Mexican American Baseball in East Los Angeles highlights the
unforgettable teams, players, and coaches who graced the hallowed fields
of East Los Angeles between 1917 and 2016 and brought immense joy and
honor to their neighborhoods. Off the field, these players and their
families helped create the multibillion-dollar wealth that depended on
their backbreaking labor. More than a game, baseball and softball were
political instruments designed to promote and empower civil, political,
cultural, and gender rights, confronting head-on the reactionary forces
of prejudice, intolerance, sexism, and xenophobia. A century later,
baseball and softball are more popular than ever in East Los Angeles.
Dedicated coaches still produce gifted players and future community
leaders. These breathtaking photographs and heartfelt stories shed
unparalleled light to the long and rich history of baseball and softball
in the largest Mexican American community in the United States.