New Books In African American Studies

Today we are joined by Averell “Ace” Smith, The Pitcher and the Dictator: Satchel Paige’s Unlikely Season in the Dominican Republic (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). Smith is a political consultant and a lifelong baseball fan who became enamored with the game when he bought a copy of the 1956 edition of The Official Encyclopedia of Baseball at a school rummage sale. In a descriptive and richly detailed narrative, legendary pitcher Satchel Paige, along with several Negro League stars, are enticed to play in a tournament in the Dominican Republic. Paige, offered an eye-popping $30,000, is amazed by the lack of racial discord on the island, the relaxed baseball schedule and the ease in obtaining good food, wine and women. But there is a dark side. Paige is playing for Ciudad Trujillo in a tournament created to support and celebrate the “re-election” of the country’s ruthless dictator, Rafael Trujillo. And “El Jefe” does not like to lose. So, when Paige and his teammates struggle early in the tournament, Truj