I was raised in the same neighborhood as Joe Torre, the Marine Park section of Brooklyn, New York. I went to the same High School as Torre at Madison High School. So, anything that pertains to Joe Torre is very special to me.
The fact that he did not play for the Yankees in his career astounds me. He played for the Cardinals, Braves and Mets and then coached the Mets, Atlanta and the Cardinals before getting fired after the 1995 playoffs
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
This book is not quite Joe Torre’s memior. His voice is heard throughout the book, but Tom Verducci conducted lots of interviews of players that played under Torre as well as throughout the rest of the league. The story told is about Torre’s relationship with the Yankees from the '90s when he was hired, up until just after the Yankees lost the 2007 ALDS to the Indians.
To say the book came out to a flurry of press both good and bad would be an understatement. With the help of the NY Post and the Daily News this book was almost infamous before it even hit the shelves. Despite the media’s focus on the gossip, it is a well written tale that is not just a typical behind the scenes look at the team. It also documents the shift in baseball over the years and how the Yankees were slow to adjust
It also documents the shift in baseball and the Yankees that took place from the late nineties to the 21st century. Baseball was a changing world and neither the Yankees nor Joe Torre were quite ready for the statistical revolution the sport was undergoing. Verducci often compares the Yankees to the Red Sox especially as he is detailing the 2003 and 2004 playoffs where the two teams faced head-to-head in the ALCS twice.
The importance on statistics is not the only shift this book sees, Torre reminisces about the late '90s teams like they were gods often talking about their “desperation to win” and once the team shifted so did the attitude of George Steinbrenner and Torre’s relationship with the team. Torre never really connected with some of those teams post-2001 and it shows throughout this book.
The second half is really where the gossip starts, as optimistic as the first part of the book was—the second half of this book can get pretty underhanded. From Torre revealing that teammates called Alex Rodriguez “A-Fraud” behind his back, to players problems with Carl Pavano, to dealing with a surly Kevin Brown and his tantrums.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing that most fans who followed the Yankees everyday didn’t know and there is nothing too horrible, but there is a dramatic mood shift.
The book ends as Torre and Verducci outline exactly how Torre’s relationship with the team split with the final nail seeming to be Torre listing the trust of Brian Cashman. Obviously it takes a very pro-Torre side of the issue. This is going to be the only part that some anti-Torre people might have a hard time getting through.
I’ve always been a Torre fan though I personally felt that while he was still a good manager he wasn’t a good fit for the team anymore. A change was good. That’s why the end was odd for me.
Torre was clearly having a harder time dealing with the team in the later years especially with George Steinbrenner starting to take a backseat in the organization. Yet, he is almost attacking the team for not offering him a second year of a contract after 2007. Why deal with everything with such bitterness?
Overall this is a really good book though. Fans should read this book, especially newer fans who weren’t paying attention to the team in the '90s.
This is a pretty unique behind the scenes look at that team that might give you a real appreciation for what the team went through including why the Yankees were able to win despite Steinbrenner and the trades that were and almost were that put those dynasty teams together. Finally it tells you how it all fell apart.
The fact that he did not play for the Yankees in his career astounds me. He played for the Cardinals, Braves and Mets and then coached the Mets, Atlanta and the Cardinals before getting fired after the 1995 playoffs
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
This book is not quite Joe Torre’s memior. His voice is heard throughout the book, but Tom Verducci conducted lots of interviews of players that played under Torre as well as throughout the rest of the league. The story told is about Torre’s relationship with the Yankees from the '90s when he was hired, up until just after the Yankees lost the 2007 ALDS to the Indians.
To say the book came out to a flurry of press both good and bad would be an understatement. With the help of the NY Post and the Daily News this book was almost infamous before it even hit the shelves. Despite the media’s focus on the gossip, it is a well written tale that is not just a typical behind the scenes look at the team. It also documents the shift in baseball over the years and how the Yankees were slow to adjust
It also documents the shift in baseball and the Yankees that took place from the late nineties to the 21st century. Baseball was a changing world and neither the Yankees nor Joe Torre were quite ready for the statistical revolution the sport was undergoing. Verducci often compares the Yankees to the Red Sox especially as he is detailing the 2003 and 2004 playoffs where the two teams faced head-to-head in the ALCS twice.
The importance on statistics is not the only shift this book sees, Torre reminisces about the late '90s teams like they were gods often talking about their “desperation to win” and once the team shifted so did the attitude of George Steinbrenner and Torre’s relationship with the team. Torre never really connected with some of those teams post-2001 and it shows throughout this book.
The second half is really where the gossip starts, as optimistic as the first part of the book was—the second half of this book can get pretty underhanded. From Torre revealing that teammates called Alex Rodriguez “A-Fraud” behind his back, to players problems with Carl Pavano, to dealing with a surly Kevin Brown and his tantrums.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing that most fans who followed the Yankees everyday didn’t know and there is nothing too horrible, but there is a dramatic mood shift.
The book ends as Torre and Verducci outline exactly how Torre’s relationship with the team split with the final nail seeming to be Torre listing the trust of Brian Cashman. Obviously it takes a very pro-Torre side of the issue. This is going to be the only part that some anti-Torre people might have a hard time getting through.
I’ve always been a Torre fan though I personally felt that while he was still a good manager he wasn’t a good fit for the team anymore. A change was good. That’s why the end was odd for me.
Torre was clearly having a harder time dealing with the team in the later years especially with George Steinbrenner starting to take a backseat in the organization. Yet, he is almost attacking the team for not offering him a second year of a contract after 2007. Why deal with everything with such bitterness?
Overall this is a really good book though. Fans should read this book, especially newer fans who weren’t paying attention to the team in the '90s.
This is a pretty unique behind the scenes look at that team that might give you a real appreciation for what the team went through including why the Yankees were able to win despite Steinbrenner and the trades that were and almost were that put those dynasty teams together. Finally it tells you how it all fell apart.