A few years ago my friend Ben Bova, one of the most honored writers in science fiction and a very knowledgeable baseball fan, proposed that we work together on a fictional retelling of the famous baseball player and spy Moe Berg. Ben had a movie in mind and we worked up a screen treatment that prompted some interest in Hollywood. Ultimately, that came to nothing; but it did get me started thinking about Berg, one of the more interesting personalities to ever play baseball.
Set on the gulf coast of Florida and the Cayman Islands, this novel provides a unique blend of modern mystery thriller and baseball narrative. It tells the story of Felicity Lindsay, a small-town police officer who finds a battered murder victim on the beach. Her curiosity about the crime eventually leads Felicity and her father, the alcoholic manager of the local major-league baseball team, into a deadly confrontation with a drug cartel.
During his long baseball career, Del Wilber caught for the Red Sox, Cardinals and Phillies; managed 6 minor league teams; scouted for 4 major league clubs; and served as third base coach for the Senators. Written by his son, Rick, this elegant biographical memoir recounts Del Wilber’s life from the unique perspective of a son who grew up in major league dugouts, experienced the joys and hardships that go along with having a big-league dad, and served as his father’s family caregiver as he became terminally ill.
Rick Wilber’s collection of baseball short stories and essays, Where Garagiola Waits, was a finalist for the Dave Moore Award for Most Important Baseball Book of 1999.
