by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci
502 pp
Why it’s a 5: “With Torre and Verducci at the helm, their collaboration is filled with inside baseball knowledge. There is no bigger stage than New York, and no better team than the Yankees, and no better book than the Yankee Years.” — Upper Deck Underdogs
The New York Yankees may be one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. With its 26 world championships, Hall-of-Fame players, and win-at-all-cost owner, it’s no wonder why this team gets all of the attention and respect it does. Throughout the Yankees’ long history there have been several key players and coaches, but there was one manager who changed the way the Yankees approached the game. It was a man who didn’t have much success in the game prior, and a man who took a more laid back approach to the game. That man was Joe Torre. When Torre came to New York, the expectations for him weren’t high (the tough New York media titled him as “Clueless Joe”) but that slowly changed as Torre brought the Yankees back to their winning ways and the team earned the name that made them famous: Champions.
The partnership of Verducci and Torre gives a true behind-the-scenes view into the life of the historic Yankee skipper, capturing moments from the first championship in 1996 to the last in 2000. The Yankee Years gives a good glimpse at the cast of characters that Torre had to handle, like the signing of Roger Clemons, the bad boy antics of David Wells, and the high maintenance stars like Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez. After many successful years as manager, Torre’s story comes full circle – ending with the same disrespectful headlines he had when he was hired.
One of the most interesting parts of The Yankee Years is a chapter on the infamous “Steroid Era” of baseball. Torre provides an interesting perspective, claiming that the baseball world was warned in advance by a player who was at the winter meetings in 1998. Baseball was in its glory days and when the player confessed that there were steroids in the game and the higher ups chose to ignore steroid use and, like predicted, it blew up in their face. What is more interesting is how Torre brings his readers into the Yankee’s world, quoting David Wells as saying that you could sit anywhere in the clubhouse and be “within a 100 feet of amphetamines”.
Obviously George Steinbrenner has a reputation of being a strict owner and a bit of a pain for his managers, but the one thing that was fascinating about this book was how Torre played with Steinbrenner. Torre managed his owner; he obeyed his boss but refused to get pushed around. Torre has a reputation for being laid back, and to an extent he was, but there were times the two battled. Regardless of how the two got along, there was always a mutual respect. They may have had their problems, but there’s no denying what Torre did for Steinbrenner.
The writing in this book makes this one of the greatest, most interesting stories in baseball. Tom Verducci’s knowledge of the game makes every sentence stand out and keep you thinking. The writer does a good job of staying fair and balanced and giving a well rounded story, as only a good journalist can do. He uses good quotes from several players and coaches from around the Yankees’ and the baseball world including David Cone, Brian McNamee, Larry Bowa, Theo Epstein, and Pedro Martinez. The book features several interesting chapters about steroids, the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry, Alex Rodriguez, and of course George Steinbrenner. Verducci takes you inside the dugout to, the feeling from the post 9/11 games, the Aaron Boone heroic home run, the 2001 World Series loss, and Torre’s last game in a Yankee uniform. The book combines Verducci’s great writing with Torre’s great story telling, and is a definite can’t miss.
– Richie Wisniewski
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