By Debbie Stone and Gini Cunningham
Debbie: When I was in elementary school, we lived down the street from a little league field. We’d ride our bikes down the hill to hang out there every evening after supper. In junior high I kept the stats and announced who was up to bat during games at that same field. My freshman year of high school I spent most summer evenings at the local minor league field - I even once got to be the bat girl.
Why am I telling you this? It’s my set-up to let you know how much I love the idea of baseball. It is nostalgic, so when I saw Welcome to the Circus of Baseball by Ryan McGee on a summer reading list, I told Gini we had to read it.
Notice I wrote the ‘idea’ of baseball...because I couldn’t tell you who was on their way to the World Series this year or last, but the sights (little league fields and little boys in baseball caps), sounds (the whack of the ball hitting the bat then the smack into the glove), and smells (hot dogs and popcorn) of baseball put me in heaven. And that is exactly what reading this book did to me.
McGee recounts his time as a summer intern in 1994 during the middle of a Major league baseball strike, for the Minor league Ashville Tourists of North Carolina. The interns who worked for the Tourists that year held every possible job: ticket taker, hot dog cooker, field maintenance… Baseball, however, is not the main theme in this book, but everything “Minor league baseball adjacent” is.
His descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells are so vivid, they put me right in the middle of McCormick Field in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I could swear I have been there - just like Gini - and I’ve never even been to North Carolina. McGee’s stories are that good. It’s not so much about the baseball players, but rather the people who make the baseball team run smoothly.
With outrageous characters, old traditions, and so much history in his essays, it’s magic. McGee reminds us that there is so much more than business in Minor league baseball - baseball is life (and the rest is just details). Who could resist this opening line: “It was a hair-dryer-in-the-face-hot Sunday afternoon at McCormick Field”. I was hooked. I fell in love with McGee’s love of the game and you will, too.
Gini: If you love baseball and are curious about the Minor leagues (MiLB) you will love this book. McGee writes from the heart and from experience and so the reader is drawn into the excitement, trials, and thrills of the Asheville Tourists in 1994. With a Major league strike looming, McGee lands his first job with this team and he explains the workings of each employee and volunteer.
Earning $100 a week, cash is limited but adventures are not. Having driven through Asheville as we explored North Carolina headed toward the Great Smoky Mountains, I felt at home – like I actually had attended some games and chatted with the locals. In fact, I didn’t realize this team existed nor did I know that the Minors in the South are so important. I have long admired the dedication of these players as they strive for a shot at the Big League, “playing for pizza”, sometimes, rather for $$$.
McGee’s tale begins with the “Get a Baseball Job” Winter Meeting. With the chance to don khakis and button downs, he and hundreds of other hopefuls sought a team assignment. From ticket sales to concessions, fan store to groundskeeper, potential positions seemed abundant but the field of applicants daunting. McGee had spent his childhood following the Minors throughout the area and he knew the history and special stories – he stood ready for any job. The Tourists’ offer included: front office, concessions (ice cream debacle to Thirsty Thursdays), retail Bear Wear, pulling tarps when it rains – everything.
My favorite parts involve sharing the history of McCormick Field and the players who have played there: Willie Stargell, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson… whether they actually walked onto the field or simply represented baseball’s awesome history, I loved the description. With this inspiration, I am ready to hit Minor fields with players actually enjoying their opportunity to participate in a game they love with less pressure but equal expectations.