Growing Up Pedro

Tavares highlights the warm relationship between two baseball greats, brothers Ramón and Pedro Martínez, covering their youth in 1980s Dominican Republic; their signings with the Dodgers; Pedro's eventual contract with the Red Sox and heroics in the 1999 playoffs; and their present-day return to the Dominican Republic where they have built churches, schools, and baseball fields. Gouache and watercolor paintings lovingly depict both players. Bib.

Longtime baseball fan Tavares (Becoming Babe Ruth, rev. 1/13, et al.) highlights the relationship between two baseball greats: brothers Ramón and Pedro Martínez. It's 1981 in the Dominican Republic, and older brother Ramón is showing real promise as a baseball player. Pedro loves baseball too, but feels that his small size will prevent him from ever being a star. Eventually Ramón is signed with the Dodgers, and Pedro tags along to practices, hoping for his chance. Tavares highlights their warm filial relationship, inviting readers to understand how Ramón is challenged by loneliness in America, mostly because his lack of English prevents him from communicating. Pedro follows Ramón's suggestion and learns English, which helps when Pedro is also drafted to the Dodgers. The second half of the book will be familiar to students of the game: Pedro's eventual contract with the Red Sox and his heroics in the 1999 playoffs. Tavares's story ends in the present, with the brothers' return to the Dominican Republic, where they have built a home for their family along with churches, schools, and baseball fields. The gouache and watercolor paintings lovingly depict both players, from boyhood to adulthood. Tavares captures some of the iconic images of Pedro: pitching with intensity, goofing off in the bullpen, and even being taped to a pole by his teammates as a prank. An author's note fills in the baseball blanks, including statistics from Pedro's career; there is also an extensive bibliography. robin l. smith