LINKS
HITS, HOPES, AND HISTORY
AT THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
THE ROAD TO OMAHA
THE ROAD TO OMAHA
HITS, HOPES, AND HISTORY
AT THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
LINKS
“The Blatt” is America’s last real connection to the belief that Field of Dreams can actually happen: a wooden-framed ballpark with cramped concourses where unpaid players come from around the nation—to Omaha, Nebraska of all places—to play pure move-the-man-over, run manufacturing baseball in a series that’s part college bowl game, part county fair.
The eight teams of the College World Series share locker rooms, change clothes in the parking lot, and sign autographs for kids until their fingers cramp. Some of the players are mere days away from beginning their pro careers. Others are playing competitive ball for the last time in their lives. No matter what their baseball destination, they cling to their memories of Omaha forever.
The book takes up residence at Rosenblatt Stadium, reliving its rich history and experiencing the electricity around it, from tailgating fans to the neighborhoods that surround it. Ryan McGee uses the ten-day, eight-team tournament as a backdrop and jumping off point for deeper storytelling - and these are stories uncovered by an author embedded throughout the entire two weeks of the 2008 College World Series. McGee puts the reader behind closed doors with the underdog champs, the Fresno State Bulldogs, as well as with their seven opponents; from the first batting practice session, to bus rides to the ballpark, to the locker room and the dugout.
But The Road to Omaha goes far beyond the 2008 season. It’s an in-depth look at the machinations behind the managing and playing style of college baseball, as well as a series of profiles that examine the people behind and around the CWS--the players, coaches and fans who keep that feeling of innocence alive. It’s a snapshot of the one of the last remaining vestiges of pure Americana: a hometown, baseball, and the people who shape it and are shaped by it in turn.
In today’s baseball world, there aren’t supposed to be places like Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium left on the atlas...
"A sharp, behind-the-scenes look...The on-field was gripping...but 'Omaha' goes deeper, delivering insights into how the college game is played and why the CWS and Nebraskan culture intertwine."
- Sports Illustrated
“Ryan McGee made me feel like I was there in the sunshine at Rosenblatt Stadium. But by the time I was done, I wondered: Why haven’t I been here before? This is great!”
– Richard Ben Cramer, author of Joe DiMaggio: the Hero’s Life
FOR MORE MEDIA COVERAGE AND REVIEWS, CLICK HERE.
NAMED AS ONE OF BASEBALL AMERICA'S TOP 10 BASEBALL BOOKS OF 2009!
READ ABOUT IT HERE.
READ AN EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE HERE
