Ryan McGee

In WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS OF BASEBALL, by Ryan McGee, the reader spends the summer of 1994 with Ryan McGee and the Asheville Tourists. McGee is right out of college and stumbles upon this opportunity to intern for the Tourists and it turns out to be a summer he will never forget. As McGee makes his way through the season, the reader can see what makes the life of minor league baseball team so challenging and fascinating at the same time. Many old traditions are applied with a mixed bag of success, while the same can be said for the new tradition. One thing that is for sure is properly managing that balance is at the core of how successful a minor league team is in totality, above how well they perform on the field.
Very early in the book, the reader begins to really feel like a part of the Asheville Tourists. McGee's ability to describe the stadium, the staff, the team and the various jobs (fun, not fun and downright gross) are loaded with fun details and entertaining reflection. McGee sprinkles some history of minor league baseball and specifically about the Asheville Tourists, but in a wonderfully non-intrusive way that only enriches the book. It's clear how important this job was to McGee because the care and passion taken to describe each person, place and event are from such a special place.
Under all of the stories and all of the colorful characters, McGee is also reminding the world that there truly is magic in minor league baseball and in Asheville in 1994, there was perhaps a little extra. WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS OF BASEBALL is a must read for any baseball fan and I enjoyed it immensely.
Thank you to Doubleday Books, Ryan McGee, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!… (more)