Inside Pitch; Life in Professional Baseball

Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xiii, [1], 230, [4] pages. Reflections. Appendix. Notes. Bibliography. Index. DJ has slight wear and soiling, and sticker residue on front flap. George Gmelch played five seasons in the minor leagues, three in the Detroit Tigers organization and the rest in the independent leagues, from 1965 to 1970. An outfielder and first baseman, he was signed by scout Bernie DeViveiros just before the first amateur draft. He started off in 1965 with the Jamestown Tigers. He did hit 5 homers, all at Jamestown, and drove in 18 runs. In 1966, he split his time between the Daytona Beach Islanders of the Florida State League, the Rocky Mount Leafs of the Carolina League and the Statesville Tigers of the Western Carolinas League. In 110 games, he hit .264/.337/.349, with 2 homers and 40 RBIs. In 1967, he was back with Rocky Mount for 62 games, where he hit .218 with 4 homers and 29 RBIs. After being released in mid-year, he joined the Drummondville Royals of the "outlaw" Provincial League where he had some good success, finishing second in the league with 14 homers. After retiring as a player he earned his Ph.D. He became a professor of social anthropology. His first published article, about the superstitions of baseball players has become a classic text of sociology. From the spark of ambition to play baseball professionally to the necessity of reinventing life after baseball, the anthropologist and former Minor Leaguer George Gmelch describes the lives of the men who work at America's national game. Twenty-four years after his own final road trip as a minor leaguer, Gmelch went back on the road with ballplayers, this time with a pen and pad to record the details of life around the diamond. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews with Major and Minor League players, coaches, and managers, Gmelch explores players' experiences throughout their careers: being scouted, becoming a rookie, moving through or staying in the Minors, preparing mentally and physically to play day after day, coping with slumps and successes, and facing retirement. He examines the ballplayers' routines and rituals, and describes their joys and frustrations. Gmelch charts the life cycle of the modern professional ballplayer and makes perceptive comparisons to a previous generation of players.