Son of Havana: A Baseball Journey from Cuba to the Big Leagues

Son of Havana: A Baseball Journey from Cuba to the Big Leagues and Back

The improbable story of Luis Tiantâ€•a living link to the earliest days of Fidel Castroâ€™s regime, a Boston Red Sox legend, and the most qualified 20th Century pitcher not yet enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame

Luis Tiant is one of the most charismatic and accomplished players in the history of the Boston Red Sox and all of Major League Baseballâ€•a cigar-chomping maestro who was the heart and soul of Bostonâ€™s title-contending teams in the 1970s. In his white polyester uniform, with a barrel-chested physique and a Fu Manchu mustache, Tiant may not have looked like the lean, sculpted aces he usually faced off against, but nobody was a tougher competitor on the diamond, and few were as successful. There may be no more qualified 20th-century pitcher not yet enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

His big-league dreams came at a steep priceâ€•racism in the Deep South and the Boston suburbs, and nearly fifteen years separated from a family held captive in Castroâ€™s Cuba. But baseball also delivered World Series stardom and a heroic return to his island home after close to a half-century of forced exile. The man whose nameâ€•"El Tiante"â€•became a Fenway Park battle cry has never fully shared his tale in his own words, until now.

In Son of Havana, Tiant puts his huge heart on his sleeve and describes his road from fields strewn with rocks and rubbish in Havana to the pristine lawns of major league ballparks. Teammates, opponents, family, and media also weigh-inâ€•including a foreword by fellow Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski and the first in-depth interview ever with Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk on the magic behind these Boston batterymates.

Readers will share Tiantâ€™s pride when appeals by a pair of U.S. senators to baseball-fanatic Castro secure freedom for Luisâ€™s parents to fly to Boston and witness the 1975 World Series glory of their child. And readers will join the big-league ballplayers for their spring 2016 exhibition game in Havana, when Tiantâ€•a living link to the earliest, scariest days of the Castro regimeâ€•threw out the first pitch.
Country USA
Brand Diversion Books
Manufacturer Diversion Books
Binding Hardcover
ReleaseDate 2019-05-14
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781635765434

Country	USA
Brand	Diversion Books
Manufacturer	Diversion Books
Binding	Hardcover
ReleaseDate	2019-05-14
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781635765434

Son of Havana: A Baseball Journey from Cuba to the Big Leagues and Back

You might also like...