BOOK REVIEW: Welcome To The Circus Of Baseball Is A Coming-Of-Age Story

Every year at baseball’s Winter Meetings, you see legions of dark-suited dreamers hoping to find a foothold in the game.

You never know which fresh-faced 20-something-year-olds will eventually end up being a general manager for a major or minor league team, which is one of the main reasons there is a never-ending supply of new dreamers every year.

Some will never get hired. Some will spend a year or two there and realize they have other dreams and other plans.

Ryan McGee ended up finding another path. He’s become a writer and television commentator for ESPN, but years ago, he was one of those young fresh-out-of-college job seekers. His new book, “Welcome to the Circus of Baseball” is a summation of his year as a do-everything employee of the Asheville Tourists.

This is a baseball book, but it’s also a coming-of-age memoir. McGee reconnects with some of the players and others who were part of a fascinating summer in Asheville. They’re all older now, but they also have the perspective that comes from looking back at a time in your life that was monumental, even if you didn’t always realize it at the time.

If you watch McGee on ESPN nowadays, it’s clear that he loves the minors. And that love is apparent page after page. He’s pulled the tarp, tapped the kegs and cleaned up after promotions that went awry. With “Welcome to the Circus of Baseball,” he’ll help you understand why sometimes the best spot in the world is a small ballpark on a weekday night with your summer family.

If you’ve ever spent a summer at the ballpark, you know that the people who attend the games and work around the team are as much a part of the experience as the stars of tomorrow and the players who, even if they don’t know it yet, have reached the peak of their baseball experience.

McGee’s memories are as much about those fans, varmint catchers and Thirsty Thursday revelers as they are about the players. They’re also about mascot brawls, rehabbing big leaguers and trying to find where you fit on a team.

If you fell in love with baseball at some point when you were growing up, you will love this journey back to the scene of your first love. McGee clearly loves minor league baseball, and in reading his new book, you will, too.

I am absolutely the target audience for this book, so when I say I expect this will be the best or one of the best books I’ll read this year, know that it comes from someone who expected to love this book. But if you love the minor leagues, and especially if you’ve ever spent time around a minor league team, you’re likely the target audience as well.