The Dixon Cornbelt League and Other Baseball Stories
Encyclopedia
The Dixon Cornbelt League and Other Baseball Stories is a short story collection
written by W. P. Kinsella
. It was published in 1993.
, human nature, and the mystical.
The title story is about an undrafted college player's attempt to go pro. He catches on with a minor league team in a small Iowa
town, where the atmosphere is light and the citizens welcoming. However, something isn't right about the new team...
Other stories in the collection are more surreal. For example, in "Eggs," an old pitcher
is kept in his in-laws' home by some mysterious force.
Short story collection
A short story collection is a book of short stories by a single author, as distinguished by an anthology of fiction by more than one author. The stories in a collection can share a theme, setting, or characters and sometimes can also include work of poetry. Notable collections include Nine Stories...
written by W. P. Kinsella
W. P. Kinsella
William Patrick Kinsella, OC, OBC is a Canadian novelist and short story writer who is well-known for his novel Shoeless Joe , which was adapted into the movie Field of Dreams in 1989...
. It was published in 1993.
Synopsis
These nine stories from Kinsella all have the same general themes, centering around baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, human nature, and the mystical.
The title story is about an undrafted college player's attempt to go pro. He catches on with a minor league team in a small Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
town, where the atmosphere is light and the citizens welcoming. However, something isn't right about the new team...
Other stories in the collection are more surreal. For example, in "Eggs," an old pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
is kept in his in-laws' home by some mysterious force.