Mexican American Baseball in the San Fernando Valley explores the teams and players that dotted the valley landscape throughout the 20th century. In a time and place where Mexican Americans were closed off from many city recreation centers, neighborhoods formed their own teams. Baseball and softball reinforced community and regional ties, strengthened family bonds, instilled discipline and dedication that translated into future professional careers, provided women opportunities outside their traditional roles in the home, and fostered lifelong friendships. These photographs serve as a lens to...

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...