BUFFALO, BOOKS & BEER RETURNS WITH HOMESTAND BY WILL BARDENWERPER

Author, former college ballplayer, and Army veteran Bardenwerper will discuss his new book HOMESTAND, a memoir about a season embedded as a writer with the minor-league Batavia (N.Y.) Muckdogs. The book is a subtle meditation on small-town America besieged by broader economic forces. Professional baseball had been played in Batavia for more than a century before Major League Baseball shut down the Muckdogs, along with 41 other minor-league teams, in a cost-cutting move in 2020.

Like so many Rustbelt cities and towns, Batavia’s industrial base had been hollowed out by global capitalism. Rather than mourn and accept the Muckdogs as another casualty, fans, businesses, and a retired pro hockey tough guy turned team owner, banded together to revive baseball in the city.

Bardenwerper shows that baseball matters because it knits the community. Most of the action in HOMESTAND takes place in the stands and in other shared spaces such as barrooms, diners, local shops, and living rooms. It’s a world of hot dogs, popcorn, beer, and memorable characters living full, rich lives in a region most of America may dismiss as flyover country.

The Washington Post has called HOMESTAND “A romantic look at the magic of small-town baseball…”

Bardenwerper has contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Harper’s Magazine. He is the author of The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid. He served as an Airborne Ranger-qualified infantry officer in Iraq and was awarded a Combat Infantry Badge and a Bronze Star. He received a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Pittsburgh.

Bardenwerper’s talk will be hosted free of charge at The Place, a historic Elmwood Village tavern. Food and drink will be available for purchase. Copies of HOMESTAND will be available for sale at the event by Talking Leaves, Buffalo’s premier independent bookstore.

Come for a night of books and baseball conversation, beer, and excellent cuisine.