The Cuban prospect

the long version

"Brian Shawver tells the story of Dennis Birch, a washed-up thirty-four-year-old ballplayer turned minor league scout. At the request of his organization, he embarks on a plan to smuggle the hot left-handed pitcher Ramon Diego Sagasta out of Fidel Castro's Cuba. Sagasta plays for the Cuban National Team but just might be destined for American super-stardom. With this thought guiding him, and the hope that reflected glory will be his, Dennis agrees to lend more than a hand in the defection.". "Birch is both the narrator and a memorable character. His innocent belief in the rightness of his mission blinds him to some of its realities, and what at first seems as if it could lead to his name on a plaque in Cooperstown's Hall of Fame, becomes a plunge into dangerous, sordid, and morally complex waters. It becomes excruciatingly clear that Cuba is much farther from the Florida Keys than the miles marked on a map."--BOOK JACKET.