THE CACTUS LEAGUE

Narrated by a full cast, this audiobook follows a group of troubled souls who gather in Arizona for spring training with the Los Angeles Lions baseball team. An unnamed, gravelly-voiced sportswriter introduces listeners to Jason Goodyear, the team's all-star outfielder, who is quietly collapsing into personal and financial ruin. This sportswriter periodically reenters the story to ponder motivations of other characters and to wax poetic about geological metaphors. Meanwhile, other narrators provide in-depth portrayals of the many people--players, coaches, agents, wives, locals--who surround Goodyear like planets revolving around a collapsing sun. While the overall narrative feels fractured, the individual narrators' performances are strong. Each of them offers a fully realized character that has relatable flaws and ambitions on and off the field. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2020]