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Title details for Cuba's Baseball Defectors by Peter Costa Bjarkman - Available

Cuba's Baseball Defectors

by Peter Costa Bjarkman
ebook
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“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.” —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 José Abreu, home run derby champion Yoenis Céspedes, 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.
 
“A revelation . . . an original social history for sports enthusiasts and readers interested in past and future Cuba–U.S. ties.” —Library Journal
Includes photos
Expand title description text
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Kindle Book

  • Release date: May 12, 2016

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9781442247994
  • File size: 3419 KB
  • Release date: May 12, 2016

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9781442247994
  • File size: 3420 KB
  • Release date: May 12, 2016
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Formats

Kindle Book
OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

History Sociology Sports & Recreations Nonfiction

Languages

English

“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.” —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 José Abreu, home run derby champion Yoenis Céspedes, 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.
 
“A revelation . . . an original social history for sports enthusiasts and readers interested in past and future Cuba–U.S. ties.” —Library Journal
Includes photos
Expand title description text
History Sociology Sports & Recreations Nonfiction