Mexican American Baseball in the Central Coast pays tribute to the teams and players who brought joy and honor to their fans and communities in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. Baseball was played before enthusiastic crowds in Piru, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Ojai, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Santa Maria, Guadalupe, Lompoc, and other communities. Players and their families helped create the economic infrastructure and prosperity that are evident today in the Central Coast. For women, softball was a social counterbalance to the strict cultural roles defined by society. Many former players dedicated their lives to the unrelenting struggle for social justice, while others devoted themselves to youth sports. This book remedies the glaring omission of baseball images and stories of Mexican American neighborhoods in the Central Coast of California.
Author Richard A. Santillán, professor emeritus of ethnic and women studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and coauthors Christopher Docter, graduate student at California State University, Northridge; Anna Belmúdez, curator of collections at the Ventura County Museum; Eddie Navarro, Santa Maria sports historian; and Alan O'Connor, sports author and historian of Sacramento, serve as advisors to the Latino Baseball History Project in San Bernardino. This book is made possible through the generous donations of photographs by community members.