Venezuelan bust, baseball boom : Andres Reiner and scouting on the new frontier / Milton H. Jamail.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jamail, Milton H.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Baseball--Scouting--Venezuela.

Baseball.

Baseball--Scouting--Texas--Houston.

Houston Astros (Baseball team).

Reiner, Andrés, 1935-.

Reiner, Andrés.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (283 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

While other teams were looking to the Dominican Republic for new talent, Houston Astros' scout Andrés Reiner saw an untapped niche in Venezuela. Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom recounts how, over the next fifteen years, Reiner signed nearly one hundred players, nineteen of whom reached the majors. The stories of these players-among them Bobby Abreu, Johán Santana, Melvin Mora, Carlos Guillén, and Freddy García-are interwoven with Reiner's own, together creating a fascinating portrait of a curious character in the annals of sports and a richly textured picture of the opening of Venezuela as base

Contents:

Venezuelan bust, baseball boom : Mr. Reiner's dream

It's their game too : the origins of baseball in Venezuela

The Astros go south : scouting in Latin America

From zero to prospect : the Astros' academy

From Tunapuy to Guacara : the search for the new El Dorado

On the road to El Dorado : scouting on the frontier of baseball

A dream come true : ten years at the academy

Maracuchos y gochos : scouting in Maracaibo and the Andes

The talent search expands : scouting in Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, and beyond

Refining the product : the Venezuelan summer league

Foreigners at their own game : welcome to the Astros' minor league system

What happened? where did the prospects go?

Good-bye to the Astros : Andres's farewell tour

Andres's dream and the future of the Astros in Venezuela

Epilogue.

Notes:

"A Bison original"--P. 4 of cover.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

1-281-21354-3

9786611213541

0-8032-1742-0

OCLC:

437200629