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.

Richard A. Santillán is professor emeritus of ethnic and women studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Coauthors are Richard Peña, extraordinary East Los Angeles player and coach; Teresa M. Santillán, Los Angeles Catholic Archdioceses teacher for 25 years; Al Padilla, legendary East Los Angeles player and coach; and Bob Lagunas, outstanding player and coach in Los Angeles County.