Field Work: On Baseball and Making a Living

by 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. A poetic survey of baseball’s rich history, Field Work shines a light on the people who make the game happen, from major-league stars and little-league coaches to gamblers, ballpark operators, and minor leaguers forging lives outside the dugout.



With sharp-eyed observations and beautiful digressions, these essays portray the complex relationship between work and play—both on and off the field—to demonstrate how baseball is more than just a game.

Genres: Sports, Baseball

222 pages, Paperback

Published April 15, 2025

About the author

Andrew Forbes is the author of the short story collections Lands and Forests (Invisible Publishing, 2019) and What You Need (2015), the latter of which was shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, and named a finalist for the Trillium Book Prize. He is also the author of The Utility of Boredom: Baseball Essays (2016), and The Only Way is the Steady Way: Essays on Baseball, Ichiro, and How We Watch the Game, (2021). Forbes lives in Peterborough, Ontario.

Reviews

[Charles Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like baseball. Been a fan since middle of high school. Grew up half way between Chicago and St. Louis. My dad bought me a crystal radio set about then, a long time ago, and I could get one station. It was our local station and was part of the Cardinals network. I became a St. Louis fan listening most nights to Harry Carey and Jack Buck.

Forbes’ book brings back a few memories. Mostly I like his retelling of the legends but from a different point of view. It’s funny. Sad. Nostalgic. And a few lessons about life and work.

I am not a fan of the big contracts or of corporate driven baseball. Neither is Forbes. Readers should be prepared for the occasional jab at modern MLB. I live in a small town that hosts a College Wood Bat team. The season is about 6 weeks long maybe 45 games, half at home. When we win the place is packed. Otherwise, not so much, but it is still fun.

Field Work is fun, too.
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[Patrick M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read. Some of the stats and minutiae of individual game recounts get a bit inside-baseball, but this book pulled in some really educational and insightful anecdotes about the history of baseball up to the present.

[Michael]

My conversation with Forbes discussing the book here:
https://umfm.com/programming/broadcas...