description: Dr. Michael G. Leadbetter, a renowned plastic surgeon in Cincinnati, was like many other former high school and college baseball players—his head told him his playing days were over, but his heart remained hopeful and open to the opportunity to play again. Then he discovered the Cincinnati Reds Dream Week—a baseball camp for adults—and soon his passion for playing was rekindled. He soon found an outlet for that passion in the Roy Hobbs Baseball Organization, an over–30 league named for the main character in Bernard Malamud’s classic baseball novel, The Natural. Leadbetter quickly assembled a team and was off to the Roy Hobbs World Series where the results—a 2–4 performance with two lopsided losses—were anything but encouraging. Undeterred, Leadbetter set out to develop the best over–30 team around, one capable of winning the Roy Hobbs title. This is the story of the Cincinnati Astros and the passion of Mike Leadbetter. Moreover, it is the story of baseball in its purest form, a group of players coming together to play for the pure joy of the game—and being reminded why they fell in love with the sport in the first place.
language: English
title: Coming Back to Baseball: The Cincinnati Astros and the Joys of Over-30 Play
titlecomplete: Coming Back to Baseball: The Cincinnati Astros and the Joys of Over-30 Play
ratings_count: 1
publisher: McFarland Publishing