Welcome to the Circus of Baseball: A Story of the Perfect Summer at the Perfect Ballpark at the Perfect Time

"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 ensues as Ryan McGee spends the season steeped in sweat, fertilizer, nacho cheese sauce and pure, unadulterated joy in North Carolina with the Asheville Tourists. 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. Whatcould 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 know (between the fourteen league mascots who had assembled for the all-star game - an eight-foot tall foam-costumed crustacean, a pudgyred fox, a giant skunk . . . and they were really fighting), as well as the day he oversaw the game-day entertainer known as "Captain Dynamite and His Exploding Coffin of Death" - let's just say, things went wrong. Most important, McGee details a magicalsummer of baseball, of learning the ropes, of working with players on their way up to the Majors or down to extinction, and of coming to understand how the pulse of a community can beat happily through a minor league ballclub. Welcome to the Circus of Baseball is a baseball classic in the making"--
A popular ESPN reporter shares his hilarious experiences working as a fresh-out-of-college intern for the Asheville Tourists in 1994, detailing a magical summer of minor league baseball during which he, while learning the ropes. witnessed mascot fights, terrifying game-day entertainment, and the spirit of community. Illustrations.
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 YearsIn 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.