From the only openly gay former major-league baseball player comes an unprecedented chronicle of America¹s national pastime. Going the Other Way is the intimate memoir of a man who, in the prime of his career, faced a heartbreaking dilemma and, in time, learned to follow his own path.

As a shirtless Little Leaguer racing around the sun-drenched diamonds of Southern California, Billy Bean imitated his childhood baseball heroes Steve Garvey and Fred Lynn as he dreamed of becoming a professional ballplayer. By virtue of a relentless work ethic, exceptional multi-sport talent, and a quick left-handed swing, Bean became one of the very few athletes to make it to the big leagues‹playing in the majors from 1987 to 1995 for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres.

In Going the Other Way, Bean takes us from the dusty fields of his youth to the college World Series, the minor-league playing diamonds of Glens Falls and Toledo (where, in a nod to his talent, his teammates nicknamed him "Roy Hobbs," the hero of The Natural), to his first game for the Tigers (he tied the record for most hits in a major-league debut), and winter-ball seasons in Latin America.

Bean brings us inside the clubhouse and onto the playing field, offering dead-on insight into the game and the physical and emotional demands it makes on players. Bean¹s forthright portraits of baseball icons--his legendary managers Sparky Anderson and Tommy Lasorda, slugging stars Kirk Gibson and Tony Gwynn, and all-star pitchers Jack Morris and Trevor Hoffman, among many others--illuminate what it takes to be great.

Dubbed "the boy of every girl's dream" by Dodger manager Lasorda, Bean solidified his role as a major-league utility player even as he grappled with a secret that made hitting a Roger Clemens fastball look easy: he was a gay man in a brutally anti-gay world. Ultimately, Bean faced an agonizing choice between continuing to play, in secrecy and solitude, the game he loved and the honesty of a loving relationship.

Bean came out to national acclaim in 1999, but Going the Other Way is the first time he has told his story in his own words. By turns heartbreaking and farcical, ruminative and uncensored, the book culminates in a respectful, deeply felt appeal to Major League Baseball and other professional team sports to live up to their promise of equality and opportunity. A testament to the power of a single voice, Going the Other Way is an exemplary American tale that points the way toward a more perfect game, one in which all men and women can pursue their athletic dreams free of prejudice and discrimination.