Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Homestand by Will Bardenwerper - Wait list

Homestand

Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America

by Will Bardenwerper
Dan Bittner
Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
Place a hold Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
A poignant memoir exploring small town baseball as a lens into what’s right and wrong with modern America—written by an acclaimed journalist and Army Ranger who, after returning from Iraq to a painfully divided country, rediscovered its core values in the bleachers of a minor league ballpark in Batavia, New York.

"Bardenwerper finds hope in the people and community around a former minor league baseball team.”—Washington Post

"Will reveal more about the prospects for America than 100 news stories about politics, and will be a lot more fun.”—James Fallows, bestselling co-author of Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America
What happens when a minor league team—the heart and soul of a Rust Belt town in western New York—is shut down by the billionaires who run Major League Baseball?
Batavia, New York—between Rochester and Buffalo—hosted its first professional baseball game in 1897. Despite decades of deindustrialization and evaporating middle-class jobs, the Batavia Muckdogs endured. When Major League Baseball cravenly shut them down in 2020—along with forty-one other minor league teams—the town fought back, reviving the Muckdogs as a summer league team comprised of college players. As MLB considers further cuts and private equity buys up what remains, the mom-and-pop operations once prevalent in baseball are endangered. But for now, the sights and sounds of local baseball live on in Batavia—cheap draft beer and hot dogs, starry-eyed kids seeking autographs, and breathtaking summer sunsets.
With a vibrant, unforgettable cast of characters—from a librarian and her best friend whose relationship deepens with every “crepuscular hour” they spend together in the bleachers, to the former hockey brawler-turned team owner who greets regulars while working the concession stand, to the iconoclastic writer with a contagious love for his struggling hometown—Bardenwerper’s Homestand exposes the beating heart of small town America, friends and neighbors coming together as the crack of the bat echoes in the summer twilight.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 11, 2025

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9798217018680
      • File size: 309975 KB
      • Duration: 10:45:45

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Dan Bittner's narration pairs nostalgia for American baseball with an incisive examination of the game today. Throughout the summer season of 2022, listeners follow the fortunes of a town whose MLB affiliation was removed in 2020 as part of a 25% downsizing of minor league baseball. In an effort to retain local baseball in Batavia, New York, new owners purchased the Batavia Muckdogs and filled its roster with college athletes. Bittner's congenial voice connects the author with fellow military veterans, diehard fans, and multigenerational supporters rallying around their team. He infuses his performance with warmth and an affinity for the sport while simultaneously leveling frank assessments of MLB's business model and data-driven play. This engrossing production is a must-listen for sports fans. J.R.T. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading