Don August was not your average professional pitcher. And his book Pitching to the Corners: My Post-MLB Career Abroad certainly isn’t your average baseball autobiography.

A Division II All-American at Chapman University, August was selected for Team USA in the 1984 Summer Olympics. He went on to pitch four seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers during his 11-year pro career in the United States. It was his pitching elsewhere where his career took a more interesting turn, ultimately becoming the main subject matter for his book.

His non-MLB career reads like a travel guide, including seasons in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Taiwan and Italy. These are places he usually chose for two reasons: to continue his career and for the experience. While it might have been easier to pitch in the MLB minor leagues hoping to return to the big leagues, August’s spirit and adventurousness led him all over the world. Pitching to the corners is a pitcher’s term for throwing to the outsides of home plate. For August, Pitching to the Corners can also refer to pitching in all corners of the world.

When I read the early reviews of his book praising the combination of baseball and travel, it seemed like a good fit for Talking Travel. After talking to August and hearing him describe it as mostly travel, I knew it was. August isn’t just a former professional pitcher. He is a real global traveler.

Pitching to the Corners is available now, and I already ordered my copy. Look for it to be featured in my end-of-the-year best book list.

Talking Travel is an interview series on Global Traveler. Subscribe to the GT YouTube channel to be notified of all future interviews and other travel-related videos.

— John Wroblewski, online writer