{"product_id":"bluegrass-baseball-a-year-in-the-minor-league-life-paperback","title":"Bluegrass Baseball: A Year in the Minor League Life - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eKatya Cengel\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eForget the steroid-addled, overpaid, and unmotivated players: America's pastime is still alive and well, and is still the heartfelt sport it's always been--in the Minor Leagues. And nowhere is this truer than in Kentucky, whose rich baseball history continues to play out in the four teams profiled in this book. Following these teams through the 2010 season--the triumphs, struggles, and big league hopes and dreams--the book tells the larger story of baseball in America's smaller venues, where the game in its purest form is still valued and warmly embraced. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe story begins before the season with national-anthem singing tryouts in Lexington, then tags along with players, staffs, and fans at home, in the office, and on the field, offering a rare glimpse of the unglamorous reality of Minor League ball. From the front-office staff in Bowling Green planning kooky promotions, to a trainer grocery shopping for a team on forty dollars a day, to a new wife coming to terms with her husband's transitory lifestyle, to a father struggling to make it back to the Majors and a Cuban defector blowing everyone away with a 100-mph-plus fastball these are the people who live to make baseball happen, in all its nitty-gritty glory. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePurchase the audio edition.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eKatya Cengel is a freelance writer based in Richmond, California. A staff reporter for the \u003ci\u003eLouisville Courier-Journal\u003c\/i\u003e for eight years, she reported from the former Soviet Union, Europe, and Africa and has published in \u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.78 x 8.51 x 5.54 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 15, 2012\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51757591396640,"sku":"9780803235359","price":21.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/84f1536786859c4a89d9bf05f484f8dc.webp?v=1780106069","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/bluegrass-baseball-a-year-in-the-minor-league-life-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}