Juan Marichal
Subtitle: my journey from the Dominican Republic to Cooperstown
By: Juan Marichal with Lew Freedman
Publisher: MVP Books
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Minneapolis
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9780760340592
Subjects: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Sports; Baseball players; Biography; SPORTS & RECREATION / Baseball / Essays & Writings; SPORTS & RECREATION / Baseball / History
Description: "In a  decade that featured such legendary hurlers as Sandy Koufax, Bob  Gibson, Don Drysdale, and other Hall of Famers, no pitcher won more  games than Juan Marichal in the 1960s. His unique, high-kick pitching  style was imitated by kids from New York  to San Francisco to Santo Domingo, and it is  immortalized in a bronze statue outside of the Giants' current  ballpark. Marichal was the first Dominican-born player to play in an  All-Star Game and the first elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and he  won more games than any of his countrymen. And while Dominican and  other Latino players have come to dominate many aspects of baseball in  recent years, Marichal was a trailblazer in his day, entering the league  at a time when Latin American players were routinely discriminated  against, underpaid, and presented with numerous obstacles on their  journey to the big leagues.  In Juan Marichal, Marichal tells the story of his rise from living on a rural farm as a young boy in the Dominican    Republic to his status as one of the  great pitchers of all time. Along the way, he was enlisted by the son of  the country's dictator to play for the national team, was threatened at  gunpoint to throw a game during a tournament in Mexico,  fought homesickness as a minor leaguer in rural Indiana,  and went head-to-head with some of the greatest pitchers and hitters  the game has ever seen. For the first time,  Marichal gives his perspective on life as a Latino ballplayer in the  1960s, describes the highs and lows of a 16-year major league career,  and explores what the recent influx of Dominicans in the majors has  meant to baseball and to his home country. He offers reflections on  lingering stereotypes, the impact of steroids, and the general state of  the game in the 21st century"--

"In "Juan Marichal: My Journey from the Dominican Republic to Cooperstown," Marichal tells the story of his rise from living in a shanty as a young boy in the Dominican Republic to his status as one of the great pitchers of all time. Along the way, he was enlisted by the son of the country's dictator to play for the national team, was threatened at gunpoint to throw a game during the Pan-American tournament in Mexico, fought homesickness as a minor league prospect in rural Indiana, got arrested following a riot in Santo Domingo, went head-to-head with some of the greatest pitchers and hitters the game has ever seen, and was involved in one of the most violent on-field incidents in baseball history, when he attacked Dodger catcher John Roseboro with a bat. Marichal offers his perspective on what the influx of Dominicans in baseball in the U.S. has meant to the game and to his home country, including reflections on lingering stereotypes, steroid scandals, and baseball in the 21st century"--