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OverviewPedro Martínez. Sammy Sosa. Manny Ramírez. By 2000, Dominican baseball players were in every Major League clubhouse, and regularly winning every baseball award. In 2002, Omar Minaya became the first Dominican general manager of a Major League team. But how did this codependent relationship between MLB and Dominican talent arise and thrive? In his incisive and engaging book, Dominican Baseball, Alan Klein examines the history of MLB's presence and influence in the Dominican Republic, the development of the booming industry and academies, and the dependence on Dominican player developers, known as buscones. He also addresses issues of identity fraud and the use of performance-enhancing drugs as hopefuls seek to play professionally. Dominican Baseball charts the trajectory of the economic flows of this transnational exchange, and the pride Dominicans feel in their growing influence in the sport. Klein also uncovers the prejudice that prompts MLB to diminish Dominican claims on legitimacy. This sharp, smartly argued book deftly chronicles the uneasy and often contested relations of the contemporary Dominican game and industry. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Alan KleinPublisher: Temple University Press,U.S. Imprint: Temple University Press,U.S. Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.386kg ISBN: 9781439910870ISBN 10: 1439910871 Pages: 200 Publication Date: 14 April 2014 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print ![]() This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Thinking about the Global Commodity Chain 2 The Rise of the Academy System 3 A Nation of Buscones 4 Astín Jacobo and the “New Dominicans” 5 Demonizing Dominicans 6 “It Felt like the Marines All Over Again”: The Battle for Dominican Baseball Conclusion Notes IndexReviewsOnce again, Klein contributes to our understanding of baseball's expanded territorial appeal, this time through an exploration of Dominican ballplayers, leagues, and agents... Klein's discussion of youth amateurs, buscones (trainers), and baseball academies is smartly and fairly delivered. So, too, are the nuanced biographical treatments of figures ranging from Enrique Soto, the buscon credited with discovering Miguel Tejada, to former MLB pitcher Ramon Martinez, who has established his own well-regarded baseball academy, and Astin Jacobo Jr., a public representative for independent player developers... VERDICT A significant study that provides both a micro- and macroexplication of baseball's impact on the Dominican Republic and the island nation's impact on the sport. - Library Journal Author InformationAlan Klein is a Professor of Sociology-Anthropology at Northeastern University. He is the author of Sugarball: The American Game, the Dominican Dream; Growing the Game: The Globalization of Major League Baseball; and Baseball on the Border: A Tale of Two Laredos. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |