MILLION DOLLAR ARM

From the farmlands of India to the fields of major league baseball, this fascinating memoir tells the story of a man who forever changed the lives of two talented young men through a pitching contest in India. A Million Dollar Arm is an inspiring sports drama of victory over incredible odds. It is a thought-provoking document of our globalizing world. It is an insider’s look at sports business in the twenty-first century. And above all, it is a timeless story of baseball and the American dream.

India is a country with more than one billion people, a fanatical national cricket obsession, and exactly zero talent scouts. There, superstar sports agent J. B. Bernstein knew that he could find the Yao Ming of baseball— someone with a strong arm and enough raw talent to pitch in the major leagues. Almost no one in India is familiar with the game, but Bernstein had heard enough coaches swear that if you gave them a guy who throws a hundred miles an hour, they could teach him how to pitch. So in 2007, Bernstein flew to Mumbai with a radar gun and a plan to find his diamond in the rough. His idea was The Million Dollar Arm, a reality television competition with a huge cash prize and a chance to become the first native of India to sign a contract with an American major-league team.

The result is a humorous and inspiring story about three guys transformed: Bernstein, the consummate bachelor and shrewd businessman, and Dinesh and Rinku, the two young men from small farming villages whom he brought home to California. Million Dollar Arm is a timeless reflection on baseball and the American dream, as well as a tale of victory over incredible odds. But, above all, it’s about the limitless possibilities inside every one of us.

J.B. Bernstein had reached the pinnacle of his profession. As the founder of his own sports agency, he represented such superstar athletes as Barry Bonds, Emmitt Smith, and Barry Sanders. He was on a first-name basis with icons like Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky. He enjoyed all the perks and prestige that came with his enormous and enviable success. And yet, in 2007, J.B. left this life behind and traveled across the world to begin a search for baseball talent in a country where America’s favorite pastime is utterly foreign—India. There he conducted “The Million Dollar Arm,” a reality TV contest to win one million dollars and the possibility of pitching in the big leagues. In the process, J.B. discovered the first two Indian-born athletes ever to sign contracts with a professional US sports team—forever changing their lives as well as his own.

J.B. Bernstein is the cofounder and president of Access Group, an athlete management firm that has represented some of the greatest athletes of all time, including Barry Bonds, Barry Sanders, and Emmitt Smith. Bernstein created the Million Dollar Arm contest in India, which yielded the first two Indian men to ever sign pro sports contracts in the US.