by Donald Hays
First published 1984
Hog steps up to the plate as first baseman for the Arkansas Reds, a ragtag minor league team that draws trouble wherever they play. His teammates include Cuban players on loan from Castro, aging veterans clinging to their careers, rising prospects, Native American players, one woman, pitcher Genghis Mohammad Jr., and a knuckleball specialist with wandering eyes. Their manager Lefty, a one-armed former major leaguer with Marxist beliefs, guides this unconventional roster through a season of small-town Southern ballparks. The team stays one step ahead of local sheriffs and conservative evangelists who view their diverse lineup as a threat to traditional baseball values. As Hog documents their journey from stadium to stadium, the Reds face hostility from communities that see them as outsiders corrupting America's pastime.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, contemporary, baseball
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Arkansas, Cuba, Southern
Period: 20th-century
384 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster