An intimate portrait of a tortured player, this memoir culls interviews, letters, and the personal account of baseball legend Willie Mays Aikens. Touted from a young age as the next Reggie Jackson, Aikens'' promising career quickly turned disastrous when he fell into drug abuse and was ultimately sentenced to the longest prison time ever given to a professional athlete. Not only an exploration of baseball and culture in the 1980s, this book also delves into the United States justice and penal systems.

An intimate portrait of a tortured player, this memoir culls interviews, letters, and the personal account of baseball legend Willie Mays Aikens. Touted from a young age as the next Reggie Jackson, Aikens'' promising career quickly turned disastrous when he fell into drug abuse and was ultimately sentenced to the longest prison time ever given to a professional athlete. Not only an exploration of baseball and culture in the 1980s, this book also delves into the United States justice and penal systems.