Clubbie

A Minor League Baseball Memoir

By: Greg Larson

Narrated by: Kyle Tait

Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Greg Larson was a starry-eyed fan when he hurtled headfirst into professional baseball. As the new clubhouse attendant for the Aberdeen IronBirds, a Minor League affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, Larson assumed he'd entered a familiar world. He thought wrong.

He quickly discovered the bizarre rituals of life in the Minors: fights between players, teammates quitting in the middle of the games, doomed relationships, and a negligent parent organization. Despite the team's struggles and his own lack of baseball talent, he yearned to join the exclusive fraternity of professional ballplayers.

Like most Minor Leaguers, the gravitational pull of baseball was still too strong for Larson - even if chasing his private dream might cost him his girlfriend, his future, and, ultimately, his love of the game. That is, until an unlikely shot at a championship gives Larson and the IronBirds one final swing at redemption.

An unflinching look at the harsh experience of professional sports, Clubbie will be a touchstone in baseball literature for years to come.

©2021 Greg Larson (P)2021 Tantor

Really solid baseball book

If you are a baseball fan you will enjoy this behind the scenes look of the life of a clubhouse manager intermixed with a relatable human story.

I loved it!

Outstanding writing and narration. Excellent pace. There is a cinematic feel throughout that transpoted me to Hammond Field in Fort Myers, Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, dusty ball fields in Elk River, Minnesota, Coney Island, and even a freezing bedroom in North Augusta, South Carolina. Take a listen, especially if you're a baseball fan!

More than I expected

This book was so much more than I expected. I thought it would be a glimpse into minor league baseball, obviously, from the viewpoint of a clubhouse manager. It is, but the descriptions of comroderie and being part of the game dredged up emotions I was not ready for. Excellent.

Great taste of minor league ball and life

I was thrilled to find this audiobook while researching tickets to the Aberdeen Ironbirds. As a longtime fan of baseball, now with kids age 10 & 7, I find going to minor league games more enjoyable than the majors. My son always finds a way to rustle a ball or two from the bullpen or a foul ball. We play on the grass near the foul line or outfield wall just inches from the playing field.

Greg Larson provides the backstory to all this magic around a night at the minor league ballpark. I wanted to listen to it to make sure it wasn’t too adult for my son to read — it isn’t (but I imagine it could’ve been!). I bought the book knowing he will love it and will enjoy our Ironbirds games even more.

Greg, thanks for sharing your two seasons with us! Your book helped introduce reforms into player salaries and other pieces of minor league servitude. Highly recommended!

A Real Taste of Life in the Minors

Greg Larson's autobiographical account of his time as a clubhouse manager in one of the lowest levels of the minors is incredibly compelling. Most of what baseball fans hear is about the big money players and top prospects who are not the rank and file players at Low-A Short-Season Aberdeen. And the clubbie is the unsung hero who feeds the players, washes the uniforms for little or no money. They do it for the love of the game and being an Orioles fan while growing up close to Aberdeen, this was awesome.

This is a great perspective to know exists for any fan of baseball. I wish the ending was a bit more complete, but Greg Larson did a great job presenting a raw account.