Empty Seats

by Wanda Adams Fischer

Overview

What Little Leaguer doesn't dream about one day taking to the mound at a Major League ballpark and striking out his idol? Empty Seats follows the journey of three baseball pitchers who begin their journey in Jamestown, New York, in 1972, hoping to fulfill that fantasy. Since they were stars in their hometowns, they thought it would be an easy ride to the big time. Little did they know they'd be vying for a spot with every other talented kid who apprised to play professional ball.

Jimmy Bailey of Weymouth, Massachusetts, is the apple of his father's eye. His dad had the chance to play major league ball, but walked away from that opportunity. Instead, he worked with his son and taught him everything he knew, and watched in pride as a scout from the Montreal Expos signed the younger man to a contract.

The son of a single mother, Bobby Mangino had a tougher time on his journey to professional baseball. Living in a seventh-floor walk-up apartment in Yonkers, New York, Bobby viewed baseball as his ticket out. His absent father rarely showed up unless he wanted something--mostly money. Bobby had a New York attitude and a New York City state of mind.

Cameron "Bud" Prescott traveled north from his home in Athens, Georgia. From the time he was young, he lived and breathed baseball. Not only was he a talented player, he was also calm and confident. His grandmother was his confidant and inspiration. He looked to her whenever he had questions about life decisions and challenges.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780999504901
Publisher:	Wanda Adams Fischer
Publication date:	10/23/2017
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Wanda Fischer has loved baseball since she was eight years old. She's parlayed that into her first novel, which is not necessarily about her favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. When she's not writing, she's listening to folk music for her show on WAMC public radio, "The Hudson River Sampler," which she's done since 1982.

Table of Contents

This novel contains 77 short chapters, following three baseball players seeking to go from minor-league baseball to Major League Baseball in 1972. It explores the relationships between these young men and their parents, as well as between each other, as they face fierce competition at a time when baseball didn't pay its superstars what it does today. It's a quest, a dream, a yearning inside their souls, just as it is inside the souls of everyone else who's trying to make it to the big time.

The novel takes side trips into Civil Rights, the criminal justice system and other issues contemporary to that time as well as to today's Americans.

The author has been interviewed on the nationally-syndicated show, "Only a Game," distributed by WBUR in Boston, as well as on WAMC radio and WNYT-TV/Channel 13. She's been the subject of several local news programs in the Albany, New York area as well (Times-Union and Schenectady Gazette). This book has been recognized by New Apple Published and the Independent Publishers Association.

Editorial Reviews

"Fischer adeptly--and often lyrically--captures the mindset of her characters."--Kirkus reviewer.

"A tragic version of 'The Sandlot.'"--Amazon reviewer.

"Wanda's writing reflects her lifelong love affair with the game of baseball. Her characters bring to mind players I can remember following as they worked their was up through the minor leagues." --Chuck Brodsky, Singer/Songwriter of Baseball Songs featured in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY

"What boy hasn't thought of being in the major league, being famous and making millions of dollars? Sadly, many don't make it, and life has other plans for them...Fischer draws one in with emotions, upsets and love of the game. You will be on the field with them all and hoping for the best...a true coming of age story."--Carol Hoyer for Reader Views

"I had forgotten how much I love baseball! How exciting it was to read this book! Sometimes it made me feel like I was right there. If you are now or ever have been a baseball fan, then this book will no doubt resonate with you. If you like a good story with characters that you will be drawn to, then this book will be for you, too."--Robin L. Taylor, Top Amazon Reviewer

"This great tale is about more than coming of age...it's about coming to the plate. And who doesn't want to have that chance? Let's play two!"--Tim Davis, author of Let the Sauce Simmer, in his Amazon Review

From the Publisher

2017-12-20
Three minor league pitchers contend with fate in this debut novel.Growing up outside Boston under the shadow of his father's unrealized major league baseball dreams, Jimmy Bailey wishes to succeed where his dad could not. That's why he's willing to board with a strange family in Jamestown, New York, in the early 1970s. He isn't the only pitcher there to play ball for a Single-A affiliate of the Montreal Expos. There's also Bobby Mangino, a hotheaded New Yorker with some father issues of his own to work out, and Bud Prescott, an aw-shucks optimist from Athens, Georgia. The three young athletes must contend with their nerves, ambitions, and abilities to throw fastballs as they spend the summer competing to move forward toward their dreams of the big leagues. "We're all in the same boat: all-stars in our high schools, Babe Ruth and Connie Mack ball," narrates Jimmy. "People at home knew who we are. Here, we are essentially nothing but three passengers jammed into the back seat of a Dodge station wagon—until we can prove otherwise." They must face the expected obstacles. But the unforeseen tragedies (bodily, legal, and otherwise) will remind them that once they leave the field, they still have to compete in the most important game of all: the rest of their lives. Fischer adeptly—and often lyrically—captures the mindset of her characters, both their love of their sport and the things that they've given up to pursue it: "There's nothing better than the smell that fills every corner, every inch, of a ballpark on a sunny spring day....The aroma makes me feel high. I bet it's like sniffing cocaine or drinking too much tequila. But I've never done that. I've only gotten high on baseball." The author wrings genuine emotions from the tale, making sure that readers know what's at stake for these young men. This is perhaps why some shocking third act developments feel histrionic and unnecessary. Even so, Fischer manages to clearly communicate her ultimate message: that baseball holds more humiliation than it does glory, and far more losers than winners.While it eventually turns melodramatic, this tale offers an appealingly honest portrayal of aspirant baseball players.

Kirkus Reviews