When water magnate (and owner of the minor league Springfield WaterDogs) Reynolds Beckert learns he has a short time to live, his dream of extending the "reach of baseball" becomes a holy mission. Determined to find the "next Clemente" in a place like Fiji, he organizes a tournament with the largest purse in history and a lottery which will make some lucky fans billionaires. His innocent aim - to share the game he loves with the whole world - goes horribly wrong when it is threatened by ninjas, flaming flamingos, anti-baseball protests, echo clones and killer cellphones. Greed and nationalist zeal take the inaugural Earth Baseball Tourney - and humanity - to the apocalyptic brink. A dark comedy about baseball's globalization and technology-run-amok, "The Earth Baseball Tourney: An Invitational to Disaster" is an ode to the greatest game ever devised. The lyrical tale reminds fans of their first game with their grandfather, aromas of grilled onions and fresh-cut grass, and that distinctive crack of the bat.

Though Satchel Paige lived into the early 1980s, much of our information about his life and especially his career is the stuff of anecdote. He is nevertheless a central figure--arguably the central figure--in our reconstructions of Negro Leagues history. This collection of papers from the 9th Annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference focuses on the celebrity of Satchel Paige and the team he is most closely associated with, the Kansas City Monarchs. Accounts of Paige's exploits are scrutinized and the effects of his fame, on both the contemporary perception of black baseball and its depiction in the years since, are discussed.

The influence of baseball heritage in society and culture Baseball’s past has been lauded, romanticized, and idealized, and much has been written about both the sport and its history. This is the first volume to explore the understudied side of baseball—how its heritage is understood, interpreted, commodified, and performed for various purposes today. These essays reveal how baseball’s heritage can be a source of great enjoyment and inspiration, tracing its influence on constructed environments, such as stadiums and monuments, and food and popular culture. The contributors discuss how its heritage can be used to address social, political, and economic aims and agendas and can reveal tensions about whose past is remembered and whose is laid aside. Contributors address race and racism in the sport, representations of women in baseball, ballparks as repositories for baseball’s heritage, and the role of museums in generating the game’s heritage narrative. Providing perspectives on the social impact and influence of baseball in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom, Baseball and Cultural Heritage shows how the performance of baseball heritage can reflect the culture and heritage of a nation. A volume in the series Cultural Heritage Studies, edited by Paul A. Shackel

Roberto Clemente’s passion for baseball took him from the sugar cane fields of Puerto Rico to two World Series championships with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was baseball’s first Latino superstar and among the best that ever played the game. But he was much more than that. His passion carried over outside the ballpark, where he fought prejudice, helped the poor and sick, and dreamed of a Sport City to help Puerto Rican youth overcome drugs and gangs. He was just 38 when he died, in a plane taking supplies to victims of an earthquake. No one will ever forget the passion, the excellence, and the character of Roberto Clemente. He was a true American hero.

This book examines what it takes for Latino youngsters to beat the odds, overcoming cultural and racial barriers—and a corrupt recruitment system—to play professional baseball in the United States. Latin Americans now comprise nearly 30 percent of the players in Major League Baseball (MLB). This provocative work looks at how young Latinos are recruited—and often exploited—and at the cultural, linguistic, and racial challenges faced by those who do make it. There are exposés of baseball camps where teens are encouraged to sacrifice education in favor of hitting and fielding drills and descriptions of fraud cases in which youngsters claim to be older than they are in order to sign contracts. The book also documents the increasing use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by kids desperately trying to gain an edge. In addition to discussing the hard road many Latinos follow to MLB, the work also traces the fascinating history of baseball's introduction in Latin American countries—in some cases, more than a century ago. Finally, there are the stories of great Latino players, of men like Roberto Clemente and Carlos Beltran who made it to the majors, but also of men who were not so lucky. Through their tales, readers can share the dreams and expectations of young men who, for better or worse, believe in "America's pastime" as their gateway out of poverty.