The Only Ticket Off the Island

A ground-level look at baseball and life in the Dominican Republic's underclass, this book looks at a former major league MVP (George Bell), a hyped but failed prospect (Silvestre Campusano, who was supposed to be better than Jose Canseco coming up), a scout who pioneered recruiting Domincian players (Epy Guerrero) and organizations that harvested the best players from the country (Toronto and LA). Many of the players in the book have moved on or retired since 1990, when the book was written. but its stories are well-told, by turns dramatic and funny. A classic that deserves a cult. Collected by some. The writer never wrote a follow-up. Too bad.