# Review: Clubbie: A Minor League Baseball Memoir

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/review-clubbie-a-minor-league-baseball-memoir/
- Published: 2021-04-21T15:54:00-05:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

[[

**Clubbie: A Minor League Baseball Memoir**
[Greg Larson](https://twitter.com/TheGregLarson)
University of Nebraska Press[Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Clubbie-Minor-League-Baseball-Memoir-ebook/dp/B08MQ9GBVZ)

There have been tons of baseball books about players, teams, owners, manager, etc.
This was the first time I found a book about a clubhouse attendant. Greg Larson 
played that role for 2 season with the Aberdeen IronBirds, the short-season A affiliate
of the Baltimore Orioles. He details his 2 years of washing uniforms, hustling to
get the team food, and being inside a baseball clubhouse.

Much like _[The Wax Pack](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021/02/review-the-wax-pack-on-the-open-road-in-search-of-baseballs-afterlife/)_,
Larson plays a crucial part to the story; not only doing the chores of the Clubbie,
but also struggling with real world issues of relationships, money, and discovering
being in part of a childhood dream isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Over his 2 
years in Aberdeen, he goes from starstruck fan of the game to a guy who sees the
struggles of life in baseball.

Larson does an amazing job of humanizing the players he’s working with; you see 
their in game struggles, what little money they make, and how the Major League team
sees them as warm bodies rather than individuals. You can see the impact of winning
and losing, coaches who are there for a job and those that are invested in their
players, and why changes are needed in the minors. You also see Larson struggle 
with the idea of taking money from these kids who make less then him; he explains
the process of dues and tipping in the clubhouse.

He also shows the struggles of coaches and others that work for Aberdeen. In fact,
one of the best “characters” in the book is pitching coach [Alan Mills](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/millsal01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-),
who is simultaneously abrasive and charming. You get the feeling that the life of
the coach is not all it’s cracked up to be, especially when you consider that a 
lot of minor league coaches were former players.

His writing style is clear and concise, making the book a very quick read; I had
it done in about 5 days. You can tell he’s an English major by how he writes. It’s
very honest while not holding back.

**Rating:** 5 out of 5. I recommend it for any baseball fan; this is a unique baseball
book that is more about the background of the game rather then the events on the
field.

_Note: Jeremy and I were able to talk with Greg is the most recent episode of the
[PC Bombcast](https://pcbombcast.podbean.com/e/episode-224-author-editor-and-stand-up-greg-larson/)_.
_Also, check out [Greg’s site](https://www.clubbiebook.com/) for deleted scenes 
from the book._

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