You wouldn’t think that finding a place for a major league team in a “major league” city like Los Angeles would be such a complicated business. Think of the prestige a franchise brings to a municipality! But Eric Nusbaum’s first book is here to disabuse you of that notion.

In the 1950s, the ownership of the Brooklyn Dodgers --- those “Boys of Summer” who have become emblematic of the Greatest Generation --- were looking to improve their lot with a larger stadium, but when they ran into interference from the New York political machine, they sought greener pastures on the other side of the country.

"STEALING HOME is more about the people, those 'Lives Caught in Between,' than the process.... if you’re a 'detective,' someone who relishes finding all the little clues and Easter eggs en route to a bigger payoff, stick with it."

For as beloved as baseball was on the west coast (before the Dodgers and New York Giants kicked off western expansion in the late ’50s, the Pacific Coast League compared favorably with the Majors in terms of popularity and business), there is no getting around the fact that the construction of Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine was an enterprise built on class distinction. Thousands of lower-income Hispanics were displaced from their homes in order to placate middle- and upper-class white fans. Nusbaum --- a veteran sports journalist --- takes a deep dive into that story from the point of view of one family, as well as a few other figures lost to history, save for the excellent research he has done here.

However, there are times when readers might wonder why Nusbaum has bothered to include some seemingly minor details that have no bearing on the overall story, other than to use those uncovered nuggets, such as the tragic death of a young boy or the marital infidelities of a resident of the pre-Dodger Stadium area. He is taking a big risk that his audience will stick with this meandering tale to get to the payoff.

Frankly, there are other books that do a more effective job of reporting how the move from Brooklyn to L.A. all fell into place. STEALING HOME is more about the people, those “Lives Caught in Between,” than the process. If you’re interested in that particular story, I urge you to seek out one of those titles. But if you’re a “detective,” someone who relishes finding all the little clues and Easter eggs en route to a bigger payoff, stick with it.