Puerto Rico's Winter League: A History of Major League Baseball's Launching Pad [Library Binding]

Thomas E. Van Hyning (Author), Eduardo Valero (Foreword)

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Book Description

Publication Date: May 1995

Since its inception in 1938, the Liga de Beisbol Professional de Puerto Rico has launched the careers of numerous island players, including Ruben Gomez, Jerry Morales, Orlando Cepeda, Vic Power, Ruben Sierra and the greatest of all Puerto Rican stars, Roberto Clemente. For many "imports," the league has been a stepping stone to major league stardom. In its early years, many of the league's stars came from the Negro leagues: Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Monte Irvin and Roy Campanella were just a few of the African American stars who graced the Puerto Rican diamonds in the 1940s and early 1950s. The Santurce outfield of 1954 featured one of the finest outfields in baseball history: Clemente, Willie Mays, and Puerto Rican star Bob Thurman. Through the mid-1980s, many major league teams sent their up-and-coming stars to Puerto Rico for a final bit of seasoning-Johnny Bench, Rickey Henderson, Phil Niekro, Hank Aaron and Robin Yount were among them. They played for such future league big league managers as Frank Robinson, Jim Fregosi and Kevin Kennedy, while the balls and strikes were called by Nestor Chylak, Doug Harvey, Dale Ford and many other future major league umpires.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } Since its inception in 1938, the Liga de Beisbol Professional de Puerto Rico has launched the careers of numerous island players, including Ruben Gomez, Jerry Morales, Orlando Cepeda, Vic Power, Ruben Sierra and the greatest of all Puerto Rican stars, Roberto Clemente. For many "imports," the league has been a stepping stone to major league stardom. In its early years, many of the league's stars came from the Negro leagues: Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Monte Irvin and Roy Campanella were just a few of the African American stars who graced the Puerto Rican diamonds in the 1940s and early 1950s. The Santurce outfield of 1954 featured one of the finest outfields in baseball history: Clemente, Willie Mays, and Puerto Rican star Bob Thurman. Through the mid-1980s, many major league teams sent their up-and-coming stars to Puerto Rico for a final bit of seasoning-Johnny Bench, Rickey Henderson, Phil Niekro, Hank Aaron and Robin Yount were among them. They played for such future league big league managers as Frank Robinson, Jim Fregosi and Kevin Kennedy, while the balls and strikes were called by Nestor Chylak, Doug Harvey, Dale Ford and many other future major league umpires.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Van Hyning's colorful history tells of the Winter League of Puerto Rico, which has been a proving ground for such names as Roberto Clemente and Orlando Cepeda. For popular sports history collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"stories of players who cut their teeth...in this time-tested winter league" -- USA Today Baseball Weekly

Product Details

Library Binding: 304 pages
Publisher: McFarland & Company (May 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0786401281
ISBN-13: 978-0786401284
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,062,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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