When Baseball Returned to Brooklyn: The Inaugural Season of the New York-Penn League Cyclones

Major league baseball has a long, rich history in Brooklyn. From 1883 until their move west to Los Angeles following the 1957 season, the Dodgers were the emotional center of the borough’s diverse population. But Brooklyn would be without a professional team until June of 2000 when the Cyclones took the field at Prospect Park, just blocks from Ebbets Field, as part of the New York-Penn League and the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system. This work follows the rookie-level club’s first season, bridging the present to the past with comparisons of the Cyclones to the Dodgers of yesteryear. Each day of the season, which ran from mid-June through early September, is covered. Appearing before the profile of each new Brooklyn player is a brief account of the Dodger player who shared his position. Also included are interviews of players and fans of both teams.