The Yankee Years

by Joe Torre, Tom Verducci

Twelve straight playoff appearances. Six American League pennants. Four World Series titles. This is the definitive story of a dynasty: the Yankee years



When Joe Torre took over as manager of the New York Yankees in 1996, the most storied franchise in sports had not won a World Series title in eighteen years. The famously tough and mercurial owner, George Steinbrenner, had fired seventeen managers during that span. Torre's appointment was greeted with Bronx cheers from the notoriously brutal New York media, who cited his record as the player and manager who had been in the most Major League games without appearing in a World Series

Twelve tumultuous and triumphant years later, Torre left the team as the most beloved and successful manager in the game. In an era of multimillionaire free agents, fractured clubhouses, revenue-sharing, and off-the-field scandals, Torre forged a team ethos that united his players and made the Yankees, once again, the greatest team in sports. He won over the media with his honesty and class, and was beloved by the fans.

But it wasn't easy.

Here, for the first time, Joe Torre and Tom Verducci take us inside the dugout, the
clubhouse, and the front office in a revelatory narrative that shows what it really took to keep the Yankees on top of the baseball world. The high-priced ace who broke down in tears and refused to go back to the mound in the middle of a game. Constant meddling from Yankee executives, many of whom were jealous of Torre's popularity. The tension that developed between the old guard and the free agents brought in by management. The impact of revenue-sharing and new scouting techniques, which allowed other teams to challenge the Yankees' dominance. The players who couldn't resist the after-hours temptations of the Big Apple. The joys of managing Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, and the challenges of managing Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. Torre's last year, when constant ultimatums from the front office, devastating injuries, and a freak cloud of bugs on a warm September night in Cleveland forced him from a job he loved.

Through it all, Torre kept his calm, kept his players' respect, and kept winning.

And, of course, The Yankee Years chronicles the amazing stories on the diamond. The stirring comeback in the 1996 World Series against the heavily favored Braves. The wonder of 1998, when Torre led the Yanks to the most wins in Major League history. The draining and emotional drama of the 2001 World Series. The incredible twists and turns of the epic Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Red Sox, in which two teams who truly despised each other battled pitch by pitch until the stunning extra-inning home run.

Here is a sweeping narrative of Major League Baseball in the Yankee era, a book both grand in its scope and fascinating in its details.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Autobiography, Audiobook

502 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Tony Gleeson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Torre has recently taken some criticism for this book but I would point out that (1) this is really a book by Tom Verducci ABOUT Joe Torre and (2) I really didn't find much "talking out of school" or shocking betrayals of confidence in this book at all. It's a bit strangely paced and phrased, but it's a most interesting look at the New York Yankees, and baseball in general, from 1996-2007, with lots of insights about the game and individual players, and some great anecdotes. One has to remember that despite the facade of aggression and strength that a successful professional athlete needs, a number of these guys can be hypersensitive, vulnerable and downright touchy; the resultant dynamics in a clubhouse full of them can be pretty amazing. Verducci provides a clear background of what was going on throughout Major League Baseball at the time, especially the statistical and "moneyball" revolution and the growing steroid scandal, and constantly puts everything into such statistical perspective that it's almost too much. If you're a baseball fan like myself who can always use a fix of some more information, you'll most likely enjoy this.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but I really wish it had more of Joe Torre in it instead of Verducci. The book was obviously written by Verducci with quotes and anecdotes from Torre just thrown in.

While baseball is not my favorite sport (I have too much invested in hockey to spend enough time obsessing over another sport), I am a 4th generation Yankees fan from my dad's side of the family and being knowledgeable about the Yankees is pretty much a prerequisite in my family. This book was a great reminder of the Glory Days of the late 90s, and stories from each of the games brought back memories of watching the games with my dad on TV. This book is a great reminder of all the great times the Yankees had, and how instrumental Joe Torre was to their success.

I skimmed over most of the "stat heavy" portions of the book. I really don't care that some Cincinnati pitcher had a score of 492 on his traffic intelligence test, or other irrelevant nonsense.

I'd recommend this for any baseball fan, especially those looking to learn about the years many Yankee fans speak so fondly of.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that “The Yankee Years” isn’t the bash-fest that every media outlet made it to be before the book was released to the public. The “A-Fraud” thing is barely mentioned. And when it is, it’s in passing. After actually reading the book I don’t see what all the uproar was about. I suppose Joe Torre may have breached some kind of locker room blue line of silence but really he didn’t tell us anything we didn’t know in a broad scope. He and Tom Verducci really just filled in the details. We already knew that Jeter was a leader, A-Rod’s a bit of a diva who doesn’t quite fit in, O’Neil was crazy intense, Cone was a clubhouse general, Randy Johnson couldn’t quite put it together here and is a lil sensitive, Kevin Brown was a psycho and the reason the Yankee teams from 2001 until 2008 didn’t win World Series’ had far more to do with the choice of players they brought in rather than the decisions made in the dugout. These are all things any baseball fan that paid attention knew.
This, in actuality, was just Joe Torre chronicling his life for the past 12 years. His life just happened to be managing the New York Yankees. These behind-the-scenes baseball books are interesting not for the broad aspects they share, but in the details. The thought process behind decisions is the real attraction here. Why did Torre not go to the mound to check on Joba in that game against the Indians with all those friggin’ bugs? How did Wade Boggs take being taken out of the line up? The answers to those questions are the real reason to read this book. If you’re looking for a bunch of dirt you won’t find it. If you’re a Red Sox fan or a Mets fan or any other of the countless other non-Yankee fans hoping to find laughs and derision at the Yankees expense it’s not really here. Really, this book is just a tale of the rise and fall of a baseball team. And quite honestly it’s quite a tale.
If you’re a baseball fan first you’ll like this book. If you’re one of those fans that hates every team except the one he roots for you probably won’t find much joy in it. I liked it and I’m pretty sure this copy will make some rounds before I get it back again.

[Matthew McElroy · Rating 2 out of 5]

You really need to like baseball to enjoy this one. And you probably need to have strong feelings on the Yankees. This isn't like other baseball histories, where other teams have an impact on the main story. Even David Halberstam's Summer of 49 and October 1964 featured two teams in opposition. This is a Yankees story through and through. Because it covers 1996 to 2007, the 12 seasons Joe Torre managed the team, it has to touch on the Red Sox, but few other teams are significant foils.

Overall, this is a strange mish-mash of a story. Maybe Verducci is better confined to the clear confines of a magazine. 500 pages should be a masterwork, and this feels mostly like a recitation of events, interspersed with quotes. The successful part of the dynasty- the first five seasons, feels like a third of the book, not enough to make Yankee fans smile. Still, at 500 pages, that fawning first third is too long for an average baseball fan to really enjoy.

Verducci tells the story of a hero, Joe Torre, but the end is known, and there is very little to uplift you. Torre wins the World Series four times in five years, goes two more times, and makes the playoffs every year for 12 years. After 2003, aligned with the rise of the Red Sox, the Yankees become less sucast-off.
Jeter and Steinbrenner are also major characters, but both serve as a reflection on Torre. Jeter is great at leading when his teammates want to be led. When the Yankees sign more big name free agents, after 2000, Jeter becomes less effective as a leader. If you are good at leading people who agree with you, that's not really leadership. If Jeter was a good leader, the more talented teams of the 2000s would have won just as much as the Brosius/Gooden/Wells Yankees built around B- playoffs and castoffs.
Steinbrenner is portrayed as relentless heel, dedicated only to the success of the Yankees, morality be darned. (I actually agree with that portrayal)
Where this book fails is we never get any real insight into Torre's regrets and failures. Part of that is the nature of baseball, where the best hitters are rarely successful and the best teams only win three out of five games. It doesn't pay to get too high or low. But Torre never seems to have made a mistake, given his version of events.

[Kevin McGinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything New York Yankees related so I enjoyed this book. I liked how he praised Derek Jeter (he’s also my favorite player) and trashed A-Fraud.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Pretty well written book by Verducci — lengthy because of the fifteen years it covered during the Yankee years. It was not a particularly well organized book but packed with detail. More Verducci influence than Torre so not a typical autobiography.

I liked the candidness around the steroid scandal which was still unfolding in 2009 when this book was written.

I also appreciated Torre’s views expressing his impatience with Alex Rodríguez and Roger Clemens. It was their extremely large egos, personal trainer entourages and post-season disappointments that he disliked - particularly Arod. Some of Torre’s dislike may have stemmed from all the steroid revelations. But Torre spoke very fondly of Andy Pettitte whose career also ended when his steroid use became public, so it was probably more of a personality thing. Torre did acknowledge that Clemens was a fearless competitor .

All in all, a little too much front office politics and few on the field stories made for a less than exciting read for a span that involved four world championships and eleven straight playoff runs. Could have been four stars if Brian Cashman the GM had not been mentioned on every second or third page.

[Ric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I waited to read until I felt like it was the right time, because of its controversy and how important the subject matter is to me. My first memory is Derek Jeter’s leadoff home run in game 4 of the 2000 World Series. I remember begging my mother to let me stay up for game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against Boston and crying tears of joy during Aaron Boone’s walk-off home run. I remember crying for a very different reason during game 7 of the 2004 ALCS, when the Yankees blew a 3-0 series lead against the Red Sox. And I remember the midge game against Cleveland in 2007. So I wanted to relive the dynasty, and it was amazing to be able to do so, but I didn’t want to do when the Yankees weren’t the Yankees, if that makes sense. Now that they’re back to that “World Series or bust” attitude, it was time. To hear all of these stories about my idols and heroes growing up was great, and it really brought me back to my childhood. A must read for any Yankee fan, or baseball historian.

[Jason Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this book and seeing behind the scenes of the great Yankee teams during Joe Torre's tenure as the manager. I'm not sure how much Torre himself wrote in the book but he was heavily quoted and it seems to be from his perspective. As a big Yankees fan, I loved it!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Torre was just a great manager during a time when the Yankees dominated in the early 2000s. This is a must read for an baseball fan! Love em or hate em they are one of the greatest sports franchises of all time.

[Dietmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the inside view on how the Yankees were run during the years when Joe Torre was their manager. It was quite sad to see how he was treated at the end of his tenure as manager. That sheds a lot of light on peoples' personalities and egos.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of bad baseball books out there. This is not one of those. Joe orre's view of his Yankee years is nicely wrought. One of the better works of this genre. . . .

[Joshua Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5, phenomenal book.

Getting the behind the scenes story helps explain why Torres demeanor changed overtime. If your boss was setting you up to fail constantly and then remind you of it and put stipulations and consequences you probably wouldn't be successful. From the beginning of his managing tenure Joe Torre had to face his own bosses doubt on the job he can get done for the NY YANKEES. This book goes in depth with Torres relationship with his players who he loved and players who he basically tolerated. The only thing that kept me from giving this book a full 5 was that some of the chapters were beginning with a story of subject, and then the subject turned into another story of 15 pages and then it reverted back to what the chapter was supposed to focus on. Thank you Joe and thank you Tom for this great book.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yankee fan biblical material.

[Adam Danni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do wish it was more of Torres voice but overall very insightful into a time when I lived and died by the Yankees. Wish they treated him much better at the end and now that Jeter is gone I have to question my loyalty to this organization

[Summer Behling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of fucking details it’s crazy like kinda boring kinda awesome might be 3 stars if it was about any other team because i don’t care about them

[Anthony Yodice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good sports book in general. It reaffirmed my respect for Joe Torre. It also clearly explained the changes in baseball (revenue sharing and "moneyball") and how they spelled the doom of the Yankees greatness and more parity in MLB

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thing that should be noted about The Yankee Years is that the author credit ought to be Tom Verducci and Joe Torre, not vise versa.

The hype surrounding the book suggests that it's Torre's tell-all memoirs, but it's more of an examination of the Yankees while he was the manager. The dominant voice is Verducci and Torre seems to have provided him with insight and privileged perspective. Torre basically anchors the narrative while Verducci explores the championship teams, the various players, the brass, and everything in between.

The Yankee Years is worthwhile read because it accomplishes something most sports books cannot. It walks a line between autobiography and journalism. Thus, because it isn't strictly an autobiography, it avoids many of the problems of sports autobiographies: platitudes, pedestrian writing, self-indulgence, etc. On the other hand, because it's not strictly journalistic, it has an authenticity provided by an insider.

The book is true collaboration that gives the reader an unprecedented perspective into not just the biggest sports franchises in America, but one of the greatest dynasties in the history of sports. Between 1996-2008, Torre lead an underdog Yankee club to 6 World Series appearances, 4 of which ultimately winning. On top of that, he made playoffs in each of his years as manager. Nevertheless, in the end, as the team transformed from a gritty crew to a bloated self-parody, the Yankees brass were uninterested in keeping Torre, and let him leave unceremoniously.

Verducci and Torre take the reader throughout this 12 year span, discussing the highs and lows of managing a team like the Yankees. It analyzes the strengths of the organization (deep pockets, willingness to acquire the big players, unwillingness to accept anything less than a championship) and its weaknesses (reckless spending, obsession with marquee names, obsession with anything less than a championship).

Although the book is overflowing with content, the authors do a poor job prioritizing their focus. The first half of Torre's career is one win after another, from their first win in 1996 to their heartbreaking loss in 2001. Conversely, the second half was full of frustration; flawed but expensive rosters and poor luck resulting in a championship drought. Yet, the book focuses mostly on the latter half of Torre's career, with the championship years receiving less than a third of the attention.

Moreover, the chapters on the championship years felt fragmentary and rushed. The book succeeds when it takes a more limited scope, as it does when it focuses on Steinbrenner and A-Rod, for example. However, while A-Rod and The Boss are given chapters unto themselves, the other great(er) players like Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettite, and even Clemens, are only given chunks here and there. Personally, the Core Four are the reason why I liked the Yankees as a kid, and to this day Jeter remains one of my favorite professional athletes.

Nonetheless, The Yankee Years is a good read, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in sports journalism. If you're a fan of baseball, particularly, then it's a must-read. Whether you're a fan of the Yankeess or not (Jays fan, myself), this book gives tremendous insight into an iconic team during a highly volatile and transitional age in the MLB.

[Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Yankee fans (I count myself as one) who lived through the twelve glorious years that this book covers, there are not many surprises. I would say I knew 80% of it, but it was interesting to hear the manager’s perspective (and surprising to hear the manager curse, will this be in an audio book?) When you watch the daily drama of a baseball season, for six-months (seven , in good years) out of the year, you become very familiar with the faces in and around a team. Going into this, I felt I already knew the major characters: Torre, Jeter, Steinbrenner. What I didn’t know was how certain personality flaws lead some very successful players down the paths of cheating and failing. In this book you get a better reading on those characters.
One of the curious things about the book is that Torre chose to write it while he was still managing, albeit with a new team, in the other league, on the other side of the country. He broke one of the cardinal rules, he told about the inner workings of a clubhouse. One of the major, explicit themes of the book is how Torre manages through trust and I don’t think it would be a stretch to say he may have ruined his trust with his players when he broke the code of silence about what was going on inside of the clubhouse.
Verducci does a good job summarizing the important moments over twelve long baseball seasons. I think the true value of this book is as an archive for future baseball fans to read, when all of the important little details have faded from the common memory and all of the important players are retired and off the field. Along with a Yankee dynasty, this was the era of ignored steroid abuse in baseball, and so it is a solid primary source for the further debate and discussion of that era.
Verducci, however, does a clunky job of explaining the surprising events that took place. He relies on percentages and numbers rather than description to tell why a play or an event was so unlikely or momentous. I watched every inning of the calamitous 2004 ALCS, and it is not enough to say, after game 3 “The Red Sox had a 0.85 percent chance of winning the series.” Those two weeks during that series were an exhausting, torturous, scarring event, and I wasn’t even on the field. I will never forget where I was, how confident I was after game 3, and how low I was when Damon hit the grand slam in game 7. That was no time to rely on historical percentages, those emotional, exhilarating moments are when you need personal accounts, and I did not feel that any of the great or terrible events were properly evoked. I never felt the same pins and needles from those memories that I do when one of those games comes on Yankees’ Classics.
This book also fits as an apt eulogy of the Boss. As of this writing, George Steinbrenner is still alive, but he is no longer the noxious force that he used to be. Torre tells of the whithering of the Boss into an addled old man, probably for the better of the franchise, but for the worse of the back pages. This book and Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning, (a far better book that takes on a much broader world view) are fitting bookends to the life and times of the character that is The Boss. I won’t miss him, but he did pay for some great teams.

[Resonance · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable book that offers some penetrating glimpses into the life of a big league manager in the highest profile role in MLB -- managing for the Yankees. The book was chock full of anecdotes about various Yankees (players like Paul O'Neill, Derek Jeter and David Cone get quite a bit of positive coverage in this book, where Kevin Brown, David Wells, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and of course Alex Rodriguez won't feel too flattered by what they read) and the pressure-cooker environment of the Yankees management and front office. Despite George Steinbrenner's legendarily infamous meddling and head-games, the book depicts him fairly -- the author makes it clear that Steinbrenner may have been a pain in the ass, but he deeply cared about his players and his team and had a heart of gold underneath the cruel exterior.

If the book has a theme about the Yankees, it's that the much maligned free agency acquisitions for which they are known were very much a two edged sword. Torre is very much an 'old baseball' kind of guy who pays attention to stats and sabermetrics but at the end of the day manages with a heart and his gut as much as anything else. Torre believes in team chemistry and although his words are characteristically polite and upbeat, the author makes it clear that the runaway free agent acquisitions the Yankees made during the last eight to ten years of the Torre era made for a very fractious clubhouse and in many cases -- like Johnson, Brown and Pavano -- were incredibly harmful to the club.

I say 'author' because although this book is billed to Joe Torre 'and' Tom Verducci, it's pretty plain that Verducci wrote the entire thing. This is a third person narrative about the Yankees which focuses somewhat, but only somewhat, on Torre's time with the club. That is somewhat different than an autobiographical sketch of Joe Torre -- it's like the author set out to write a book about the Yanks and just interviewed Torre more than anyone else. He's the lead character in a big cast, but it makes the book read a lot more like a very long Sports Illustrated article and a lot less like what I had hoped this book would be -- not a confessional or a tell-all but a personal look at a fairly enigmatic story.

Still, it was an enjoyable read, and did offer more than a few juicy tidbits. The book doesn't shy away from steroids, although it doesn't exactly break any new ground there, and it is generally upbeat, if a bit wistful at times -- the notable exception being when the author discusses the coterie George Steinbrenner kept around him, who gradually started taking over the club as Steinbrenner began physically and mentally declining, who come across largely as an incompetent nest of Machiavellian snakes.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

After completing reading The Yankee Years (Kindle Edition), I have to say I was left disappointed. While there are several interesting, fun, or insightful anecdotes about the Yankees organization, the majority of the book is spoiled by an endless stream of statistics, constant reiteration, and overall, juvenile writing.

I picked up this book to read the behind-the-scenes stories and going-ons of the Yankee organization. Instead, I got a fairly reiterative summary of the post-seasons under Joe Torre. Though there were some stories about things going on in the club house, or the front office, much of the book read as post-game summaries.

Overall, I'd say I was disappointed by the book. Frankly, I felt that little, if any, of the book was actually written by Torre; instead he seems to have merely contributed a good portion of the quotes in the book. For those of us who remember "The Yankee Years" under Torre, there is only a handful of interesting additions and insight in this book that we didn't experience first hand, while watching the games. And for those little gems of story telling, that you wouldn't get unless you were in the clubhouse, I wouldn't say it is worth slogging through awkward sentence structure, repetitive statistics, and bland writing in the rest of the book to get to them.

I'd skip this one.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

When this book was release it garnered tons of attention in the New York area. All the news outlets tried to paint it as a tell all by Torre where he lambasts and lionizes the Yankee players he worked with for twelve seasons. I read this book two years after the dust of the publication settled and can say without a doubt that Torre treats every subject and player with the class New York and the world have come to know him for.

For those he chooses to lionize, he will still point out where they have a flaw or two. He is even more careful to paint the best possible picture of those he reseves the most critisim for. Any critisim is always backed up by like minded opinions of coaches and players and staff there were around the situation.

There really are no great revealations that haven't already been published or covered by the New York or national media outlets. How the book shines best is to get a glimpse of Torre's personal reactions to those memorable moments that were Joe Torre's Yankee Years.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a Yankee fan, this book is outstanding to read and reminiscing those wonderful years of a Yankee Dynasty.
‘Clueless Joe’ were the highlights of the newspapers back then. Little did we know he will be a pivotal manager for 4 championships.
Young Derek Jeter an up in coming super-star. Plus it talks about the steroids problems in MLB. Hence the questions about Gianni, Clemens and the other guys like Sosa, Bonds and McGwire.
Great recollection of all those years.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about Torre’s time with the Yankee’s. From the players that came up or came through to strategies at different times. Also more of a look in the relationship between Torre and The Boss and how it changed with his illness and how he felt the upper management changed and drew a line in the sand in order to force him out. he is not bashing the Yankee’s or players at all he is really saying that he felt that he should have been treated better than he was and how I got the feeling that his issue was with Cashman. He has nothing bad to say about the Boss because he thinks he is sick and being lead in a wrong direction, and he has nothing bad to say about any of the players. He talks about work, and getting the job done on the field with the guys given to him and the feel in the club house. Overall a good book.

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “SAY IT AIN’T SO… JOE!!!”
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The first thing any true baseball fan needs to know… if you’re considering reading this book… is that you do not have to be a Yankee fan to enjoy it. The author has done an absolute stellar job in encapsulating an entire genre of baseball history… that effected such an enormous generational change in the “grand-old-game”… that it’s extremely hard to believe… that this covers only the twelve year period from 1996 thru 2007. Unfortunately for our former national pastime… and for all lovers of baseball… both young and old… the enormous amount of front page detail… and backroom gossip… and sizzling scandal… that is hypnotically… presented by this talented author… does not shine a kind light… on the men and game… we wish to idolize.

I am not a Yankee fan… but I’ve always admired… respected… and watched in awe… from the other side of the field… as Joe Torre… carried himself with such dignity… even when immersed… in the burning cauldron of hell… known as Steinbrenner. A lot of people may have forgotten what an outstanding ballplayer Joe Torre was during his playing days… in fact he was the *MOST-VALUABLE-PLAYER* in the National League in 1971 when he played for the St. Louis Cardinals… and led the league in hitting with a 363 average. Joe had been fired from three previous managerial jobs before the Yankees hired him… and this story follows Joe from his first day through his twelve… never dull… years as Yankee manager. These years resulted in six World Series appearances… and four World Championships. The World Championship that Joe won in 1996 his very first year as Yankee skipper… was the first World Title… the once mighty “Bronx Bombers” had won in eighteen years! You’d think life would be nothing but cotton candy and sea shells… after a debut like that… but behind the scenes… things were even worse than the dysfunctional family… that the tabloids portrayed.

What’s becomes totally apparent… is that Joe’s ability to literally be an amateur “psychiatrist”… and handle everything from a meddlesome owner… who thought he was part General Patton… and part Hall Of Fame Yankee manager Joe McCarthy… to multi-millionaire… egomaniacal ballplayers… to dealing with the untold masses of reporters and journalists in the media capital of the world... was nothing short of astonishing. Joe and his co-author pull no punches in describing the changing of the Yankee guard… from “old-school”… proud… pinstripers… like Captain Derek Jeter… Paul O’Neill… Tino Martinez… and pitcher David Cone… who despite not being a daily “position” player… stood up as a leader… in front of the whole team… at every crucial turn… these were the kind of players Joe loved… and he would do anything for them. As the core of these players left or retired… it was no longer the Yankees… whose mantra was… “A-DESPERATION-TO-WIN”. When Alex Rodriguez joined the team… the author remains… a “stand-up-guy” in his writing… just as he was in the clubhouse. Joe shoots straight from the hip… in describing the major difference between Captain Jeter… and “A-Fraud”… Jeter only cared about victory… “A-Fraud” cared about his statistics.

Two major subjects that have literally changed the entire game of baseball are covered with “no-holds-barred”… the first is steroid and drug use… in fact according to the Mitchell Report… at some point during the 2000 and 2001 season… drugs were provided to… “Jason Grimsley, Chuck Knoblauch, Denny Neagle, Glenallen Hill, David Justice, Mike Stanton, Jose Canseco, Jim Leyritz and Andy Pettitte… plus… Roger Clemens. That’s ten players… minimum! On a twenty-five man team… that’s “at- least” forty-per-cent of your players… using performance enhancing drugs. And of course… that’s before Alex Rodriguez joined the team in 2004… and the absolute *UP-TO-THE-MINUTE-BOMBSHELL* released to the public yesterday… February 7, 2009… is that Rodriguez failed baseballs steroid test in 2003.

The second major subject covered in this book… is happily… more positive… and should be of interest to all fans… regardless of their team affiliation… and that’s the drastic changes… in the way teams… scout potential ballplayers… and the way they calculate… who they should trade for. This all came to pass… because of the advantage… in monetary riches the Yankees had over other teams. Competitive teams had to dig deeper… and use every ounce of knowledge they had… to try to combat their lack of money. Quoted heavily in this engrossing analysis is Billy Beane of “MONEYBALL” fame… and the Yankees hated rivals… the Boston Red Sox… who completely re-invented the way to build a winning team. One such example was… “INTELLECT AND PLAYER DEVELOPMENT IS WHERE BOSTON LAPPED THE YANKEES. THE RED SOX, FOR INSTANCE, BECAME SO INSATIABLE ABOUT THE POWER OF INFORMATION THAT THEY DEPLOYED EXPERT NUMBER CRUNCHERS TO THE NCAA HEADQUARTERS IN KANSAS TO INPUT EVERY AVAILABLE STATISTIC ON ALL COLLEGE PLAYERS IN HISTORY INTO A DATABASE. THEY THEN CROSS-REFERENCED THOSE NUMBERS AGAINST THE PERFORMANCE OF THOSE COLLEGE PLAYERS WHO MADE IT TO THE BIG LEAGUES, AND FROM THERE THEY DEVISED THEIR OWN TABLES OF HOW COLLEGE PERFORMANCE MIGHT HELP PREDICT MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCE-INFORMATION THAT WOULD BECOME CRITICAL IN THEIR DRAFT-DAY DECISIONS.”

I predict this book will become a modern baseball classic… as it digs into intricate details… not only on the field… but in the executive offices… which are now so much more tightly intertwined with scouting… along with the tawdry clubhouse… locker room… and “drug-den”… that baseball has unfortunately become.

[Brian Eshleman]

Verducci covers the big picture trends of baseball from 1996 to 2008 -- steroids, economics, parity, and more -- and handles the numbers nimbly to place events on the field in clear context. Torre is a little more star witness than subject, but nevertheless his remarkable character does come though.



The skipper's direct involvement and sage perspective allow for remarkably three-dimensional portrait of baseball's famous names as coworkers with good and bad days. For instance, it's easy to rip A-Rod, but they show him to be a tireless worker with supreme talent AND an insecure guy who fails to grasp the subtleties of interpersonal teamwork.

[Chad in the ATL · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting telling of Joe Torre's tenure with the New York Yankees and all of the drama that went with it. Filled with stats (probably too many stats) it is tailored for the baseball fan more than the casual reader. The timeline jumps around a bit too much and some things are repeated multiple times, but taken as a whole it provides an insiders look into a time in baseball that will probably never be repeated.

[Adam Carman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little repetitive at times, more like a collection of stand-alone essays. But a fascinating overview of the Yankee's latest dynasty. Torre puts his finger on the problem when he notes that earlier teams were ego-less comrades, not a cobbled together collection of superstars. It's a pity the Yankees treated Torre so poorly, but that's an outgrowth of New York sports fans: even winning isn't enough.

[Jay Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating - 9

Not really a Joe Torre memoir as it is mostly Verducci chronicling the twelve years with Torre providing the odd comment; Fact is, I am a sucker for the behind the scenes sports reads that reveal conflict

Repetitive in some of the examples (strike fifty pages) & draws distinct lines between those he respects & those he does not; Like business, team chemistry & winning attitudes are paramount to success

[Jose De la torre · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book a lot of detail could of been better in the way the chapters are organized

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to relive the really good days. Interesting insights into some things that were going on behind the scenes.