From 1930 to 1942, Vernon "Lefty" Gomez was considered the glue of the New York Yankee clubhouse. Famous for his high-velocity fastball, the southpaw ace was a fierce competitor who took to the mound injured so often that he was forced to retire when he was only 33 years old. He held a lifetime record of 189-102, was the winning pitcher in the first ever All Star Game and his World Series statistics still remain among the greatest. But beyond the many athletic achievements detailed in Lefty: An American Odyssey, Vernona Gomez (Lefty's daughter) and Lawrence Goldstone (Inherently Unequal) shed light on Lefty's life off the field.
Lefty was the youngest of eight children from a poor, immigrant California ranch family who made it onto the field to play alongside Yankee superstars like Ruth, DiMaggio and Gehrig. He and his Broadway-star wife, June O'Dea, hobnobbed with the likes of Marilyn Monroe, George M. Cohan and Ernest Hemingway. "El Señor Goofo," as the public and press called Lefty, exhibited an affable, gregarious wit, yet his personal life was often riddled with hardships and loss. This thorough, well-rounded biography draws upon conversations with Lefty's family and a star-studded lineup of other interviewees to create an insightful portrait of the accomplishments and adventures, foibles and virtues of a man who lives on as a baseball legend. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines