2001: a Baseball Odyssey

2001: A Baseball Odyssey began as an informative look at a season of professional baseball in Taiwan for Bo Durkac, a seven-year veteran of professional baseball. Although brief, his stint in the Orient offers a cross-cultural tale of the many differencesboth on the field and offhe experienced in his search for the financial compensation unavailable to him in the USA. The authors return to the minor leagues in California came to represent a soul-searching, and, at times, comical, look at the daily life of his new team, the Sonoma County Crushers. As his squad struggled against big hitting teams, he and a small core of experienced players held together a less-than-talented group of younger athletes which then challenged the top teams to compete for the playoffs of the independent Western Baseball League. Told in journal form, the book tells of the bus rides into the night, the intrasquad humor and squabbles, and the constant revolving door of players brought in and players moved out. Furthermore, as a microcosm of the increased internationalization of professional baseball, he includes a number of humorous exchanges with a former Japanese Major League All-Star, a 34-year-old Colombian pitcher, and two recently defected Cuban ballplayers. Ultimately, Durkac goes to Long Island, NY, to close out the summer with the Long Island Ducks of the high-profile Atlantic League and attempts to resolve his own internal conflict over his future while his batting average plummets in the face of superior competition. It is worth noting that the terrorist attacks of September 11, perhaps the ultimate metaphor of Durkacs career, occurred during his stay with the Long Island Ducks. Whether you are an up-and-coming ballplayer with professional aspirations, someone who loves reading about our national pastime, or someone who simply loves a good story, 2001: A Baseball Odyssey is a must-have.