The Rise and Fall of Dodgertown

Book excerpt: Ironically, the last year of Dodgertown will mark the sixtieth anniversary of the team's relationship with Vero Beach, a sleepy beach town a couple of hours north of Miami. Since 1948, when Branch Rickey first brought his team to a former naval air station for training (the players slept in barracks), the Dodgers have practiced fundamentals in a bucolic setting. Featuring roofless dugouts, a grassy berm surrounding the outfield, and intimate seating for 6,400, Holman Stadium has been home to the Dodgers longer than even famed Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Granted special access to the team's archives and personal interviews with players, management, and staff, Rody Johnson offers a fascinating and remarkable history of the sometimes rocky relationship between the city and the team. Beginning with the signing of Jackie Robinson in 1946 and ending with the close of spring training in 2007, The Rise and Fall of Dodgertown traces the changes in baseball and society for more than a half century. It is a story of community, passion, and the beauty of an American sport.