Field Work
On Baseball and Making a Living
Andrew Forbes
Roger Angell meets Hanif Abdurraqib meets Bull Durham in this sharp new collection of baseball writing by Andrew Forbes
Baseball is a sport, a pastime, an obsession, a dream―and for some, it’s also a day job. Field Work is a poetic survey of baseball’s rich history that uncovers the people who makes the game happen, from the pioneers who built and maintained early ballparks to minor-league players' surprising part-time jobs to the parents who coach Little League teams. Along the way it shines a surprising light on the complex relationships between work and play and how we value labour.
Equal parts sharp-eyed obversation and beautiful digression, these essays celebrate the ways in which baseball shapes the way we move through the world—and how our understanding of work has an unmistakable influence on what happens on the ball diamond.
On Baseball and Making a Living
Andrew Forbes
Roger Angell meets Hanif Abdurraqib meets Bull Durham in this sharp new collection of baseball writing by Andrew Forbes
Baseball is a sport, a pastime, an obsession, a dream―and for some, it’s also a day job. Field Work is a poetic survey of baseball’s rich history that uncovers the people who makes the game happen, from the pioneers who built and maintained early ballparks to minor-league players' surprising part-time jobs to the parents who coach Little League teams. Along the way it shines a surprising light on the complex relationships between work and play and how we value labour.
Equal parts sharp-eyed obversation and beautiful digression, these essays celebrate the ways in which baseball shapes the way we move through the world—and how our understanding of work has an unmistakable influence on what happens on the ball diamond.
On Baseball and Making a Living
Andrew Forbes
Roger Angell meets Hanif Abdurraqib meets Bull Durham in this sharp new collection of baseball writing by Andrew Forbes
Baseball is a sport, a pastime, an obsession, a dream―and for some, it’s also a day job. Field Work is a poetic survey of baseball’s rich history that uncovers the people who makes the game happen, from the pioneers who built and maintained early ballparks to minor-league players' surprising part-time jobs to the parents who coach Little League teams. Along the way it shines a surprising light on the complex relationships between work and play and how we value labour.
Equal parts sharp-eyed obversation and beautiful digression, these essays celebrate the ways in which baseball shapes the way we move through the world—and how our understanding of work has an unmistakable influence on what happens on the ball diamond.
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Praise for Andrew Forbes
“Transcendent prose.”—Shelf Awareness
“A lovely, philosophical look at the sport of summer, this one suits diehard fanatics as well as the casual baseball fan.”—Toronto Star
“Andrew Forbes’s writing is almost invisibly stunning, clear, with romantic flourishes equal to his subject matter.”—The National Post
“A seventh-inning stretch of profound wisdom.”—Farther Off the Wall
"Comprehends the game at an elite observational level, yet writes about it accessibly.”—Globe and Mail
“Forbes’ essays are as consumable as a large tub of popcorn.”—Fansided
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Andrew Forbes is the author of two previous collections of baseball writing—The Utility of Boredom (2016) and The Only Way Is the Steady Way (2021)—as well as two collections of short fiction, the novella McCurdle’s Arm, and a novel, The Diapause. He is an active member of the Society for American Baseball Research, having participated in several investigative projects. He has written for publications including the Toronto Star, Canadian Notes and Queries, and Maisonneuve Magazine, and his work has been nominated for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and the Trillium Book Award. Originally from Ottawa, Forbes has lived in Atlantic Canada and rural Eastern Ontario, and now resides in Peterborough, Ontario. For more information, visit andrewgforbes.com.
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Publication date: April 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781998336159
eISBN: 9781998336166
Paperback: 240 pages
