The New York Yanquis - Hardcover

If you manage to buy the premise of this baseball novel-a greedy Steinbrenner-like owner of the New York Yankees ditches his high-salaried, low-scoring players and replaces them with a crew of Cuban all-stars handpicked by Castro as part of some grand foreign-policy aperture-you are rewarded with a surprisingly entertaining novel. Veteran novelist and sportswriter Granger (The November Man) adroitly moves the zany events at top speed with just the right dialogue to make the scenario funny and vivid. Just when 38-year-old reliever Ryan Shawn reckons it's time to hang up his cleats, his crazed owner, George Bremenhaven, offers him a new deal: translate for (and eventually manage) the 24 Cuban kids set to replace the Yankees. Ryan grudgingly accepts the offer-and steps into a nest of deceit and government intrigue characterized by the mysterious harassment of those around him. When the tabloid-dubbed "Yanquis" make a run for the pennant, the pressure mounts-from the government, who would prefer they not win; from Bremenhaven, who insists they must; and from Castro, who holds Ryan responsible for the athletes' well-being. Though Ryan may strike some readers as an unlikely hero-a milquetoast drafted to leading-man status-that's all part of the fun in this sportive romp.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Granger, the prolific author best known for his November Man espionage series, takes on the baseball establishment in this funny, poignant, and pointed novel set just a couple of years into the future. Ryan Shawn was once a good pitcher, but after 13 years in the bigs, he's decided to retire. But then blustery, egomaniacal New York Yankee owner George Bremenhaven offers Shawn one more year as a pitcher if he'll also translate for the new players Bremenhaven is importing from Cuba, the product of a deal cut with Castro and ramrodded through the State Department. The Yankees' payroll will be cut by millions, and Bremenhaven figures the hustling young Cubans will win the pennant. When Sparky, the incumbent manager, can't deal with the language problem, Bremenhaven appoints Shawn manager. The rest of the novel is equal parts comedy, social commentary, and gee-whiz Chip Hilton sports novel as Shawn and the Cubans attain a mutual respect, pull together, and cut a swathe through the American League. Entertaining reading under any circumstance, but given the current labor conflict in major league baseball, it's also a timely examination of the state of the former national pastime. Wes Lukowsky