Book Review: Welcome to the Circus of Baseball, by Ryan McGee

This is an easy book to read, because of the "nine innings" format, a breezy style centered around one storied minor league team in Ashville, NC, with humorous tales piled one after another. The author is a professional sportswriter and broadcaster for ESPN and recounts his experiences with the Asheville. NC Tourists, an affiliate of the Houston Astros in "High A League." The book recounts the days and times of that era including Michael Jordan's attempt at baseball with the Birmingham Barons, Julio the cat, the movie Bull Durham (in which every young boy fell in lust with Susan Sarandon), as well as rainy days getting the canvas tarp protection on (and off) the field and the OJ Simpson car chase. Team mascots, including Ted E. Tourist (get it, the Tourists?) are covered as they frolic (and fight) on the fields of play.

I grew up in Princeton, WV, a town of around ten thousand folks, and believe it or not we actually had a team, the Princeton Blue Jays (as I recall) which was a Rookie League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The teams in the (same) Appalachian League now, for reasons that were not outlined, have humorous names unrelated to the Big League "Mother clubs." Then, as now, it was one of the very first stops for high school and college baseball players hopefully on their way to "the Bigs." Our neighboring town/city and rival in all sports, was the Bluefield Orioles. All the teams in the Appalachian League were identified and connected to their Major League club, all with local ownership. But now, the names are somewhat crazy (and cute) and the Princeton Whistlepigs (apparently a take on the word groundhogs) and Bluefield Ridge Runners (that is logical and cool) take the field in a ten-team league consisting more or less of the same towns and cities as before. They spread out from southern West Virginia to southwestern Virginia and on down to western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and western South Carolina. Got all that geography straight?

The book started out strong for me, based on the author's youthful experiences and memories but lost some steam. All in all, after a delightful dip into minor league baseball history and lore, it presents a rather negative outlook for baseball at the very small-market level as many of the towns are losing their teams, apparently due mainly to lack of interest by the parent clubs as a talent identification and selection process.

If you are "of an age" and remember baseball at the local small-market level, this is a trip down memory lane worth the time and effort. Enjoy!

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