Growing up in a tiny shack in the Dominican Republic, Felipe Alou never dreamed he would be the first man born and raised in his country to play and manage in Major League Baseball—and also the first to play in the World Series. In this extraordinary autobiography, Alou tells of his real dream to become a doctor, and an improbable turn of events that led to the pro contract. Battling racism in the United States and political turmoil in his home country, Alou persevered, paving the way for his brothers and scores of other Dominicans, including his son Moisés. Alou played seventeen years in the Major Leagues, accumulating more than two thousand hits and two hundred home runs, and then managed for another fourteen years—four with the San Francisco Giants and ten with the Montreal Expos, where he became the winningest manager in franchise history. Alou’s pioneering journey is embedded in the history of baseball, the Dominican Republic, and a remarkable family.
Felipe Alou serves as special assistant to the general manager for the San Francisco Giants. He is an inductee in both the Canadian and the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame and lives with his wife, Lucie, in Boynton Beach, Florida. Peter Kerasotis is an author and journalist who has won ten Associated Press Sports Editor awards, six Football Writers Association of America awards, and seven Florida Sports Writers Association awards. Pedro Martínez is a Hall of Fame pitcher who, like Felipe Alou, is a native of the Dominican Republic. Bruce Bochy is a former Major League Baseball player who managed the Padres for twelve seasons and most recently managed the San Francisco Giants for thirteen seasons, during which he led the Giants to three World Series championships.
Table of Contents
Foreword Introduction Part 1. 1935–1956 1. A Name 2. A Childhood Part 2. 1956–1957 3. Coming to America 4. Just Give Me a Chance 5. Moving Up Part 3. 1958–1963 6. The Rookie 7. Roberto Clemente 8. Beginning of the End 9. Dawn of a Decade 10. Dark Days 11. Death of a Dictator 12. The Road to the World Series 13. 1962 World Series 14. The Alous Said Hello; the Giants Said Goodbye Part 4. 1964–1970s 15. Brave New World 16. Settling In 17. Trouble at Home 18. Hitting the Sweet Spot 19. Family Matters 20. Winding Down Part 5. 1975–Today 21. The Transition 22. The Road Back 23. Big Time Again in the Big Leagues 24. A New Beginning 25. 1994 26. The Demise of the Expos and Me 27. It Ain’t Over till You’re Done 28. Managing Philosophy 29. You Can Go Home Again Epilogue Afterword Acknowledgments Chronology
