If not for the botched Bay of Pigs invasion, Minnesota might never
have known one of its most popular baseball players, Twins
three-time batting champion and eight-time All-Star Tony Oliva. In
April 1961, the twenty-two-year-old Cuban prospect failed to
impress the Twins in a tryout, but the sudden rupture in
U.S.–Cuba relations made a return visa all but impossible. The
story of how Oliva’s unexpected stay led to a second chance and
success with the Twins—as well as decades of personal and
cultural isolation—is told for the first time in this full-scale
biography of the man the fans affectionately call “Tony O.”
With unprecedented access to the very private Oliva, baseball
writer Thom Henninger captures what life was like for the Cuban
newcomer as he adjusted to major league play and American
culture—and at the same time managed to earn Rookie of the Year
honors and win the American League batting title in his first two
seasons, all while playing with a knuckle injury. Packed with
never-before-published photographs, the book follows Oliva through
the 1965 season, all the way to the World Series, and then, with
repaired knuckle and knee, into one of the most dramatic pennant
races in baseball history in 1967. Through the voices of Oliva, his
family, and his teammates—including the Cuban players who shared
his cultural challenges and the future Hall of Famers he mentored,
Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett—the personal and professional highs
and lows of the years come alive: the Gold Glove Award in 1966, a
third batting title in 1971, the devastating injury that curtailed
his career, and, through it all, the struggle to build a family and
recover the large and close-knit one he had left behind in Cuba.
Nearly forty years after Oliva’s retirement, the debate continues
over whether his injury-shortened career was Hall of Fame
caliber—a question that gets a measured and resounding answer
here.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
