Description
Book SynopsisHow Dominicans contribute to Major League Baseball and what they receive in return.
From Juan Marichal and Pedro Martínez to Albert Pujols and Juan Soto, Dominicans have long been among Major League Baseball’s best. How did this small Caribbean nation become a hothouse of baseball talent? To many fans, the answer is both obvious and disconcerting: pro teams use their riches to develop talent abroad, creating opportunities for superhuman athletes and corrupt officials, while the rest of the population sees little benefit.
Yet this interpretation of history is incomplete. April Yoder traces how baseball has empowered Dominicans in their struggles for democracy and social justice. While the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo saw the sport as a means of cementing its power at home and abroad, the Dominican people fashioned an emancipated civic sphere by seeing their potential for democratic success in their compatriots’ baseball success. Later,
Trade Review
Enriched by Yoder’s passion for the sport and extensive knowledge of Cold War Latin American politics, this is a detailed study of the links between sport and social change. * Publishers Weekly *
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction. Baseball, Democracy, and Latin America in the Cold War
- Chapter 1. Mens sana in corpore sano: Baseball and Trujillista Politics
- Chapter 2. Politics at the Plate: The Threat of Communism and the Showcase for Democracy
- Chapter 3. Criticizing Baseball, Debating Democracy
- Chapter 4. Así se hace Patria: Baseball and the Bloodless Revolution
- Chapter 5. Sliding into Third: The Cibao Summer League and Baseball as Development
- Chapter 6. Making the Majors: The Baseball Industry and Dominican Democracy
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
