I felt as though I was left hanging on multiple topics. The author is clearly conflicted, and we definitely feel that, and I did not like that feeling. I am confused at what we are supposed to be feeling - bad for the author, bad for the father, what? It is so wishy washy. Is the author boasting about his education/career? Is he whining? It is all over the place and there are a lot of loose ends that are never summed up. The incessant lists of people added no value to the story - it would have been the same without them (again, boasting at his knowledge of the history of the subject). And, I get the comparison of life and relationships to the game of baseball, but it is annoyingly overdone. I was left frustrated and annoyed.