Ambassadors in Pinstripes: The Spalding World Baseball Tour and the Birth of the American Empire

by Thomas W. Zeiler

Inspired and led by sporting magnate Albert Goodwill Spalding, two teams of baseball players circled the globe for six months in 1888-1889 competing in such far away destinations as Australia, Sri Lanka and Egypt. These players, however, represented much more than mere pleasure-seekers. In this lively narrative, Zeiler explores the ways in which the Spalding World Baseball Tour drew on elements of cultural diplomacy to inject American values and power into the international arena.

Through his chronicle of baseball history, games, and experiences, Zeiler explores expressions of imperial dreams through globalization's instruments of free enterprise, webs of modern communication and transport, cultural ordering of races and societies, and a strident nationalism that galvanized notions of American uniqueness. Spalding linked baseball to a U.S. presence overseas, viewing the world as a market ripe for the infusion of American ideas, products and energy. Through globalization during the Gilded Age, he and other Americans penetrated the globe and laid the foundation for an empire formally acquired just a decade after their tour.

Genres: Sports

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Csenge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for class, and I ended up devouring it in two days. It a great read. I am a sucker for travel stories, especially from the 19th century, and this one, while still an academic, well sourced publication, is very entertaining. I knew virtually nothing about baseball going in (non-American here) but I found out about its origins and development through the book without getting bored once. The author did a great job placing the world tour into a larger cultural, economical, and historical context, giving some background on every stop the tour made. Eloquent, easy to read, uses a lot of primary sources, and even funny sometimes. The book doesn't shy away from pointing out the selfish interests of Albert Spalding, or the blatant racism of the tourists, while still giving credit where credit is due.

[Dolgun · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very interesting way to get introduced into Cultural diplomacy. you will learn about the history if
Baseball in the United States and how it was prompted to represent the cutlture of the whole country. I belive one will enjoy the book to some extent even if he/she does not have any background or interest of Baseball