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Title details for Where Nobody Knows Your Name by John Feinstein - Available

Where Nobody Knows Your Name

Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball

by John Feinstein
John Feinstein
Audiobook
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From the acclaimed #1 bestselling author . . . a riveting journey through the world of minor-league baseball
“No one grows up playing baseball pretending that they’re pitching or hitting in Triple-A.” —Chris Schwinden, Triple-A pitcher
“If you don’t like it here, do a better job.” —Ron Johnson, Triple-A manager
John Feinstein gave readers an unprecedented view of the PGA Tour in A Good Walk Spoiled. He opened the door to an NCAA basketball locker room in his explosive bestseller A Season on the Brink. Now, turning his eye to our national pastime, sports journalist John Feinstein explores the colorful and mysterious world of minor-league baseball—a gateway through which all major-league players pass in their careers . . . hoping never to return.
     Baseball’s minor leagues are a paradox. For some players, the minors are a glorious launching pad toward years of fame and fortune; for others, a crash-landing pad when injury or poor play forces a big leaguer back to a life of obscure ballparks and cramped buses instead of Fenway Park and plush charter planes. Focusing exclusively on the Triple-A level, one step beneath Major League Baseball, Feinstein introduces readers to nine unique men: three pitchers, three position players, two managers, and an umpire. Through their compelling stories, Feinstein pulls back the veil on a league that is chock-full of gifted baseball players, managers, and umpires who are all one moment away from getting called up—or back—to the majors.
     The stories are hard to believe: a first-round draft pick and pitching ace who rocketed to major-league success before finding himself suddenly out of the game, hatching a presumptuous plan to get one more shot at the mound; a home run–hitting former World Series hero who lived the dream, then bounced among six teams before facing the prospects of an unceremonious end to his career; a big-league All-Star who, in the span of five months, went from being completely out of baseball to becoming a star in the ALDS, then signing a $10 million contract; and a well-liked designated hitter who toiled for eighteen seasons in the minors—a record he never wanted to set—before facing his final, highly emotional chance for a call-up to the big leagues.
     From Raleigh to Pawtucket, from Lehigh Valley to Indianapolis and beyond, Where Nobody Knows Your Name gives readers an intimate look at a baseball world not normally seen by the fans. John Feinstein gets to the heart of the human stories in a uniquely compelling way, crafting a masterful book that stands alongside his very best works.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    February 25, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780804192088
      • File size: 333655 KB
      • Duration: 11:35:06

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      John Feinstein is no stranger to taking a huge sports topic and breaking it into manageable glimpses for listeners. And count him among the group of authors who succeed at narrating their own words. Being that this is his reporting, he clearly knows the right emphasis and appropriate tones. Here, he opens the world of minor-league baseball, where players either dream of making it to the big leagues or strive to make it back. He finds an assortment of people--players, managers, an umpire--and alternates between their stories. He does an especially good job of weaving in facts and details (exactly how much does a minor league player make?) while keeping their stories straight. No imitations here, no drawls--just the facts and anecdotes, about ballplayers and their dreams. M.B. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 7, 2014
      Seasoned sportswriter Feinstein has embedded himself with an NFL team (Next Man Up), gone behind the scenes at college basketball's Final Four (Last Dance) and traveled on professional golf's PGA Tour (A Good Walk Spoiled). Now, he turns his attention to Triple-A baseballâwhich either serves as the final step up to a Major League team or the first one down to what could be an arduous and frustrating journey into retirement. Feinstein chronicles the 2012 season through the lives of five players, two managers, and one umpire. Nate McLouth was an All-Star with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2008 before his batting average plummeted and he was sent to the minors, Ron Johnson was demoted from first-base coach for the Boston Red Sox in 2011 after a colossal collapse and was managing the Norfolk Tides and Mark Lollo, in his 11th season of umpiring, had only worked six Major League games. Ultimately, Feinstein swings and misses this time around, with scattershot storytelling across 37 chapters of disjointed and melodramatic magazine-style vignettes. This exercise in repetition focuses on the anxieties of moving up and down baseball's ladder, the perils of tight travel schedules, the heartbreak of recurring injuries and the inevitable role aging plays in a young man's game.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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