Cuba's Baseball Defectors (eBook)

The Inside Story

Peter Costa Bjarkman (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023
386 Seiten
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (Verlag)
9781442247994 (ISBN)

Infos

This book reveals the complete truth behind the wave of Cuban baseball talent coming to MLB, placing recent events in the context of Cuban baseball history before delving into the stories of the major Cuban stars who have left the island. It shares their personal histories, explains why many chose defection, and details their harrowing journeys.

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"e;Takes an inside look into the wave of player departures that has rocked the game both in Cuba and the U.S., while providing historical perspective."e; -USA Today The stellar play and fascinating backstories of exiled Cuban sluggers and hurlers has become part of Major League Baseball history. On-field exploits by colorful Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, AL rookie-of-the-year Jose Abreu, home run derby champion Yoenis Cespedes, radar-gun busting Cincinnati fast-baller Aroldis Chapman, and a handful of others have been further enhanced by feel-good tales of desperate Cuban superstars risking their lives to escape Fidel Castro's communist realm and chase an American Dream of financial and athletic success. But a truly ugly underbelly to this story has also slowly emerged one that involves human smuggling operations financed by Miami crime syndicates, operated by Mexican drug cartels, and conveniently ignored by ball clubs endlessly searching for fresh waves of international talent. Given rare access to Cuba and its ballplayers, Peter C. Bjarkman has spent over twenty years traveling to all corners of the island getting to know the top Cuban stars and witnessing their struggles and triumphs. In this book, Bjarkman places events in the context of Cuban baseball history and tradition before delving into the stories of the major Cuban stars who have left the island. He reveals their personal histories, explains the events that led them to defect from their homeland, and details their harrowing journeys to US shores. Players whose big-league dreams failed are also discussed, as are Cuba's efforts to stem the defection tide through working agreements with the Japanese and Mexican leagues. Cuba's Baseball Defectors will fascinate baseball fans, those interested in the history of US-Cuba relations, and those wanting to learn more about the unsavory story of human trafficking in the name of baseball glory. "e;A revelation . . . an original social history for sports enthusiasts and readers interested in past and future Cuba U.S. ties."e; Library JournalIncludes photos

Autor

Peter C. Bjarkman is the senior writer for www.BaseballdeCuba.com, the leading source in Spanish and English for current Cuban League and Cuban national team coverage. He is the author of A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864-2006 (2007) and coauthor of Smoke, the Romance and Lore of Cuban Baseball (1999, with Mark Rucker). Bjarkman has made numerous media appearances as an expert on Cuban baseball, including a featured role as Anthony Bourdain’s guide to island baseball on the 2011 Travel Channel episode “No Reservations Cuba.” He appears as a featured head on ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary, “Brothers in Exile” and has appeared several times on the popular ESPN feature “Outside the Lines.” Bjarkman was a recipient of the Society for American Baseball Research's 2017 Henry Chadwick Award, established to honor the game's great researchers.

Inhalt

AcknowledgmentsPrologueChapter 1: The Essence of “Puigmania”Chapter 2: Cuba’s Hidden “Béisbol Paradiso”Chapter 3: Sugar Cane Curtain FiascosChapter 4: Ninety Miles of Sea, One Hundred Miles of “Heater”Chapter 5: Brothers in ExileChapter 6: “The Best There Ever Was”Chapter 7: No Reservations for CubaChapter 8: Go East, Young Men, Go EastChapter 9: The Unsustainable DreamEpilogueAppendix 1: 193 Cuban-Born Major LeaguersAppendix 2: Cuban Baseball DefectorsNotesReferences and SourcesIndexAbout the Author

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 14.6.2023
• Zusatzinfo: 26 Illustrations including: - 22 Halftones, Black & White including Black & White Photographs; - 4 Tables.
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport ► Ballsport
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• Schlagworte: America • American League • Aroldis Chapman • Baseball • baseball history • baseball tradition • Biography • Celebrities • communism • Crime • crime syndicate • Cuban Baseball history • Cuban League • Cuban Studies • Dodgers • drug cartels • Embargo • Emigration • Escape • Fidel Castro • History • history of baseball • human smuggling • Human Trafficking • Illegal • Immigration • Japanese baseball league • José Abreu • Jose Abreu • José Abreu • Major League Baseball • Mexican baseball league • Mexico • MLB • Personal life • players • Recruiting • rookie-of-the-year • Sports • Stars • Story • US-Cuba • Yaseil Puig • Yasiel Puig • Yoenis Céspedes • Yoenis Cespedes • Yoenis Céspedes • Yoenius Cespedes
• ISBN-13: 9781442247994 / 9781442247994