August 10, 2001

In Thrall of the Culture of Baseball

By GEORGE GMELCH

It's my first road trip in 24 years. As the Birmingham Barons bus pulls out of the stadium parking lot -- destination Jacksonville, then to Orlando, for eight road games -- manager Tony Franklin stands up to introduce me. "I'd like you to meet George Gmelch. He's an anthropologist studying your lives as ballplayers. I don't know why anyone would find what you do interesting, but that's his business, and he's a whole lot smarter than me."

There's some laughter, and then Franklin

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