In the Ballpark

Read an excerpt "This is a rare book that can actually make you see a baseball game in a different way."New York Times Book Review. "George Gmelch and J. J. Weiner bring the national pastime alive from the standpoints of its lesser-known participants. . . . A vivid, many-layered depiction of the human side of baseballthe side you don't get to see from a seat in the grandstand."Parade Magazine. "An important book about the contemporary nature and business of baseball. It is a worthwhile addition to any baseball library and an excellent introduction to the action and magic of the game that we do not often see or think about."NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture. In the Ballparkis a collection of interviews with twenty-one people who work in all parts of Major and Minor League Baseball: usher and broadcaster, beer vendor and sportswriter, clubhouse attendant and field manager, ticket seller and owner, scout and general manager, mascot and player. Organized by settingthe stands, the field, the press box, and the front officethe accounts yield a wealth of insight into little-known aspects of the game. The new concluding chapter provides updates on the subjects since they were interviewed ten years ago as well as updates on how their jobs and the game itself has changed sinceIn the Ballparkwas first published. George Gmelch, a former first baseman in the Detroit Tigers farm system, is Roger Thayer Stone Professor of Anthropology at Union College in Schenectady, New York. He is the author of nine books, includingInside Pitch: Life in Professional Baseball, also available in a Bison Books edition, andBaseball without Borders: The International Pastime(Nebraska 2006). J. J. Weiner worked in the front office of the Birmingham Barons and collaborated on this book as an anthropology student.

George Gmelch is Roger Thayer Stone Professor of Anthropology at Union College in Schenectady, New York.