Getting in the Game

Baseball's winter meetings have never before been captured from the inside--set against the backdrop of big league owners, executives, and players surrounded by money and beat writers--with everyone pushing to get a little attention, wealth, or talent. Rumors fly, journalists jabber, cameras flash as everyone tries to figure out what's going on inside the halls of the Opryland Hotel. Written by an insider who started on the outside, "Getting in the Game" takes the reader inside the scramble to get a job in the baseball industry by following the stories of three job seekers hoping to break into the game as announcers, front office staff, or anything they can get. Lewin also probes the motivations and perspectives of three baseball executives looking to hire new employees as they sort through the piles of resumes, tapes, and CDs to get down to their short lists of prospective candidates. Told in a real-time diary format, Lewin occasionally breaks from the action to explain some of the back stories everyone on the inside already knows: How did minor league baseball go from minor league to big business? What's going on in the various seminars? Lewin also interviews a few baseball lifers, pays a visit to the Winter Meetings Trade Show (where teams pick their tchotchkes for their summer giveaways), and tells you about the secret lives of mascots.