Finding Baseball's Next Clemente: Combating Scandal in Latino Recruiting

Combating Scandal in Latino Recruiting

This book examines what it takes for Latino youngsters to beat the odds, overcoming cultural and racial barriers—and a corrupt recruitment system—to play professional baseball in the United States.

• Provides a historical overview of the increasing numbers of Latin Americans in Major League Baseball and its minor league system

• Details the corrupt recruitment system in several Latin American countries that, in most cases, leads aspiring youngsters on a fruitless quest for a professional baseball contract

• Highlights the careers of players, especially Roberto Clemente, who became role models for young Latin American players

• Offers a brief history of the origin of baseball in Latin American countries, drawing on unique documentary material from the National Archives

• Uses recent, first-person interviews to share examples of how some individuals and institutions are attempting to reform the system