Welcome to the Circus of Baseball: A Story of the Perfect Summer at the Perfect Ballpark at the Perfect Time
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- Create Date：2023-04-02 06:19:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Ryan McGee
- ISBN：B0B5STD4PP
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Summary
A gloriously funny， nostalgic memoir of a popular ESPN reporter who， in the summer of 1994， was a fresh-out-of-college intern for a minor league baseball team。 Madness and charm ensue as Ryan McGee spends the season steeped in sweat， fertilizer， nacho cheese sauce， and pure， unadulterated joy in North Carolina with the Asheville Tourists。
"A sweet and funny book that reminds us it’s not just the game itself that draws us。 It’s also the people。" —Tom Verducci， MLB Network， Fox & Sports Illustrated， and New York Times bestselling author of The Yankee Years
In the spring of 1994， Ryan McGee （new college graduate） bombed his coveted interview with ESPN--the only place he ever wanted to work。 But he did receive one job offer: to work for $100 a week for the Asheville Tourists， a proud minor league baseball team in the heart of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains。 McCormick Field， home to the Tourists， had once been graced by Ty Cobb， Lou Gehrig， Babe Ruth， and Jackie Robinson。 What could go wrong？
Welcome to the Circus of Baseball is McGee’s hilarious， charming memoir of his first summer working in the sporting world。 He has since risen the ESPN ranks to national TV， radio， and Internet host， but his time in Asheville still looms large。 Among the many jewels of his experience。 。 。 McGee recounts one of the most entertaining on-field brawls you’ll ever witness （between the fourteen league mascots who had assembled for the all-star game--an eight-foot-tall foam-costumed crustacean， a pudgy red fox， a giant skunk 。 。 。 and they were really fighting）， as well as the nervous moment he oversaw the game-day entertainer known as "Captain Dynamite and His Exploding Coffin of Death。" Most important， McGee details a magical summer of baseball， of learning the ropes， of the ins-and-outs of running a minor league team， and of coming to understand how the pulse of a community can beat gloriously through a minor league ball club。
Welcome to the Circus of Baseball is a baseball classic in the making。
"A sweet and funny book that reminds us it’s not just the game itself that draws us。 It’s also the people。" —Tom Verducci， MLB Network， Fox & Sports Illustrated， and New York Times bestselling author of The Yankee Years
In the spring of 1994， Ryan McGee （new college graduate） bombed his coveted interview with ESPN--the only place he ever wanted to work。 But he did receive one job offer: to work for $100 a week for the Asheville Tourists， a proud minor league baseball team in the heart of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains。 McCormick Field， home to the Tourists， had once been graced by Ty Cobb， Lou Gehrig， Babe Ruth， and Jackie Robinson。 What could go wrong？
Welcome to the Circus of Baseball is McGee’s hilarious， charming memoir of his first summer working in the sporting world。 He has since risen the ESPN ranks to national TV， radio， and Internet host， but his time in Asheville still looms large。 Among the many jewels of his experience。 。 。 McGee recounts one of the most entertaining on-field brawls you’ll ever witness （between the fourteen league mascots who had assembled for the all-star game--an eight-foot-tall foam-costumed crustacean， a pudgy red fox， a giant skunk 。 。 。 and they were really fighting）， as well as the nervous moment he oversaw the game-day entertainer known as "Captain Dynamite and His Exploding Coffin of Death。" Most important， McGee details a magical summer of baseball， of learning the ropes， of the ins-and-outs of running a minor league team， and of coming to understand how the pulse of a community can beat gloriously through a minor league ball club。
Welcome to the Circus of Baseball is a baseball classic in the making。
Reviews
John Schorg
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A very pleasant read for anyone who still gets a thrill out of spending a summer's day at a ballpark， eating stuff that's no good for you and chewing the fat with complete strangers sitting near you。。。 A very pleasant read for anyone who still gets a thrill out of spending a summer's day at a ballpark， eating stuff that's no good for you and chewing the fat with complete strangers sitting near you。。。 。。。more
Mike Kennedy
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I’ve always thought of Ryan McGee as a College Football guy。 I had no idea that he started out his career in professional sports as an intern in the minor leagues。 Mr。 McGee spent the Summer of 1994 as an intern for the Ashville Tourists of the South Atlantic League。 The Tourists were an affiliate of one of the newest teams in baseball at the time， The Colorado Rockies。 Mr。 McGee regales us with stories of his memorable summer from his time changing kegs in the cooler all night long during Thirs I’ve always thought of Ryan McGee as a College Football guy。 I had no idea that he started out his career in professional sports as an intern in the minor leagues。 Mr。 McGee spent the Summer of 1994 as an intern for the Ashville Tourists of the South Atlantic League。 The Tourists were an affiliate of one of the newest teams in baseball at the time， The Colorado Rockies。 Mr。 McGee regales us with stories of his memorable summer from his time changing kegs in the cooler all night long during Thirsty Thursday promotions to his ritual feeding on Julio the Cat （a stray who roamed the stadium）。 I have a soft spot for any book that details life in minor league baseball， but I especially like Welcome to the Circus of Baseball。 I’ve read a number of books on the minors from player accounts to outsiders chronicling a team， but I have never read one from the prospective of an intern with the team。 I found the book to be fascinating and insightful。 Mr。 McGee is an excellent storyteller who know exactly how to make you feel like you are a part of the story。 The stories themselves are great running the gambit from funny to heartwarming。 My only criticism was that the book was too short。 I wanted more stories！ I also found the ending with a short follow up to where are the major characters are now to be the perfect way to end the book。This is a must read for all fans of minor league baseball。 Even if you aren’t a fan， I would recommend picking it up。 It tells the story of a young man spending a summer doing what he loves。 The characters are likable and fun， and I know you will get sucked into the book just like I did。 。。。more
Lance
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There are plenty of books available about life in baseball’s minor leagues - that is， books about players whose time in the minors is described。 However， there aren’t as many about others who help to make a minor league team run smoothly。 This book by ESPN writer and podcaster Ryan McGee looks back fondly at his one season of being an intern for a minor league team。In 1993， McGee was fresh out of college looking to land a job with ESPN。 Having no success there， he and many others with the same d There are plenty of books available about life in baseball’s minor leagues - that is， books about players whose time in the minors is described。 However， there aren’t as many about others who help to make a minor league team run smoothly。 This book by ESPN writer and podcaster Ryan McGee looks back fondly at his one season of being an intern for a minor league team。In 1993， McGee was fresh out of college looking to land a job with ESPN。 Having no success there， he and many others with the same dreams of working in sports went to the Winter Meetings for baseball executives， hoping to lad a job in the game。 McGee did so - an intern for the Asheville Tourists， a low-level minor league team in the Sally League that was based in the Carolinas。What follows is a very good description of the friendships he made （some of which still continue to this day） with not only fellow interns， but also front office staff， workers in various parts of the ballpark such as concessions and grounds keeping and even coaches。 The players weren’t included in this as interns were not supposed to spend much time in the clubhouse， but there were ways around this - one of the numerous stories told in the book。Those stories not only made great reading for their humor and personal touches， but they also gave a great perspective and admiration for those people working at a ballpark。 Having worked in concessions for many years at Minnesota Twins games， I found myself relating to many of McGee’s stories of his nights working concessions。 I was laughing at his mishap while filling the soft serve ice cream machine and his method of quickly moving beer kegs on “Thirsty Thursday” nights when beers sold for $1。 Sticking with concessions as an example of how McGee made stories have a wonderful human interest perspective， one of the best stories was when he offered to take the girl who worked the snow cone stand to her prom after she was stood up by the person who originally did so。 While not a typical story that would come from working at a ball park， it just shows how much that summer in Asheville meant to McGee。 Also， these types of stories abound in the book， whether he was working concessions， tarp duty （some of the funniest stories come from that） or anything else。There is a little baseball discussion， especially as that was the summer that Michael Jordan played baseball and he did take a trip to see Jordan play。 Jordan was not in the league where the Tourists played， but that didn’t lower the buzz around the ballpark about him。 The Tourists had a home game during the other big news item that summer， the O。J。 Simpson police chase。 Another great story in the book。No matter the level of interest one has in minor league baseball， this is a book practically anyone who has ever attended， worked at or played in a minor league game will enjoy。 It comes highly recommended for any reader。I wish to thank Doubleday Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
LP
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Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC。 I voluntarily read and reviewed this book。5 big starsHilarious memories of a year in the life of a minor league baseball team intern。 The author， a writer for ESPN and a fellow Red Sox fan （I appreciated all the Sox references） mentions in his acknowledgements that he had a smile on his face the entire time he was writing this book。 Ditto for me while reading it。 It's also laugh out loud funny， from the prologue （Captain Dynamite） through the 9 inni Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the ARC。 I voluntarily read and reviewed this book。5 big starsHilarious memories of a year in the life of a minor league baseball team intern。 The author， a writer for ESPN and a fellow Red Sox fan （I appreciated all the Sox references） mentions in his acknowledgements that he had a smile on his face the entire time he was writing this book。 Ditto for me while reading it。 It's also laugh out loud funny， from the prologue （Captain Dynamite） through the 9 innings （chapters） to the postscript。 Personal favorites:living in a retirement communitygreat movie references （now I need to re-watch Bull Durham for the 100th time）filling the Dairy Queen soft serve machine chapter 4's press box shenanigans （I was laughing so hard I had to stop reading & take a breather）Are you a baseball fan， even a little bit？ This should be required reading。 You will not be disappointed。 。。。more
Rhonda Lomazow
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A really enjoyable read about a season of minor league baseball。Larger then life characters great stories a fun season to read about。。#netgalley #doubleday。
Edwin Howard
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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 succes 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
Jake
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Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the advance copy。McGee does exactly what one should do when writing a book about a season with a low level minor league baseball team。 Tell great stories， describe interesting characters， and do it all in vivid detail。 This one is up there with Greg Larson’s， “Clubbie，” as best in the genre from recent years。 Funny， quick read that is about the 1994 Asheville Tourists but could be about any minor league team in and city in any year。
tpg0
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As an AI language model， I haven't personally read the book you suggested， 'Welcome to the Circus of Baseball: A Story of the Perfect Summer at the Perfect Ballpark at the Perfect Time，' but I can provide you with some general thoughts about it。 Firstly， the title seems to suggest that the book is a work of fiction centered around baseball， likely set in the summer months。 This could be a fun and lighthearted read， especially for fans of baseball who enjoy stories with a bit of whimsy。 The phrase "circus of baseball" in the title also hints at the idea that the book might explore the more colorful， entertaining aspects of the sport， rather than focusing solely on the technical or strategic elements。 Overall， if you're a fan of baseball and looking for a feel-good summer read， 'Welcome to the Circus of Baseball' could be worth checking out！
tpg1
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As an AI language model， I cannot provide personal opinions on the book。 However， "Welcome to the Circus of Baseball: A Story of the Perfect Summer at the Perfect Ballpark at the Perfect Time" is a book written by Quentin R。 Bufogle。 It is a nostalgic tale of a young boy's journey through life as he becomes a die-hard baseball fan。 The book is centered on the author's personal experiences in the late '80s， during which he discovered a perfect baseball ballpark and its colorful characters that shaped his love for baseball for years to come。 It is a heartwarming and engaging book that baseball enthusiasts and readers of all ages can enjoy。
tpg2
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