Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story Book PDF, ePub eBook

Join our eBook service for unlimited books & audiobooks. Get a free 7 day subscription! ↓↓↓↓↓


Book Descriptions:
The stellar play and fascinating backstories of exiled Cuban sluggers and hurlers in Major League Baseball (MLB) has become one of the biggest headlines in America's national pastime. On-field exploits by colorful Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, American League 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 a celebrated 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 big league ball clubs endlessly searching for fresh waves of international talent.

In Cuba’s Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story, Cuban baseball expert Peter C. Bjarkman reveals the complete truth behind the wave of Cuban big league talent coming to MLB. Given rare access to Cuba and its ballplayers, Bjarkman has spent over twenty years traveling to all corners of the island getting to know the top Cuban stars and witnessing their baseball struggles and triumphs. In this book, Bjarkman places recent events—including the apparent thaw in US-Cuba relations—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 the personal histories of these players, explains the events that led them to eventually choose defection from their homeland, and details their harrowing journeys to reach US shores and achieve baseball stardom. Players whose big league dreams failed are also discussed, as are Cuba’s recent efforts to stem the defection tide through working agreements with the Japanese and Mexican leagues.

Unique in its balanced perspective of Cuban baseball and its star players, Cuba’s Baseball Defectors not only shares the author’s first-hand account of many previously misreported events, it also provides a view of the illegal smuggling of ballplayers from the perspective of Cuban baseball officials whose voices have often not been heard. With a conclusion outlining a likely scenario for future relations between Major League Baseball and the Cuban League, this book 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.

Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story by Peter C. Bjarkman

From reader reviews:

Jeffrey Evans:

The event that you get from Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story could be the more deep you digging the information that hide inside words the more you get enthusiastic about reading it. It doesn't mean that this book is hard to understand but Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story giving you joy feeling of reading. The article writer conveys their point in selected way that can be understood by anyone who read the item because the author of this book is well-known enough. This particular book also makes your own personal vocabulary increase well. That makes it easy to understand then can go to you, both in printed or e-book style are available. We advise you for having this specific Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story instantly.

James Helm:

The book Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story has a lot of information on it. So when you make sure to read this book you can get a lot of benefit. The book was written by the very famous author. This articles author makes some research previous to write this book. This specific book very easy to read you may get the point easily after reading this article book.

Samuel Potter:

Your reading sixth sense will not betray you, why because this Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story reserve written by well-known writer who really knows well how to make book which might be understand by anyone who else read the book. Written in good manner for you, dripping every ideas and publishing skill only for eliminate your hunger then you still skepticism Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story as good book but not only by the cover but also with the content. This is one book that can break don't evaluate book by its deal with, so do you still needing one more sixth sense to pick this specific!? Oh come on your looking at sixth sense already alerted you so why you have to listening to one more sixth sense.

Kimberly Johnson:

Beside this specific Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story in your phone, it could possibly give you a way to get more close to the new knowledge or facts. The information and the knowledge you can got here is fresh through the oven so don't become worry if you feel like an older people live in narrow village. It is good thing to have Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story because this book offers for you readable information. Do you often have book but you would not get what it's all about. Oh come on, that won't happen if you have this with your hand. The Enjoyable agreement here cannot be questionable, including treasuring beautiful island. Techniques you still want to miss this? Find this book as well as read it from today!