Bleacher Bums Closing

Bleacher Bums Closing: The End of an Era and What It Means for Fans

The news hit like a foul ball to the face: Bleacher Bums, a beloved institution for generations of baseball fans, is closing its doors. For many, it wasn't just a bar; it was a second home, a community hub, a place where the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd echoed long after the final out. This article delves into the reasons behind Bleacher Bums' closure, explores its lasting legacy, and considers the impact on both the baseball community and the neighborhood it called home. We’ll examine the potential ripple effects, discuss alternative options for fans, and offer a heartfelt reflection on what made this establishment so special. Get ready for a trip down memory lane as we say goodbye to a true legend.

The Demise of a Diamond Dynasty: Why Bleacher Bums Closed

Several contributing factors often lead to the closure of long-standing businesses, and Bleacher Bums is no exception. While the specific reasons may be multifaceted and not publicly disclosed in their entirety, we can speculate on some likely culprits:

1. Rising Operational Costs: The cost of running a business, especially in a high-rent district near a major league stadium, has skyrocketed in recent years. Increased rent, utilities, staffing costs (including minimum wage increases and benefits), and the price of goods all put pressure on profit margins. Even a well-loved establishment can struggle to maintain profitability in the face of such pressures.

2. Changing Demographics and Consumer Preferences: The tastes and habits of consumers are constantly evolving. Perhaps Bleacher Bums struggled to adapt to changing preferences, facing competition from newer, trendier bars and restaurants offering a different ambiance or experience. Younger generations may gravitate towards different types of entertainment and social spaces.

3. The Impact of the Pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly impacted businesses across the board, including those in the hospitality industry. Lockdowns, reduced capacity limits, and social distancing measures severely restricted revenue streams for many establishments, leaving them vulnerable to long-term financial struggles. Bleacher Bums may have been unable to recover sufficiently from the pandemic's economic blow.

4. Lease Agreements and Property Development: The building Bleacher Bums occupied may have been subject to a lease renewal, with terms unfavorable to the business owners. Alternatively, the property itself might be targeted for redevelopment, forcing the closure of existing businesses to make way for new projects. This is a common occurrence in rapidly developing urban areas.

5. Lack of Succession Planning: If Bleacher Bums was a family-owned business, the lack of a clear succession plan could have contributed to its closure. Without a younger generation stepping up to take the reins, maintaining the establishment’s legacy becomes challenging.

A Legacy of Cheers: Remembering Bleacher Bums' Impact

Bleacher Bums’ closure marks the end of an era, leaving a significant void in the hearts of many baseball fans and the community. Its impact goes beyond simply providing a place to watch games; it fostered a sense of community, camaraderie, and shared passion for the sport. This legacy includes:

A Hub for Baseball Fans: Bleacher Bums served as a central gathering place for fans before, during, and after games. It was a place to celebrate victories, commiserate over losses, and bond over a shared love for the game.

A Unique Atmosphere: The bar likely boasted a distinctive atmosphere, rich with baseball memorabilia, stories, and traditions. This unique character made it a destination in itself, drawing fans beyond the immediate vicinity.

Community Involvement: Bleacher Bums likely participated in local community events, sponsoring teams or contributing to charitable causes. This contributed to its integral role within the neighborhood's fabric.

Creating Memories: Countless memories were made within Bleacher Bums’ walls – first dates, celebrations, friendships forged over shared game-watching experiences. These memories will live on in the hearts of those who frequented the establishment.

The Future for Fans and the Neighborhood: Moving Forward

The closure of Bleacher Bums leaves a question mark about the future for baseball fans seeking a similar experience and the neighborhood's character. While there's no direct replacement, fans can explore alternative options:

Other Local Bars and Restaurants: Exploring other establishments in the vicinity may reveal hidden gems offering a comparable atmosphere or a different, equally enjoyable game-watching experience.

Home Viewing Parties: Gathering with friends and family at home provides a more intimate setting for watching games.

New Establishments: The space formerly occupied by Bleacher Bums may be redeveloped into a new establishment, potentially catering to a similar audience.

Online Communities: Online forums and social media groups dedicated to the baseball team or the local community can help fans connect with others who share their passion.

Article Outline: Bleacher Bums Closing

I. Introduction:
Hook: Emotional appeal, focusing on the impact of the closure on fans.
Overview: Briefly outlining the article's content.

II. The Demise of a Diamond Dynasty: Why Bleacher Bums Closed
Rising Operational Costs
Changing Demographics and Consumer Preferences
The Impact of the Pandemic
Lease Agreements and Property Development
Lack of Succession Planning

III. A Legacy of Cheers: Remembering Bleacher Bums' Impact
Hub for Baseball Fans
Unique Atmosphere
Community Involvement
Creating Memories

IV. The Future for Fans and the Neighborhood: Moving Forward
Alternative Options for Fans
Potential Impact on the Neighborhood

V. Conclusion:
Summary of key points
Final reflection on Bleacher Bums' legacy

Article Explanation:

Each section of the outline above is explained in detail within the main body of the article. The introduction hooks the reader with an emotional connection to the news of the closure, setting the stage for a thorough exploration of the topic. The main chapters delve into the reasons behind the closure, examine its impact, and suggest potential paths forward for fans and the neighborhood. The conclusion synthesizes the information and leaves the reader with a lasting impression of Bleacher Bums' significance.

FAQs

1. When did Bleacher Bums close? (Answer requires specific information about the actual closing date.)

2. What was the official reason given for the closure? (Answer requires specific information from official sources.)

3. Where was Bleacher Bums located? (Answer requires specific information about its location.)

4. What kind of atmosphere did Bleacher Bums have? (Answer should describe its unique character.)

5. What are some alternative places to watch baseball games in the area? (Answer should list other local options.)

6. Did Bleacher Bums have any community involvement? (Answer requires specific information about its community engagement.)

7. What kind of memorabilia did Bleacher Bums feature? (Answer should mention typical baseball memorabilia.)

8. Will the building be redeveloped? (Answer requires information about future plans for the property.)

9. Are there any online communities dedicated to remembering Bleacher Bums? (Answer should mention potential online groups or forums.)

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2. The Impact of Gentrification on Local Businesses: Explores the broader societal factors impacting small businesses in urban areas.

3. How to Support Your Local Businesses: Offers advice on sustaining community establishments.

4. The Economics of the Sports Bar Industry: A detailed look at the financial aspects of running a sports bar.

5. Remembering Local Legends: Stories from Beloved Businesses: A collection of similar stories from other establishments.

6. The Changing Landscape of Sports Entertainment: Discusses the evolving preferences of sports fans.

7. The Impact of COVID-19 on the Hospitality Industry: Analyzes the effects of the pandemic on the restaurant and bar industry.

8. Real Estate Development and its Impact on Communities: A broader discussion on the effects of urban development.

9. Finding Community in the Digital Age: Explores how online communities connect people with shared interests.


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  bleacher bums closing: For the Birds Laura Erickson, In 365 day-by-day sketches, Laura Erickson brings more than 250 birds right into your living room-from rare hawk owls to elusive sedge wrens to plastic lawn flamingos. Light-hearted, yet authoritative, For the Birds is brimming with fascinating birdlore. Did you know that you can mail three chickadees with a single stamp? That Black-billed Cuckoos flourish on a diet of army worms? That winter finches are especially attracted to feeders offering grit and eggshells? Enjoy Laura's entertaining observations and record your own in For the Birds-an uncommon guide.
  bleacher bums closing: More Tales from the Cubs Dugout Bob Logan, 2006 This humorous and revealing title lets readers bite off a huge chunk of tasty Cubs? fun, fantasy, heartbreak, and happiness during unforgettable afternoons in the sun, rain, wind, and fog that make every inning an adventure at Wrigley Field. It's written in the sprightly style of Bob Logan, who covered baseball for 32 years as a sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald. All of the tales add up to an entertaining slice of Cubs lore in every chapter, full of enjoyable facts, and well remembered characters.
  bleacher bums closing: Plie Ball! Jeffrey M. Katz, 2016-09-18 From the vaudeville gyrations of New York Giants star pitchers Rube Marquard and Christy Mathewson, to Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra as hoofing infielders in Take Me Out to the Ball Game, to the stage and screen versions of Damn Yankees, the connection between baseball and dance is an intimate, perhaps surprising one. Covering more than a century of dancing ballplayers and baseball-inspired dance, this entertaining study examines the connection in film and television, in theatrical productions and in choreography created for some of the greatest dancers and dance companies in the world.
  bleacher bums closing: The 1969 Cubs Fergie Jenkins, George Castle, 2019-01-19 In 1969 at Wrigley Field, the lights didn't shine at night, but they did in the eyes of every hopeful Chicago Cubs fan. The team that didn't go all the way, but they did more for the franchise and the role of its fans than many teams before them. Hall-of-Fame legend Fergie Jenkins gives his first-hand accounts on that loved team and painful seaso
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  bleacher bums closing: The Baseball Stadium Insider Matt Lupica, 2012-01-27 The Baseball Stadium Insideris the essential companion to your ballpark experience. Inside, you'll discover the features, facts, and figures that make each stadium unique. From the saltwater tank filled with live cow-nosed rays at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay to the Ferris wheel and carousel at Comerica Park in Detroit, exciting details await you with every turn of the page. This comprehensive ballpark guide will appeal not only to fanatics of America's pastime, but novice baseball admirers as well. Have you ever been to a game and wondered about the retired numbers adorning the outfield wall? Wonder no more—The Baseball Stadium Insider explains what each of these great ballplayers did to become baseball legends. Finally, all of the incredible games that have etched themselves into baseball history over the decades are represented. Who could ever forget Game 6 of the 1975 World Series when Boston's Carlton Fisk hit his famous extra-inning home run off Fenway's left field foul pole? Or when the Cleveland Indians, down 14–2 in the seventh inning, staged one of the greatest comebacks in baseball history to defeat the Seattle Mariners? So go ahead, take yourself out to the ballgame and get to know the cathedrals of baseball.
  bleacher bums closing: The Hollywood Reporter , 2007
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  bleacher bums closing: Miracle Collapse Doug Feldmann, 2009-09-25 Miracle Collapse is the story of how one of the most talented Cubs teams ever to take the field - with Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and ace pitcher Ferguson Jenkins among their ranks and led by the irascible manager Leo Durocher - raced to an early division lead and a seemingly certain pennant, only to unravel spectacularly at the season's end..
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  bleacher bums closing: The Chicago Cubs Rich Cohen, 2017-10-03 The New York Times bestselling author of Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football “knocks it out of the park” (Vanity Fair) in this captivating blend of sports reportage and memoir, exploring the history of the 2016 World Series champions, the Chicago Cubs. When Rich Cohen was eight years old, his father took him to see a Cubs game. On the way out of the park, his father asked him to make a promise. “Promise me you will never be a Cubs fan. The Cubs do not win,” he explained, “and because of that, a Cubs fan will have a diminished life determined by low expectations. That team will screw up your life.” Cohen became not just a Cubs fan but one of the biggest Cubs fans in the world. In this book, he captures the story of the team, its players and crazy days. Billy Sunday and Ernie Banks, Three Finger Brown and Ryne Sandberg, Bill Buckner, the Bartman Ball, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo—the early dominance followed by a 107 year trek across the wilderness. It’s all here, in The Chicago Cubs: Story of a Curse—not just what happened, but what it felt like and what it meant. Featuring extensive interviews with players, owners, and coaches, this mix of memoir, reporting, history, and baseball theology—forty years in the making—has never been written because it never could be. Only with the 2016 World Series can the true arc of the story finally be understood.
  bleacher bums closing: Scorecasting Tobias Moskowitz, L. Jon Wertheim, 2011-01-25 In Scorecasting, University of Chicago behavioral economist Tobias Moskowitz teams up with veteran Sports Illustrated writer L. Jon Wertheim to overturn some of the most cherished truisms of sports, and reveal the hidden forces that shape how basketball, baseball, football, and hockey games are played, won and lost. Drawing from Moskowitz's original research, as well as studies from fellow economists such as bestselling author Richard Thaler, the authors look at: the influence home-field advantage has on the outcomes of games in all sports and why it exists; the surprising truth about the universally accepted axiom that defense wins championships; the subtle biases that umpires exhibit in calling balls and strikes in key situations; the unintended consequences of referees' tendencies in every sport to swallow the whistle, and more. Among the insights that Scorecasting reveals: • Why Tiger Woods is prone to the same mistake in high-pressure putting situations that you and I are • Why professional teams routinely overvalue draft picks • The myth of momentum or the hot hand in sports, and why so many fans, coaches, and broadcasters fervently subscribe to it • Why NFL coaches rarely go for a first down on fourth-down situations--even when their reluctance to do so reduces their chances of winning. In an engaging narrative that takes us from the putting greens of Augusta to the grid iron of a small parochial high school in Arkansas, Scorecasting will forever change how you view the game, whatever your favorite sport might be.
  bleacher bums closing: AN ORDINARY DAY Vivian Leiber, 2011-07-15 Life, Laughter and Love…. All in an ordinary day— Facing a lifetime of solitude, Princess Serena was determined to shed her twenty-four-karat cuffs for twenty-four hours of hot dogs, baseball and homemade apple pie. The only thing in her way—the impossibly broad shoulders of her bodyguard, Dylan MacPhail. And an extraordinary night! Young and vivacious, Serena had given up ever marrying, in order to ensure her kids' succession to the throne. It seemed medieval to an all-American guy like Dylan, but he was just her bodyguard.—and the one man who could give her a day to remember. Except she was the one woman his heart would never forget.
  bleacher bums closing: Stuart Gordon Michael Doyle, 2022-02-04 Animated by a singularly subversive spirit, the fiendishly intelligent works of Stuart Gordon (1947–2020) are distinguished by their arrant boldness and scab-picking wit. Provocative gems such as Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dolls, The Pit and the Pendulum, and Dagon consolidated his fearsome reputation as one of the masters of the contemporary horror film, bringing an unfamiliar archness, political complexity, and critical respect to a genre so often bereft of these virtues. A versatile filmmaker, one who resolutely refused to mellow with age, Gordon proved equally adept at crafting pointed science fiction (Robot Jox, Fortress, Space Truckers), sweet-tempered fantasy (The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit), and nihilistic thrillers (King of the Ants, Edmond, Stuck), customarily scrubbing the sharply drawn lines between exploitation and arthouse cinema. The first collection of interviews ever to be published on the director, Stuart Gordon: Interviews contains thirty-six articles spanning a period of fifty years. Bountiful in anecdote and information, these candid conversations chronicle the trajectory of a fascinating career—one that courted controversy from its very beginning. Among the topics Gordon discusses are his youth and early influences, his founding of Chicago’s legendary Organic Theatre (where he collaborated with such luminaries as Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, and David Mamet), and his transition into filmmaking where he created a body of work that injected fresh blood into several ailing staples of American cinema. He also reveals details of his working methods, his steadfast relationships with frequent collaborators, his great love for the works of Lovecraft and Poe, and how horror stories can masquerade as sociopolitical commentaries.
  bleacher bums closing: Theatre History Studies 2017, Vol. 36 Sara Freeman, 2017-12-12 Theatre History Studies is a peer-reviewed journal of theatre history and scholarship published annually since 1981 by the Mid-American Theatre Conference (MATC), a regional body devoted to theatre scholarship and practice.
  bleacher bums closing: Base Ball on the Western Reserve James M. Egan, Jr., 2008-05-21 Cleveland and the surrounding area was home to one of the earliest and most active baseball scenes outside of the eastern seaboard. This extraordinarily detailed history combines author commentary with first-hand accounts to document baseball's rapid development and popularization in the region during the decades following the Civil War. Ordered chronologically and then geographically by town, chapters follow the game's rise from the earliest reports on ball in 1841, to the era of loosely organized, town-to-town rivalries and semipro clubs, and finally through the early era of the professional, and eventually major league, sport.
  bleacher bums closing: Winter of Frozen Dreams Karl Harter, 2014-04-01 The true story of Barbara Hoffman is a tale of money, men, and the Madison, Wisconsin, massage parlor where a biochemistry major turned into a murderer. On a freezing Christmas morning, a distraught young man named Gerald Davies led Madison police to Tomahawk Ridge, where they found the body of Harold Berge, naked, bloody, and beaten. Davies insisted that he hadn’t killed the man, but that he and his fiancée had simply buried the corpse in a snowbank. The investigation confirmed that the victim had died in the apartment of Barbara Hoffman—a young woman who had dropped out of the University of Wisconsin and had worked at Jan’s Health Studio, a local massage parlor. She and Davies, whom she met at Jan’s, had recently become engaged. The circumstances were suspicious already. But when the police discovered that Berge was Hoffman’s ex-lover, that he had signed over his house and an insurance policy to her—and that Davies had also made her his beneficiary—they began to suspect that Davies might also be in danger . . . The police kept him under watch, but eventually had to stop surveillance. Soon after, Davies turned up dead in his bathtub, a Valium bottle nearby, in an apparent suicide. But, an accomplished student of chemistry, Hoffman knew how tricky it could be to detect cyanide poisoning. It would take a dedicated effort by detectives to sort out the truth about the highly intelligent masseuse, her work in the shadowy local sex trade, and the real circumstances that led two of her clients to their deaths. Winter of Frozen Dreams is the full story of the case that would become a sensational televised trial and inspire a film of the same name starring Thora Birch. It’s a “snappy read” by an author with a “talent for sleuthy description and psychological insight” (Kirkus Reviews).
  bleacher bums closing: Lieberman's Folly Stuart M. Kaminsky, 2013-01-29 The first novel in a crime series about “two Chicago cops, one Jewish, one Irish . . . Told with deceptive simplicity [and] a gentle wit” (The Boston Globe). Detectives Abe Lieberman and Bill Hanrahan have been partners a long time—long enough to call each other “Rabbi” and “Father Murphy.” Lieberman is sixty, a grandfather, and a devout Jew. Hanrahan is a lapsed Catholic who’s been hitting the bottle pretty heavily ever since his wife walked out on him. They may be flawed, but they’re good cops. But even good cops have bad days. On a hot Chicago afternoon, Lieberman would prefer to be watching his beloved Cubs from the bleachers at Wrigley Field instead of sitting in his brother Maish’s deli with Hanrahan, meeting a prostitute and valued informant. But Estralda Valdez needs their protection from a psychotic john, and the partners agree to watch her back on their off-duty time. That Friday night, while Lieberman is in temple, Hanrahan has the first watch, across the street from Estralda’s apartment in a Chinese restaurant. But while he passes the time with two doubles and flirts with the waitress, the beautiful prostitute is brutally murdered. Tortured by guilt and chewed out by their chief, Lieberman and Hanrahan race against the clock to find the killer. They owe at least that much to Estralda. Lieberman’s Folly is “first-rate work, featuring characters you can almost touch and streets you can almost walk on, and an expertly plotted story” (The Phildelphia Inquirer).
  bleacher bums closing: American Buffalo David Mamet, 1977 In a Chicago junk shop three small-time crooks plot to rob a man of his coin collection, the showpiece of which is a valuable Buffalo nickel. These high-minded grifters fancy themselves businessmen pursuing legitmate free enterprise. But the reality of the three--Donny, the oafish junk shop owner; Bobby, a young junkie Donny has taken under his wing; and Teach; a violently paranoid braggart--is that they are merely pawns caught up in their own game of last-chance, dead-end, empty pipe dreams.
  bleacher bums closing: Oshkosh Ron La Point, 2010-03 This is a book of collected works compiled and written by community members who chose to share their remembrances of the past. The stories take place in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in the 1940s and '50s, although a few stories go before and a few beyond. They are stories of corner taverns, grocery stores, churches and self-contained neighborhoods; of sports and sport heroes, and icons of the past; of movie theatres, a dank basement, and a chance encounter with Gene Autry; of polio epidemics, iron lungs, and stories from two who were afflicted; of hoboes, fearful mothers, and orphan train drops; of the beginning of aviation, steam-driven trains, and motorcycle clubs; of walleye and white bass runs, ice shanties, and spearing sturgeons; of breweries no longer there and barbershop songfests that are; of boating, yacht clubs, and Friday night fish frys; of regular folks and community leaders, and others of note; of pin setting and caddying, and other teenage staples; of war rationing, blackouts, and savings bonds; of old-fashion ice houses, traveling circuses, and freshwater quarries; of YMCA's, library expansions, and civic events; of an American war hero, a diary kept, and a fallen president; and of an Oshkosh that in its heyday was known throughout the country as Sawdust City. The stories you are about to read are first-hand accounts; images of another time. Ron La Point, a retired high school history teacher, has authored two previous books: A Family History, and Oshkosh: A South Sider Remembers. He and his wife, Carol, winter in Sun City West, Arizona and summer in his hometown of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
  bleacher bums closing: Kinds of American Film Comedy Wes D. Gehring, 2024-01-30 This groundbreaking film study begins with a survey of American print humorists from eras leading up to and overlapping the advent of film--including some who worked both on the page and on the screen, like Robert Benchley, Will Rogers, Groucho Marx and W. C. Fields. Six comic film genres are identified as outgrowths of a national tradition of Cracker Barrel philosophers, personality comedy, parody, screwball comedy, romantic comedy and dark comedy. Whether it is Mark Twain or a parody film involving Steve Martin, comedy is most often about blowing raspberries at the world, and a reminder you are not alone.
  bleacher bums closing: The Way of a Gardener Des Kennedy, 2010 Accomplished novelist, satirist, and garden writer Des Kennedy describes his life journey from a childhood of strict Irish Catholicism in England to a charmed existence amid the gardens of his Gulf Island home in British Columbia. From his First Holy Communion to his days as a young seminarian, through the Beat poetry scene in New York and the social upheavals of the 1960s, this monk-turned-pilgrim pursues a quest for meaning and purpose. After leaving monastic life and moving west, Kennedy takes up a new vocation in what has been called the Church of the Earth. On a rural acreage, he and his partner build their home from recycled and hand-hewn materials and create gardens that provide food as well as a symbiosis with the Earth that is as profoundly spiritual as past religious rituals. Spiced with irreverence and an eye for the absurd, The Way of a Gardener ranges over environmental activism, aboriginal rights, writing for a living, amateur wood butchery, the protocols of small community living, and the devilish obscenity of a billy goat at stud.
  bleacher bums closing: Hank Aaron and the Home Run That Changed America Tom Stanton, 2009-10-13 Baseball has witnessed more than 125,000 home runs. Many have altered the outcome of games, and some have decided pennants and become legend. But no dinger has had greater impact than Hank Aaron's 715th home run. His historic blast on April 8, 1974, lifted him above Babe Ruth on the all-time list, an achievement that shook not only baseball but our nation itself. Aaron's magnificent feat provoked bigotry and shattered prejudice, inspired a generation, emboldened a flagging civil rights movement, and called forth the demons that haunted Aaron's every step and turned what should have been a joyous pursuit into a hellish nightmare. In this powerful recollection, Tom Stanton penetrates the myth of Aaron's chase and uncovers the compelling story behind the most consequential athletic achievement of the past fifty years. Three decades after Hank Aaron reached the pinnacle of the national pastime, and now as Barry Bonds makes history of his own, Stanton unfolds a tale rich with drama, poignancy, and suspense to bring to life the elusive spirit of an American hero.
  bleacher bums closing: Mexican WhiteBoy Matt de la Peña, 2008-08-12 Newbery Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Matt de la Peña's Mexican WhiteBoy is a story of friendship, acceptance, and the struggle to find your identity in a world of definitions. Danny's tall and skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five mile an hour fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound he loses it. But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny’ s brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. But it works the other way too. And Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico. That’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. Only, to find himself, he may just have to face the demons he refuses to see--the demons that are right in front of his face. And open up to a friendship he never saw coming. Matt de la Peña's critically acclaimed novel is an intimate and moving story that offers hope to those who least expect it. [A] first-rate exploration of self-identity.-SLJ Unique in its gritty realism and honest portrayal of the complexities of life for inner-city teens...De la Peña poignantly conveys the message that, despite obstacles, you must believe in yourself and shape your own future.-The Horn Book Magazine The baseball scenes...sizzle like Danny's fastball...Danny's struggle to find his place will speak strongly to all teens, but especially to those of mixed race.-Booklist De la Peña blends sports and street together in a satisfying search for personal identity.-Kirkus Reviews Mexican WhiteBoy...shows that no matter what obstacles you face, you can still reach your dreams with a positive attitude. This is more than a book about a baseball player--this is a book about life.-Curtis Granderson, New York Mets outfielder An ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults A Junior Library Guild Selection
  bleacher bums closing: Journeys Inside My Shadow Al LaGrone, 2013-09-23 Journey One: The story begins on Christmas 1988. The protagonist Alonzo/Alonso is riding on a bus crossing the Andes into Argentina from Santiago, Chile. He is traveling to San Francisco (Córdoba) to visit his exchange-student host family for the first time in ten years. During this journey, he is confronted with memories of the past through a continuous series of flashbacks. These include growing up black in a racially divided Chicago; the lingering effects of a sexual assault at ten; living in Madrid, Spain for two years; and his first visit to Argentina as an American Field Service participant, arriving to the town of San Francisco on his host brother s birthday and a day before Argentina won its first World Cup soccer championship. The first part ends when his host brother Sergio is smitten with a beautiful young travel agent assisting them in rearranging Alonzo s return ticket to the States. Journey Two: Alonzo returns to Argentina after one year and three months to be his host brother s best man; Sergio is marrying the young lady who assisted them in the travel agency. Alonzo s week-long stay and, in particular, Sergio s wedding day, are highlighted. This section ends at the Córdoba International Airport with Alonzo giving his good-byes to his host parents. Journey Three: The final portion focuses on specific events from 1994 2009. It begins in July 1994 with the death of Alonzo s mother, followed eight months later by the death of a sister from cancer. Subsequent chapters highlight his relocation from Lafayette, Indiana, to Ann Arbor, Michigan (with a month-long stay in Toledo, Ohio, during the OJ Simpson trial proceedings) and finding employment at the University of Michigan; traveling to Argentina in 1997, and again in 1999 for the last time; and finally, corresponding with Sergio in December 2009 from Santiago, Chile, before returning to the States after visiting a friend in Viña del Mar.