Kirjahaku

Few players in the history of baseball suffered as many professional setbacks as Roy Sievers (1926-2017). After an award winning rookie season in 1949, he endured a year and a half-long slump, a nearly career-ending injury and a major position change--all from 1950 through 1953. Traded in 1954, he prevailed and became one of the most feared hitters of the decade, the Washington Senators' home run leader and the biggest gate attraction since Walter Johnson. Drawing on original interviews with Sievers and teammates, this first full-length biography covers the life and career of a first baseman who overcame adversity to restore a dispirited franchise.

One of the most prolific scouts in baseball history, Joe Cambria almost single-handedly saved the Washington Senators from ruin. Signing a stream of young players from Cuba--as many as 20 per season for three decades--he fed the team affordable talent and kept them competitive during World War II, when many front-liners went to the front lines. Cambria subverted baseball's color line years before Jackie Robinson broke it, signing light-skinned Cubans--many of African descent--who could pass in the all-white Major Leagues. This first ever biography traces his memorable career, including the shady hiring practices and flamboyant deals that drew rulings from the bench of Kenesaw Mountain Landis.