Home Is Everything: The Latino Baseball Story: From the Barrio to the Major Leagues (Paperback)

by Marcos Breton (Author), Jose Luis Villegas (Photographer) "THIS IS OUR STORY, the story of Latinos in major league baseball, a story that is brought to life in the photographs Jose Luis Villegas..." (more)
Key Phrases: jugadores latinos, las grandes ligas, ligas menores, Miguel Tejada, Estados Unidos, Puerto Rico (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-This eloquently written, multifaceted photo-essay follows the story of Miguel Tejada of the Oakland Athletics, one of the most recent Latino success stories, but also includes stories of players who wash out, don't make the big leagues, and elect to stay in the United States. Jos‚ Santana, for example, was a prospect with the Houston Astros until he blew out his knee. In many ways, the chapter outlining the lives of 13 young men like Santana-talented, but not quite talented enough-is the most telling and heart wrenching. A final chapter on "The Immortals & Heroes" looks back on 50 years of well-known Latino players, adding the depth of history to an already thought-provoking work. The color photographs are gorgeous, catching the spirit of both game and players with unerring visual insight. The Spanish translation, which is boxed in off-white on each page next to the facing English text, is seamless. Not as comprehensive as Tim Wendel's The New Face of Baseball: The One-Hundred-Year Rise and Triumph of Latinos in America's Favorite Sport (Rayo, 2003), but much more in-depth than Mark Stewart and Mike Kennedy's Latino Baseball's Hottest Hitters (21st Century, 2002), this is an excellent addition for anyone with a passion for the game.
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Product Description

Roberto Clemente, Minnie Minoso, Orlando Cepeda, Miguel Tejada and Jose Santana. These men are the immortals, the pioneers, the famous, the soon-to-be famous and the forgotten ones. They know that home is everything -- home is the barrio where they improvised baseball on unpaved streets and sandlots; home is home plate where the batter stands waiting for the next pitch, where runs are scored and games are won; and home is the magical ballparks of major league baseball where they dream to play. Villegas' wonderful full-color photographs, with Breton's companion bilingual text, reveal the essence of the Latino ballplayers' journey: the struggles, dis-appointments and the sometimes enormous successes. The book features the journey of Miguel Tejada, All-Star shortstop for the Oakland Athletics, from his barrio in the Dominican Republic through his 2002 breakout year. The photographs let us witness the barrios where the dreaming begins, the young dreamers who will never leave their home, the major league facilities where young players learn English and gringo baseball, the forgotten players playing semi-pro in the Bronx and keeping their dreams alive, Latinos struggling through the foreign world of the minor leagues, the major leaguers and the immortals.

Preface by Orlando "the Baby Bull" Cepeda from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Lifetime .297 batting average, 379 homeruns, MVP 1967 with the Cardinals, Hall of Fame 1999.

Jose Luis Villegas is a long-time sports photographer and contributor to Edward James Olmos' photo-anthology Americanos. With Marcos Breton, he received the Alicia Patterson Fellowship for their collaboration on Latino baseball, culminating with Away Games: The Life and Times of a Latin Ballplayer (Simon & Schuster, 1999). Breton collaborated with Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa on Sosa: An Autobiography (Warner Books, 2000). Breton also contributed to the Subway Series Reader (Simon & Schuster, 2000). Villegas and Breton live in Sacramento where they work for the Sacramento Bee.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press; 1 edition (April 1, 2003)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 0938317709
• ISBN-13: 978-0938317708
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,075,001 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthusiastically recommended for the fans of Latino players, June 12, 2003

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

In Home Is Everything, Marcos Breton presents story vignettes of Latinos involved in American Baseball, told in both English and Spanish, and enhanced with full-color photographs by Jose Luis Villegas. Slices of daily life training and competing in this great sport, as well as the names and brief profiles of remarkable and dedicated people, comprise this celebration of baseball which is enthusiastically recommended for the fans of Latino players.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A piece of Art!, February 13, 2003

By A Customer

This book is very well photographed and written. The photos are stunning and colorful as well as informative and narrative. Not your stanard picture book, this is much better and will have a longer shelf life as the players are legendary. A must have book for the photographer, the sports fan and the Latino communities around America.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I ever read!, May 3, 2007

By	A. Cervantes "Zappy Dogg" (Compton, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the best book I ever read! Marcos Breton is an amazing writer and historian. Usually, all you ever hear about is Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, but now we get to hear about Roberto Clemente, Fernando Valenzuela, and Jorge Posada too! Viva Baseball! This book is a valuable addition to any library.