Author who wrote well regarded book about baseball in Batavia stops by Eli Fish for book signing

Will Bardenwerper's book about baseball in Batavia and America has been getting national attention and is currently ranked #17 on Amazon's list of best-selling baseball books.

 The book, "Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America," is resonating with readers and reviewers.

That may signal, Bardenwerper said, that people are looking for small-town values of community.

"I think it speaks to the fact that maybe there is a real hunger for these kinds of places where people can come together for an affordable price and have a good time and kind of put some of the division that we find in our society behind us for a few hours and just have fun," Bardenwerper told The Batavian during a book signing at Eli Fish Brewing Co. on Saturday evening.

There have been several book reviews of Homestand published, including in major publications such as the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

The book addresses the growing divide in America between the corporatist world of Major League Baseball and the grassroots game in places like Batavia, which lost its historic minor league team when MLB broke with tradition and consolidated its minor league affiliates. That decision turned out to make baseball in Batavia better with the arrival of Robbie and Nellie Nichols, owners of the revived Batavia Muckdogs of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.

If highlighting that dichotomy has ruffled any feathers in the executive suites at the MLB, Bardenwerper hasn't heard about it.

"I don't know to what extent it is or isn't on their radar," Bardenwerper said. "If it is, I'm guessing they just kind of would like it to go away."

If you missed Bardenwerper at Eli Fish, there is another book signing Saturday (today) in Medina at Author's Note Bookstore, as part of Independent Bookstore Day. Bardenwerper will be in store from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Other authors participating are Doogie Horner from 10:30 to noon and Mylisa Larsen from noon to 1:30 p.m. Author's Note is located at 519 Main St., Medina.