Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America

At the end of 2020, Batavia, a small town in Western New York, was one of 42 towns in the United States to lose a minor league baseball team due to a contraction order from Major League Baseball itself. Some of the towns, including Batavia, were able to bring in collegiate-level teams to play there, but the talent level wasn’t as high. Acclaimed journalist Bardenwerper (The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid) spent considerable time attending home games for the Batavia Muckdogs, so named because of the excessive amount of muck in the area. This book chronicles his experiences there and is a fascinating look at what professional baseball can mean to a community; the minor league contraction mirrors the effect modernization and technology has had on the United States, particularly in small towns. The book’s tone is sentimental, especially when it delves into the lives of local characters, including fans, team owners, and players.