Customer Reviews

Getting in the Game: Inside Baseball's Winter Meetings

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Josh Lewin is the regular play-by-play broadcaster for the Texas Rangers. This past fall, he put out a book called "Getting in the Game: Inside Baseball's Winter Meetings". This is the story of both the outside and inside of some folks trying to break into baseball to follow a dream. It deals with how some kids (and not kids) try to get broadcasting, mascot jobs, or just about anything with a minor league team.

That sound boring? It's not. The book has a nice sense of humour about it, and there's some wonderfully funny stories about what goes on at these things (I loved the potato story a lot, as well as numerous others). Josh Lewin has a very entertaining way of broadcasting baseball games, and he seems to have tied up several stories regarding how to break in, how those who hire do the hiring, and the tribulations of some job seekers rushing all over themselves to get low paying or even no paying jobs, just to say they have a job in baseball.

If there's one criticism of the book, it's that I found it hard to follow sometimes where things were going. This isn't a fiction, so things aren't going to always be neatly in a row - but I got confused sometimes as to who was who in terms of the job seekers. But that's a minor quibble, it might just be me not paying attention well enough.

A nice bonus to me was some talk with Dave Raymond, the man who originated the Philly Phanatic character. As I'm from Philadelphia, and grew up with the Phanatic, it was nice to hear some stuff from Mr. Raymond. It's not like he's the main crux of the book (far from it), but it was nice to see him pop up here.

If you like to follow the inner workings of baseball, you're sure to love this book. If you're the kind of casual baseball fan who has trouble watching the game on TV, or when they're at the park gets more worked up going for beer and hot dogs, this might not be for you, then.

I'm not a rabid baseball fan, but I REALLY enjoyed this book! I loved the behind-the-scenes peek into the winter meetings that the author provided. The writing was vivid, the humor delightful, and the personal stories compelling and poignant. I don't usually laugh out loud when I'm reading, but I couldn't stop myself.... I hope we'll see more from Josh Lewin! He really knows the game!

A lot of reviews that I have read about this book center around the fact that it wasn't what they expected, and that is fine. But it just confuses me and I don't understand what people were, in fact, expecting.

For me, I used this book as a tool in realizing the job market out there for younger adults, like myself, that wish to get into this type of business. And it worked especially well because it was all about the winter meetings and the job fair that takes place there. The author provides you with a great first-hand experience of the inner workings that go on there and the hard work it takes to even get an interview with a potential employer.

What the book does best is show you the struggle to find a job in the business on two different extremes. One is attempting to break in by being in broadcasting, while the other is trying to be a mascot. If there are two jobs in sports that are anymore different, I'd like to see it.

For someone looking to get into sports, baseball in particular, this book serves as one of the best learning tools I've come across. You can see up close what it takes to just get your foot in the door. Nothing comes easy in this business and the characters in this book prove it. Following their adventures through the job fair gave me an extra edge I would need when I enter the real world.

Josh Lewin is a well-recognized broadcaster who obviously started from the bottom up. His insights, good humor and cheers for those going throught what he has experienced are exemplary. He loves our national pastime and this infused spirit is obvious throughout. It's a side of baseball about which I knew little and informs a good deal of what is happening at the major league level. A bravura performance!

I've known the author for years, but had no idea he could write. Broadcast baseball and hockey and basketball, yes, but I had no idea he could write like this. This book was absolutely fall-down hilarious and even non-baseball fans would have to agree. You find yourself really rooting for the main characters, and feeling for them in the moments when things don't go well for them. As for baseball fans, I count myself as being one, and thought I knew a good deal about the game's inner workings, but I found myself saying 'I never knew that' on just about every interesting page. I'm so glad Josh decided to write a book- I hope he writes many more.

If you are really interested in the whole aspect of baseball and the inner-workings during the off season this is a very good book. I have enjoyed it very much and Josh has done a fun job putting this information together for us readers.

Getting in the Game is an interesting read for those who are fans of minor league baseball. It gives a insider's view of how minor league baseball has become so enormously popular as a low-budget, family-oriented entertainment venue. There are interviews with general managers, mascots and announcers with a humorous look at the extremes a team will go to attract fans. Woven through the book is the stories of a few young people trying to beat the odds and land an entry-level job at the employment fair of the 2002 Winter Baseball Meetings. Josh has narrated their entire weekend of networking, "resume-dropping" and interview anxiety with humor and insight. The reader feels as though they are a mouse watching and listening to all the interesting things going on at the Opryland Hotel during the Winter Meetings.

I feel guilty giving Josh Lewin's book a rating of only two stars, but I should have looked more carefully before I bought the book. I am a big Josh Lewin fan, and was disappointed when he left telecasting the Tigers with Kirk Gibson to join the Texas Rangers. I grabbed the book as soon as I saw his name as the author, and I thought I was going to read about Josh's baseball experiences and the making of trades during baseball's winter meetings. Instead, the book is about minor league teams auditioning audio tapes of prospective announcers looking for a minor league job at baseball's winter meetings in Nashville. Some information is also provided regarding team mascots. Had I looked at the book's contents before I bought it, I would have put it back on the shelf. My rating of two stars is based on my interest level, not on the book's quality. If you write another one on your baseball experiences, Josh, I will be sure to buy it, because I enjoy your work.