Thom Henninger

The initial appeal of this book, for me, was a trip down memory lane. As an avid baseball card collector in the 1960s and a lover of all good players, I was anxious to rekindle the type of affection for baseball that resides in the heart of a young fan. Though not a Twins fan I still liked the team and the players. This book easily satisfied that goal for me.

It also, perhaps more importantly, helped me to put the struggles so many Latin American players faced into context, particularly the Cuban players for whom the Bay of Pigs fiasco became a sharp demarcation between returning home every year and, for many, not returning again for decades.

Henninger balances the contextualization of the period in the first few chapters with plenty of baseball throughout. When stories are told from the perspective of the players, it is hard not to smile with them as they recall the plays or even the meals they shared.

This is not just an homage to a player who likely should be in the Hall of Fame but also an important contribution to baseball history where it intersects with American history.

Reviewed from an ARC made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mais)