umpires...and of outlandish incidents on and off the field. Funny, poignant, shockingly honest, this explosive story is bound to raise a storm of controversy, as it opens eyes about how the game is really played...and about the deeply ingrained homophobia in professional baseball.