The new face of baseball

by Tim Wendel

For decades, Americans have been fascinated by the complexity and rich history of baseball. No other sport has captivated so many fans. The New Face of Baseball explores a different chapter in baseball's chronicles, one often ignored but remarkably influential. Into the tapestry of baseball history, Tim Wendel weaves the stories of its Latino athletes -- who they are and how they helped transform the sport into what it is today. Going as far back as the mid-nineteenth century, to the early days of Cuban baseball, Wendel traces the spread of American baseball fever in the Caribbean and Mexico, and discusses lesser-known historical standouts, including Adolfo Luque, the first Hispanic to play in the World Series (in 1923), and Martin Dihigo, a black Cuban whom many baseball insiders consider the greatest ballplayer of all time. Wendel masterfully describes the days when only light-skinned Latinos were allowed to participate in Major League competition, much like their inspirational Afric