Welcome to the Circus of Baseball

A Story of the Perfect Summer at the Perfect Ballpark at the Perfect Time

By: Ryan McGee

Narrated by: Ryan McGee

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.

The Love of Baseball

A wonderfully nostalgic narrative that makes baseball lovers pause and remember why we love the game.

Almost TOO Accurate

As a Minor league employee-Ryan hits the nail on the head and it’s incredibly fascinating to hear the experiences and people met through the journey of MiLB. It feels nostalgic even though you weren’t even there.

Great Content & Narration

One of the best books I've heard on Audible. I think the storytelling and Ryan's narration made it a masterpiece. This will definitely get a second listen.

This is a must

I grew up going to CR Kernels games and this book is awesome for fans of minor league baseball.

A sports lovers must read!

Ryan is a great storyteller! I’ve read / listened to several books and this is one of the best I’ve listened to in a long time. If you love baseball especially MiLB you need to listen!