The colliding histories of black and Latin ballplayers in the major leagues have traditionally been told as a story of their shameful segregation and redemptive integration. Jackie Robinson jumped baseball’s color line to much fanfare, but integration was painful as well as triumphal. It gutted the once-vibrant Negro Leagues and often subjected Latin players to Jim Crow racism.
Today, Major League Baseball tightens its grasp around the Caribbean’s burgeoning baseball academies, while at home it embraces—and exploits—the legacy of the Negro Leagues. Award-winning historian Rob Ruck explains the catalyst for this sea change while breaking down the consequences that cut across society. By looking at this history from the vantage point of black America and the Caribbean, Raceball unveils a fresh and stunning truth: baseball has never been stronger as a business, never weaker as a game.
- ISBN10 0807048062
- ISBN13 9780807048061
- Publish Date 1 March 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
- Publish Status Unknown
- Out of Print 21 December 2012
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Beacon Press (MA)
- Format eBook
- Language English