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About Lefty: An American Odyssey
Product Description “An intimate portrait of a man whose life off the field was equally as captivating as his unparalleled baseball career.”—Yankees Magazine Born into a small-town California ranching family, Vernon “Lefty” Gomez rode his powerful arm and jocular personality across America to the dugout of the New York Yankees. Lefty baffled hitters with his blazing fastball, establishing himself as the team’s ace. Now, drawing on countless conversations with Lefty, more than three hundred interviews conducted with his family, friends, competitors, and teammates over the course of a decade, and revealing candid photos, documents, and film clips—many never shown publicly—his daughter Vernona Gomez and her award-winning co-author Lawrence Goldstone vividly re-create the life and adventures of the irreverent southpaw. A star-studded romp through America’s most glamorous years, with cameos from Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, George Gershwin, Ernest Hemingway, and Marilyn Monroe, Lefty is at once a long-overdue reminder of a pitcher’s greatness and a heartwarming celebration of a life well-lived. “His story transcends sports and gives us a much-needed lesson in grit and grace.”—Jon Meacham “A loving and beautifully written tribute . . . Be prepared to be transformed, and to discover stars who were stars in an age when that word really meant something.”—Mike Greenberg, co-host of ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning “An amiable portrait of a baseball great—like Yogi Berra, Dizzy Dean and Satchel Paige—whose outsized personality looms even larger than his considerable athletic achievements.”—Kirkus Reviews Review “An intimate portrait of a man whose life off the field was equally as captivating as his unparalleled baseball career.”— Yankees Magazine “His story transcends sports and gives us a much-needed lesson in grit and grace.”—Jon Meacham “A loving and beautifully written tribute . . . Be prepared to be transformed, and to discover stars who were stars in an age when that word really meant something.”—Mike Greenberg, co-host of ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning “An amiable portrait of a baseball great—like Yogi Berra, Dizzy Dean and Satchel Paige—whose outsized personality looms even larger than his considerable athletic achievements.”— Kirkus Reviews “Endearing for its vivid snapshots of long-lost diamonds and the colorful players who inhabited them.”— Austin American-Statesman “Filled with stories that will bring joy to baseball fans.” —The Roanoke Times “A charming story.”—Bookreporter About the Author Vernona Gomez is the daughter of June O’Dea and Vernon “Lefty” Gomez. As a child, she bounced on Babe Ruth’s knee, made sand castles on the beach with Joe DiMaggio, and won at cards with the legendary Cy Young. Growing up in a baseball family, Vernona brings an eyewitness account to the adventures chronicled in this book. She is a concert pianist, owner of the Creative Coaching Music Studio in Southport, Connecticut, and has two sons, John and Andrew. Lawrence Goldstone is the author or co-author of thirteen previous books of fiction and nonfiction. One of his novels won a New American Writing Award, another was a New York Times notable mystery. His work has been profiled in The New York Times, The Toronto Star, Salon, and Slate, among others. He lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, with his wife and daughter. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1 The Cowboy’s Son Vernon Gomez was born on November 26, 1908, at his family’s homestead in Rodeo, California, on the south coast of San Pablo Bay, northeast of San Francisco. “Five hundred people if you counted the cows,” he would say. “Rodeo was a town with two local trains, one comin’ and one goin’. Down by the depot, there was a haystack close to the train tracks. If we rode the express, we jumped into it as the train passed through.” Although he was later referred
