The New Face of Baseball: The One-Hundred-Year Rise and Triumph of Latinos in America's Favorite Sport

Wendel gives a face to the many Latino players that have been a part of baseball in the US -- first in "Negro" leagues and finally in the majors where they have come to dominate. Wendel's writing is always very readable, with facts interlaced with plenty of stories by and about the Latino players. The photographs are a wonderful plus to this excellent account of the rise of Latino players in baseball. Six year olds (such as my grandson) can readily identify the pictures of current players. Another excellent read (this one fiction) by Wendel is "Castro's Curveball." I highly recommend it also.

Okay, let's start with my admission that I'm not a baseball fan. I knew the game from childhood but the big money and greed have alienated many of us who enjoyed baseball as kids. That being said, I found that The New Face of Baseball refreshing enough to evoke some of those feelings that made me appreciate baseball in the first place. The book has to do with talented Latino baseball players like Clemente, Cepeda, and Sosa. The common element is that these players played the game elsewhere before coming the United States, places where the game is more sacred and believe it or not more important than here in America. The books consists of short stories about many of today's heroes that have quickly become baseball superstars, and those older stars who paved the way for the younger Latino players much the way Robinson and Dobry did for African American players. The author uses player interviews and past experiences of his own to give the reader a greater appreciation for what players Latin America have done for today's game. Maybe the most interesting part is the All Century Latino team listed at the end of the book. It's a lineup that would challenge any other all-star team, past or present.