Baseball is all about tradition. And few teams have a tradition (albeit one full of heartbreak) like the Chicago Cubs have. What Kevin Kaduk, author of Wrigleyworld: A Season In Baseball’s Best Neighborhood, did can basically be summed up as everybody’s dream season. Kaduk left his job as a sports writer for The Kansas City Star to follow his favorite team, the Chicago Cubs, for a whole season. Wrigleyworld was a hilarious perspective about Kaduk’s adventures, ranging from countless drunken nights, 62 home games attended at Wrigley, and countless run-ins with scalpers.

One of Kaduk’s lone rules was that no tickets would be purchased beforehand. This creates a lot more buzz into the book. Had Kaduk simply possessed all the tickets before gameday, it wouldn’t have been a very exciting book. He gets tickets through a variety of ways, mainly through scalpers. Because Wrigley Field was sold out for the entire season in 2005, he simply has to battle the economics of scalpers.

Wrigleyworld isn’t just about the Cubs, Wrigley Field, or “The Curse.” It’s about Wrigleyville, the district that surrounds the stadium. It contains countless bars (most of which Kaduk stumbles out of at some point in the book). This is why the book was so appealing to me. I’m a big baseball fan so I already know a lot about the Cubs and their tragic history. What I didn’t know is contained in this book. I’ve never seen a game at Wrigley Field (Or Yankee Stadium, Or Fenway Park) and this book explains quite well that Wrigley is about more than the Cubs. Half the time, Kaduk is bar-hopping before, during, and after games. He’s drunk dialing, he’s asking girls to flash him, and he’s trying to coax a girl by explaining family ties with Leon Durham (none of which exist). To put it simply, it’s written by a guy for guys.

Throughout the book, he shifts gears and dives into more historical information about Wrigleyville. Kaduk goes into depth about many bars he drinks at during Cubs season, most notably Murphy’s Bleachers. He also discusses Chicago and what it means to him and his friends. Part of what makes this book so unique is that Kaduk hadn’t been in Chicago for quite some time before writing it. It was his decision to start this book because of how much he missed Wrigleyville while he was in Kansas City.

The book isn’t confined to Wrigley Field and it’s surrounding area, however. Kaduk and his friends embark on a baseball road trip as well. They attend the Hall of Fame induction of Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg. They also visit Yankee Stadium, Camden Yards, and the cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit. In this section, they boo Sammy Sosa, share a bed in Albany, and praise Camden Yards. Sometimes, Kaduk is forced to write from home because of a rain delay and/or brutal hangover.

I enjoyed the different perspectives that he watched a game from. One of my favorite parts of the book was when he attempted to sneak onto a Sheffield Avenue rooftop for a game/all you can drink company party. It doesn’t end well. Kaduk is booted from the party by a douchebag named Jeffrey, not before referencing a classic in The Big Lebowski. Kaduk spends an entire series on Waveland Avenue with a group of people known as “The Ballhawks.” If you’ve ever seen a game at Wrigley, you’d know that these are the guys that are notorious for staking out an area beyond left field and catching any home run balls that make their way onto the street. While Kaduk doesn’t manage to come out of it with a souvenir, he does nearly witness someone being hit by a Fedex truck, which is far more valuable.

Okay, so it’s not the classic Cubs book, one that speaks of heartbreak and near-misses. It’s a book about what it’s like to be a 20-something Chicagoan that quits his job for baseball, hot dogs, and beer. It’s hilarious and it’s a very quick read. I would highly recommend it. Unfortunately, I read it in November so I have about five months to go before baseball is back. Go snag a copy at Amazon.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5