Full Description
Examining baseball not just as a game but as a social, historical, and political force, this collection of sixteen essays looks at the sport from the perspectives of race, sexual orientation, economic power, social class, imperialism, nationalism, and international diplomacy. Together, the essays underscore the point that baseball is not just a form of entertainment but a major part of the culture and power struggles of American life as well as the nation's international footprint.
Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction (RON BRILEY)
PART ONE: BASEBALL AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
1. Baseball and Ballots: Players and Politicians
(JOHN A. TURES)
2. The Baseball Evangelist Throws Out John Barlycorn: Billy Sunday and Prohibition
(WENDY KNICKERBOCKER)
3. Red Press Nation: The Baseball Rhetoric of Lester Rodney
(SCOTT D. PETERSON)
4. Bob Dole and the Brooklyn Dodgers
(RAYMOND I. SCHUCK)
5. Are We There Yet? Major League Baseball and Sexual Orientation
(LISA DORIS ALEXANDER)
6. Professional Baseball Wages in the Era of Integration
(MICHAEL J. HAUPERT)
7. Sam Jethroe's Last
(N. JEREMI DURU)
8. The Church of Detroit Baseball: American Civil Religion and Willie Horton at Comerica Park
(JOSHUA FLEER)
PART TWO: THE DIPLOMACY OF BASEBALL AND THE INTERNATIONAL GAME
9. The Nationalist Pastime: The Use of Baseball to Promote Nationalism Globally
(RUSS CRAWFORD)
10. More Than a Game: Baseball Diplomacy in World War II and the Cold War, 1941 -1958
(BRYAN C. PRICE)
11. Exporting the Horsehide American Dream: The Hidden Side of Nicaraguan Baseball
(ROBERT ELIAS)
12. The Politics of American Colonialism Through the Lens of Major League Baseball Academies
(JESSICA SKOLNIKOFF and ROBERT ENGVALL)
13. Recognizing—Not Just Rooting for—the Home Team: Nationalism and the Taiwanese Name Dispute at the 2006 Baseball Classic
(GLEN M.E. DUERR)
14. Bud Selig's Use of "Smart Power"
(ROBERT F. LEWIS)
15. Commodore Selig: The Importance of Japanese Baseball Players in Major League Baseball
MATHEW J. BARTKOWIAK and YUYA KIUCHI)
16. Major League Baseball, Welcome Back Veterans, and the Rhetoric of "Support the Troops"
(MICHAEL L. BUTTERWORTH)
About the Contributors
Index
