The Golden Game
The Story of California Baseball
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
The Golden Game presents in words and pictures 150 years of baseball history, from sandlot ball in the 1850s and the Pacific Coast League to the western arrival of the Dodgers, Giants, Angels, Athletics, and Padres. Here is a stirring, colorfully written narrative about the state that has been the birthplace and proving ground for more Major Leaguers than any other, including Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Jackie Robinson. Blending U.S. and California history as a backdrop to a narrative rich with anecdotes, The Golden Game reveals the significant impact that California has had on baseball history.
Written not just for Californians but for all baseball fans, The Golden Game goes beyond its geographic boundaries to tell the fascinating saga of California baseball and how it has indelibly shaped the national pastime.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nelson (The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration) presents the development of the sport in California from its introduction until 1969, just before native son Curt Flood filed suit to challenge baseball's "plantation mentality" by fighting the reserve clause, ultimately opening the door for free agency and all it has wrought. Baseball in California is more than Barry Bonds and Vin Scully, Nelson reminds the reader. It's Jackie Robinson growing up in Pasadena before breaking the infamous color line; Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams growing up at opposite ends of the state and turning into one of the game's legendary rivalries; and Japanese-Americans, uprooted from their homes during WWII, playing ball in internment camps. California didn't have a major league franchise until the Dodgers and Giants arrived from New York after the 1957 season, but fans were able to enjoy the excitement of the Pacific Coast League. And scores of players raised in the congenial climates of the West went on to success in the big leagues. Nelson has a knack for research and an ear for good anecdotes as he reviews the impact California baseball has had not only on the game in this country but as an "export" to Japan and Mexico as well. This volume is copublished with the ample resources of the California Historical Society.
