WEBVTT

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Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. Great to

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be here. So get this. What if I told you that

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the real pulse of a whole community, you know,

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its highs, its lows, its worries. Yeah. Could

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actually be felt just by following a minor league

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baseball team. Hmm. Sounds almost quaint, like

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you said. Yeah. A bit old fashioned. Exactly.

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Yeah. But that's kind of the surprising thing

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you find in Will Barden Ripper's book, Homestand,

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Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul

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of America. Right. That's the book we're diving

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into today based on listener recommendation.

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Oh, nice. And yeah, for anyone interested in,

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you know, how small towns tick, what holds them

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together. This book is it's a really fascinating

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look. It is. It's nonfiction takes us right into

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Batavia, New York. And it really zooms in on

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their baseball team, the Muck Dogs. Yeah. Especially

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during this really. Uh, uncertain time. Yeah,

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that whole thing with Major League Baseball possibly

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cutting ties. Exactly. That threat hanging over

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them. It's the core conflict, really. And what

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I thought was great, and maybe you did too, was

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how the author, Barden Burper, he doesn't just

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stick to the scores, right? No, not at all. He

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gets into the lives of the fans, the people working

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behind the scenes. Yeah. And how this team is

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just like woven into Batavia's identity while

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the town's dealing with all the usual modern

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American stuff. Totally. And one of the real

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strengths, I think, something that really stuck

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with me, was how intimate that picture felt.

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Yeah, intimate's a good word for it. You really

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feel that connection, that history between the

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town and the team, the muck dogs. And you meet

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some really memorable people along the way, real

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characters. Oh, yeah. Like who? Well, you've

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got folks like... John Karuba, the guy who's

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like this online champion for the team. Right.

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The super fan. Yeah, exactly. And then these

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lifelong supporters like Dr. Fanara. His dedication

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just spans decades. It's incredible. That kind

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of deep rooted passion. Precisely. If you appreciate

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those kinds of human stories within the bigger

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picture, this book really delivers on that. And

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for me, another thing that really jumped out

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was the way it looks at the bigger picture of

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baseball itself. The industry changes. Yeah,

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especially the minor leagues. It makes you think

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about like the money side, the big decisions

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made way up top. And how they trickle down. Right.

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And how they hit these smaller towns, these communities

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in ways that are, well, pretty profound, actually.

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Definitely gave me pause thinking about how much

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we value. these you know local spots these institutions

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it did and what's really interesting especially

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if you're thinking about the challenges you know

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american towns are facing which many are right

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is how losing the muck dogs or the threat of

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losing them became kind of symbolic symbolic

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of bigger things yeah bigger economic shifts

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social changes the author really argues that

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these seemingly small things like a local team

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are actually way more vital to a community's

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soul, I guess, than you might think from the

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outside. That's a really good point. It's like

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the connective tissue. Exactly. I really enjoyed

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the book overall, Homestand, but it wasn't perfect.

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Okay, fair enough. What stood out? For me, sometimes

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all the anecdotes, you know, they were great

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stories individually, really interesting people,

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but occasionally it made the main story, the

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main narrative thread feel a little um spread

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out a bit diffuse uh i see what you mean like

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a collection of snapshots rather than a continuous

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film kinda like meeting loads of fascinating

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people at a party but sometimes you forget why

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the party started you know that's a fair point

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and maybe uh keeping track of everyone there

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are quite a few names dropped yeah the cast is

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pretty large Which is fine, but sometimes maybe

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a touch overwhelming. And I guess tied to that,

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while the baseball industry context was useful,

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there were moments it pulled focus maybe a bit

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too much away from Batavia itself. Right. Just

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when you're getting invested in the town story.

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Yeah. Maybe slightly took away from that core

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connection you were building with the place and

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his people. Exactly. I kind of wanted to stick

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with certain people or town issues just a little

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longer sometimes before we zoomed out again.

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Understandable. But honestly, those are pretty

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minor things in what was for me a really worthwhile

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read. Agreed. Despite those small points, Homestand

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really does give you this valuable window into

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a slice of America that maybe doesn't always

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get the spotlight. True. It forces you to think

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about the role shared passions play, like, you

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know, rooting for the home team. That sense of

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belonging. Yeah, that collective identity, especially

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when facing pressures from the outside. Like,

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what does it mean for a town spirit when something

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like that, a pillar, is threatened? That's a

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big question. So, okay, wrapping it all up. Rating

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time. Okay. For someone looking to understand

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that link between community, local identity,

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sports. I think Homestand. Small town baseball

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and the fight for the soul of America gets a

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solid four out of five stars for me. Yeah, I'd

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second that. A strong four. It's insightful.

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It's got heart. If you like nonfiction that really

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digs into the human side of these bigger trends,

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Homestand is definitely worth picking up. It

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really leaves you thinking, doesn't it, about

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those local anchors. Makes you wonder about the

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muck dogs in your own community, perhaps. Absolutely.

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OK, well, I think that about wraps up our deep

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dive into Homestand. Indeed. Thanks, everyone,

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for joining us. Yeah. Thank you so much for tuning

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in. And hey, if this chat got you interested,

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if you want to read the story of Batavia and

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the muck dogs yourself. Which we recommend. We

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do. We've put a link to the book on Amazon right

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there in the description below. Makes it easy

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for you. And if you enjoyed this discussion,

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found it useful, please do us a favor. Go on.

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Hit that like button, subscribe to the show.

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That way you won't miss out when we dive into

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other fascinating topics from sources you guys

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share. Absolutely. And we genuinely want to hear

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from you, too. Yeah. Based on what we talked

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about today, what kind of stuck with you? Yeah.

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Any favorite moments or maybe something that

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surprised you about what you heard regarding

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Homestand? Drop your thoughts in the comments

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below. Seriously, let's keep this conversation

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going. I hope others find the show, too. Exactly.

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Thanks again, everyone. See you next time.