I wanted to like this. Aside from a few good sentences in this 512-page novel, and a deceptively good first chapter, there was not much to like. 
 First of all, how did the publisher get away with saying that this is "warmhearted"? The tone is depressing and annoying. Four out of the five main characters are depressed and I got sick of wallowing in their angst. At one point one of them is thinking that life is meaningless. It's a real downer. 
 I thought the book was going to be about Henry, the talented shortstop at Westish College--this is what the reviews and bookjacket led me to believe--but he becomes more of a secondary character to Guert, the college's president, and Guert's daughter--both boring characters in my opinion. Pella, the 21 yr-old daughter, at one point swallows an earring in front of her soon-to-be-ex-husband...This shows that she's crazy, (in case you didn't get it by that point). In many scenes, she's washing dishes. One whole chapter is Guert looking at a house that he's thinking of buying...talks with the owners about the roof and stuff...I never thought I'd say this, but: There was not enough baseball in this book! 
 I didn't believe any of the characters except for Owen, who was the only real, true person that made sense for me. As I'm writing this I'm wondering if he's based on the author... 
 The other characters did not come to life. I started off liking Henry and Schwartz but I did not believe the changes in them. I didn't understand or feel anything for Pella's relationship with Schwartz, and her sleeping with Henry just came out of nowhere. Can we see a little attraction first? Can you help me understand that? It's Henry losing his virginity--a big thing--but we don't get to see it or learn how he feels. Immediately after, Schwartz catches them. It seems, Mr. Harbach, that you have Henry and Pella sleep together as merely a cheap plot device. 
 Spoiler alert: Because the tone was so fatalistic, I was not surprized when things kept getting worse for the characters. During the championship game at the end, we find out (along with Schwartz, Henry, and Owen) that Guert has died. He committed suicide; what a nice warm-hearted ending. If that wasn't enough fun, these guys, at Pella's urging, dig up his grave!! And throw the body in the Lake--because that's what he would've wanted(?) Gross!!! 
 Sorry, the last four pages of the novel where Henry and Schwartz play catch and become friends again did not save the book for me. I would bet that Mr.Harbach tagged on that ending at the suggestion of the publisher, because it just didn't fit the rest of the book, which suggested that everything is meaningless and comes to ruin. 
 Biggest disappointment of 2011