Reviews
"A revelation! Baseball fans know how much passion and skill Latin American players bring to the game. Now, thanks to Kill the mpaya!, we learn that the same flair is on display in Latin American baseball literature. To quote one of the many great lines in these fascinating stories -'This jonrn is for you'."--Peter Abrahams, The New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books including Down the Rabbit Hole, Behind the Curtain, Reality Check, A Perfect Crime, Pressure Drop, and The Fan. "These are stories we have lived ... Some are funny, some cruel or violent, but in the end they are part of our culture that makes us act the way we do. They make me think of the millions of stories that got lost behind us."--Omar Vizquel, from Venezuela, one of baseball's all-time best fielding shortstops who played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, and the San Francisco Giants. "Baseball is in the soul of millions in Puerto Rico and the other countries that play the game with a Latino flair. 1hese stories are portraits of its place in our lives."--Benjie Molina, from Puerto Rico, former catcher for the Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays and the San Francisco Giants. "It's time we recognized that Latin America is the soul of baseball, and 'Kill the mpaya' takes us straight to the heart of that soul."-- Scott Ostler, sportswriter, San Francisco Chronicle, "These are stories we have lived ... Some are funny, some cruel or violent, but in the end they are part of our culture that makes us act the way we do. They make me think of the millions of stories that got lost behind us."--Omar Vizquel, from Venezuela, one of baseball's all-time best fielding shortstops who played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, and the San Francisco Giants. "Baseball is in the soul of millions in Puerto Rico and the other countries that play the game with a Latino flair. 1hese stories are portraits of its place in our lives."--Benjie Molina, from Puerto Rico, former catcher for the Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays and the San Francisco Giants. "It's time we recognized that Latin America is the soul of baseball, and 'Kill the mpaya' takes us straight to the heart of that soul."-- Scott Ostler, sportswriter, San Francisco Chronicle, "These are stories we have lived.... Some are funny, some cruel or violent, but in the end they are part of our culture that makes us act the way we do. They make me think of the millions of stories that got lost behind us." - Omar Vizquel, from Venezuela, one of baseball's all-time best fielding shortstops who played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. "Baseball is in the soul of millions in Puerto Rico and the other countries that play the game with a Latino flair. These stories are portraits of its place in our lives."--Benjie Molina, former Texas Rangers catcher and first base coach.
Table of Content
Introduction ............................................................................................4 Eduardo del Llano, Swimming Upstream ........................................................29 Sandra Tavárez, Sacrifice ...........................................................................39 Sergio Ramírez, Apparition in the Brick Factory ................................................42 Carmen Hernández Peña, End of the Game ......................................................55 Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, The Last Voyage of Arcaya the Shark ............................63 Arturo Arango, The Stadium .......................................................................79 Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, Braces ...................................................................90 Alexis Gómez Rosa, The Real Thing .............................................................96 Leonardo Padura, The Wall ......................................................................105 Nan Chevalier, Winners and Losers .............................................................117 José Bobadilla, The Strange Game of the Men in Blue .......................................128 Rafael Acevedo, Clock Reaches the Emperor's Citadel ......................................146 Salvador Fleján, Big Leagues ....................................................................151 Daniel Reyes German, How Tomboy María Learned She Could Fly ......................164 Andrés Eloy Blanco, The Glory of Mamporal .................................................176 Cezanne Cardona, An Infamous Home Run ....................................................186 Marcial Gala, The Pitcher .........................................................................197 Vicente Leñero, Aut At Third .....................................................................202 Further Reading .....................................................................................209 Acknowledgments ..................................................................................211
