Bartolo Colón is an amazing pitcher. His arm has earned him awards and millions of dollars. At the same time, he's started his own family and helped his homeland, the Dominican Republic. Colón may be a superstar, but he's never forgotten his roots, and he's always stayed true to himself. Discover how he went from living in a house without electricity . . . all the way to the Big Leagues!
Carlos Beltrán was a boy who wanted to be a baseball star. He worked hard in Puerto Rico to achieve his dream. Today, he's a professional baseball player with impressive accomplishments. As a batter and centerfielder, Beltrán lights up the game. Follow Beltrán's journey from amateur to minor leaguer to professional player. Beltrán has played for four different major league teams--and he has shown them all just what he can do on the field. Fans everywhere can't get enough of Carlos Beltrán!
Yadier Molina is part of a trio of brothers that are taking the baseball world by storm. Yadier, the youngest, might also be the best player. He's one of the best catchers in baseball today. During his decade with the St. Louis Cardinals, Molina has had an impressive career. Base stealers rarely have a chance when Molina is behind the plate! He can catch every ball thrown to him, and he's helped the Cardinals win game after game. Discover how Yadier Molina got so good!
José Bautista has only been in the Major Leagues a few years. But he's already had an amazing career in baseball. He's played in the All-Star Game, he's won awards, and he's made millions of dollars. Bautista even hit more than 50 home runs in one season! Fans love to see him knock a ball out of the park! Learn how Bautista spent years in the minor leagues before making it to the Majors. Discover the story of how Bautista never gave up on his dream of playing in the Major Leagues, even when things were tough.
Jhonny Peralta has had an amazing baseball career. He's played in playoff series and in the All-Star Game. He's won awards and made millions of dollars. Growing up in the Dominican Republic, Peralta dreamed of playing under stadium lights wearing an MLB uniform. Today, Peralta has lived those dreams. Read about Peralta's path from the Dominican Republic to the Major Leagues. Discover how Peralta worked hard to reach his goals while staying true to himself.
Hanley Ramírez has become one of baseball's biggest stars. The young player has only been in the Majors since 2005, but he's already done many things other players only dream of doing. He was named Rookie of the Year, he's played in the All-Star Game three times, he has won awards, and he's made millions playing in the Major Leagues. Read about Ramírez's journey from the Dominican Republic to the MLB. Learn how Ramírez became the player fans love to watch today!
Today, José Valverde is one of baseball's best relief pitchers. Valverde has pitched in the All-Star game. He's won awards and made millions of dollars. Valverde even had a perfect regular season in 2011! Valverde's path to finding success in the MLB was a long one, though. He had to work hard to make it to where he is today. Read how Valverde started playing baseball thanks to his uncle, former MLB pitcher José Mercedes. Learn about Valverde's success in the minor leagues and find out how he became one of baseball's best pitchers.
Carlos González is a baseball star that crosses borders. He appears in games in Venezuela and in the United States, winning fans everywhere. "Cargo," as he's known to fans, has made an impression on the baseball world. Singles, doubles, homeruns--González keeps the other team on their toes. González is still at the beginning of his career, so who knows what he'll do next. His awards are adding up, and he's sure to win more awards and honors in the future.
Francisco Cordero--or "Coco", as his fans and teammates know him--is a top-notch pitcher. He strikes out batters with his fastballs and sliders. He's racked up a lot of saves over the years as a closing pitcher for teams like the Rangers, the Brewers, and the Reds. Although when Cordero was a child, his family struggled with poverty, Cordero now does his part to help others who are struggling. He's a Big League player with character!
Francisco Liriano is a powerful Major League pitcher. Fans have watched him overcome injury after injury. He always comes back! His amazing stats and strong pitching arm have earned him awards, as well as millions of dollars. Ever since he was a young baseball player in the Dominican Republic, Liriano has been one of a kind. Find out more about his road to the Big Leagues--and discover what it takes to be a baseball superstar!
During his career as a professional wrestler, Dwayne The Rock Johnson thrilled wrestling fans everywhere. Known as the People's Champion, the Rock was a wrestling superstar whose dynamic and colorful personality attracted attention both inside and outside the ring. His feuds with other wrestling greats resulted in some of the most talked-about matches in wrestling history. He became the first African American to hold the World Wrestling Entertainment World Championship title, one he went on to capture six more times. This book describes how Dwayne Johnson, the son and grandson of professional wrestlers, became the Rock and, in his own words, the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. It details his failed ambition to become a professional football player and how that failure led him into the family business of wrestling. Eventually, the Rock built a successful wrestling career, and ultimately became a movie star as well.
Adrián Beltré has had an amazing career in baseball. Since starting in the Majors in 1998, he has become one of baseball's best players. He's won many awards for fielding and batting, he's played in the All-Star Game, and he even won the Babe Ruth Home Run Award. Beltré is an amazing baseball star! Find out how Beltré became the player fans know today. Discover the story of how Beltré became one of baseball's best players!
In the past ten years, Albert Pujols has become one of the brightest stars in the baseball world. He's broken records and won awards--and all the while he achieved his dreams, he held on tight to his faith and his family. He became the player he is today by working hard and always doing his best. Get a glimpse of Albert's life, from his childhood in the Dominican Republic all the way through his amazing career in Major League Baseball. Find out what it takes to be a superstar!
He was just a boy with a dream from a small, rural Massachusetts town. He loved wrestling and rap music, and studied and idolized the biggest stars in both fields. Little did he know that one day he would get a chance to combine both his passions. John Cena would become one of the biggest stars in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In addition to winning the WWE championship a record 10 times, John Cena also writes and records freestyle rap music, appears on TV commercials, and stars in movies. He always makes time to help children, lift the spirits of American military troops both at home and abroad, and work for worthy causes all over the country. John Cena taunts his opponents, loves his fans, never forgets his roots, and has an exemplary work ethic that reflects the values of hardworking people everywhere.
Ubaldo Jiménez has become one of the most popular pitchers in Major League Baseball. Many fans believe he could become one of the all-time great pitchers. Jiménez hasn't been in baseball long, but he's already had an amazing career. He's played in the All-Star Game, pitched in the playoffs, won awards, and even pitched a no-hitter. Learn about Jiménez's journey from the Dominican Republic to the Major Leagues. Find out how his family played a part in making Jiménez the man he is today.
Miguel Tejada is a Big League baseball player who has been part of teams like the Oakland As, the Baltimore Orioles, the Houston Astros, the San Diego Padres, and the San Francisco Giants. He grew up far away from these teams, however, in a poor nation in the Caribbean Sea. Today, he's a superstar in the baseball world, a fast and powerful player who never lets his teammates down. Find out how he traveled so far . . . from the Dominican Republic all the way to the Major Leagues!
Juan Uribe has come a long way from his roots in the Dominican Republic. He's played in two World Series, and he earns millions of dollars every year. But it's his roots that still make him strong. Uribe is proud of his homeland--and his homeland is proud of him! Read about Juan Uribe's life. Find out what it takes to be a baseball superstar!
Vladimir Guerrero has had a great career in baseball. He's played in the All-Star Game. He's won awards and made millions. He won the Home Run Derby--and he's even been on the cover of a video game! Learn about Guerrero's life growing up in the Dominican Republic, and then read about his path through the minor leagues to the Majors. Discover the story of how a Dominican boy went from dreaming about playing baseball . . . to playing in the Major Leagues.
Tim Duncan might just be the greatest power forward in NBA history, and strangely enough, he almost never learned how to play the game. Duncan's first love was swimming, but when a devastating hurricane left his training area in polluted ruins, he turned to basketball. Hard work and a great talent for the game would take him on a journey from his hometown of Christiansted in the Virgin Islands to Wake Forest and ultimately to the San Antonio Spurs. Duncan has led the Spurs to four championships, winning the NBA Final's Most Valuable Player award on three occasions. He has been chosen for the NBA's All-Star team 13 times, and was named the league MVP in 2002 and 2003. Despite his quiet demeanor, Tim has become a dominant force on the hardwood. He has also found success away from the game in family life with his wife Amy and their two children, as well as in his work with the Tim Duncan Foundation.
In 1993, when two young, unknown actors named Matt Damon and Ben Affleck couldn't get the movie parts they wanted, the lifelong friends decided to write their own screenplay. To their surprise, Good Will Hunting, a story about a blue-collar math whiz, became a box office hit after it premiered in 1997. It won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and Matt became one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood. Since then, Matt has starred in many memorable films, such as Saving Private Ryan, The Departed, and Invictus. One of his most successful roles is that of assassin Jason Bourne, a character he played in three hit films. Matt likes to keep his personal life private. However, he doesn't hesitate to use his celebrity to help others. Among the groups he supports are the ONE Campaign and H2O Africa Foundation, which are charitable organizations working to improve living conditions in Africa.
Adam Sandler is one of the world's most popular actors, and is known for his wildly creative sense of humor, which launched him to television and film stardom. He first became famous as a cast member on Saturday Night Live during the early 1990s. Fans loved the wacky characters Sandler created on the show, such as Cajun Man and Operaman. They were also impressed with the bravery he showed by being willing to do anything to make people laugh. Sandler used that same comedic genius to become a star in movies such as The Waterboy, Big Daddy, and Grown Ups. He has also made films like Reign Over Me, which show he is a fine dramatic actor. And Sandler not only acts in movies but also makes them. He started Happy Madison Productions so he could create films that reflect his unique sense of what is funny.
Alfonso Soriano has had a great career in baseball. He has won two World Series and played in the All-Star Game seven times. He's even part of the 40-40 club for hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases in one season. Not many baseball players can say they've done the things that Soriano has! Learn about Soriano's path from playing baseball in the Dominican Republic to making it in the Major Leagues. Explore the life story of one of baseball's most successful players!
Not many baseball players are as famous as Alex Rodriguez. All around the world, baseball fans know the name "A Rod." He has been playing baseball in the Major Leagues for more than fifteen years, and in that time, he's played in the All-Star Game fourteen times. He's been named Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times, and he's won a World Series. Rodriguez has done just about everything in baseball! Learn about one of baseball's biggest stars. Find out how A Rod became the player fans know today.
Hanley Ramírez se ha convertido en una de las más grandes estrellas del béisbol. El joven jugador solo ha pertenecido a las Mayores desde el 2005, pero ya ha hecho muchas cosas que otros jugadores sueñan con hacer. Ramírez fue nombrado el Novato del Año, ha jugado en el Juego de las Estrellas tres veces, ha recibido premios, y ha ganado millones. Lea sobre la travesía de Ramírez desde la República Dominicana hasta llegar a las Ligas Mayores. Conozca cómo Ramírez se convirtió en el jugador que a los fans les encanta ver jugar hoy por hoy. Aprenda la historia de como un chico dominicano se convirtió en una de las nuevas estrellas del béisbol.
Plácido Polanco has worked hard to reach his dreams in baseball. He's played in the World Series and in the All-Star Game. He's known for his amazing glove and great defense. Learn about Polanco's journey from playing baseball in the Dominican Republic to making it in the Major Leagues. Discover the life story of one of baseball's hardest-working players!
