Juan Marichal: My Journey from the Dominican Republic to Cooperstown
BooklistMajor league baseball in the 1960s was dominated by pitching. Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Bob Gibson may be the names that come to mind most easily, but Hall of Famer Juan Marichal also belongs on that list. No pitcher won more games in the decade than Marichal did for the San Francisco Giants. He was one of the first big leaguers from the Dominican Republic, and in his life after baseball he has been instrumental in his country becoming a hotbed for major league prospects and players. In this as-told-to autobiography, Marichal recounts his youth in the rural countryside, his experience playing for the Dominican Air Force team, and his brief journey through the minor leagues to the Giants. There are dozens of anecdotes about his major-league years and the rivalries he had with the other great pitchers of the era. He also discusses his post-baseball life as a scout and later as a key government promoter of the Dominican’s sports program. Overall, an intelligent sports memoir that will appeal particularly to fans who remember Marichal on the mound.