DUGOUT BOOK REVIEW
Well, well, we my Dugout family. Have I got a great book for you to read.
Let me start with a great question that is going to bring a lot of you folk out there to voice your views: WHO HATES THE NEW YORK YANKEES???
As they say in Yiddish “Oy Vay!” I can just imagine the responses on this one. Especially since I bleed Yankee Blue.
You might hate the Yankees and you might know why, but Gene Hutmaker actually wrote his memoirs “Banned In The Bronx.” The Yankees Hater Memoirs 1953-2005, based on that hatred.
First let me say. This is really a good book. With help from Michael A. Hutmaker, Gene’s son, who is a Yankee fan, the research and the history woven into those years are amazing. It is more than just a rag on the Yankees book. It is history coming alive because Gene creates a year by year snapshot that went on during this time period.
Gene takes us back to 1953 where he recollects that the Yankees were talked about being “EVIL,” and that rooting for them is like rooting for United States Steel. Nothing more than a corporate giant who everyone hates because they are big and get the money and the glory.
But remember fans, Gene grew up in the Yankee heyday. 1953 was a time when the Korean War was coming to an end and a new President was leading the Country; Dwght D. Eisenhower, the great Commanding General of the Second World War. Further, growing up in a household during the Communist scare where the Cold War and Senator Joe McCarthy were all over the news, influenced Gene to hate the Yankees like the free Western world hated Russia and what she stood for.
Change was everywhere except in the Bronx in 1953. One thing was not changing. The Yankees were on their way to win their fifth World Series Championship. For a kid who liked other teams and seeing so much literature on the Yankee heroes like Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio it gets tiresome and depressing.
So Gene threw his allegiance to the St. Louis Cardinals and followed the National League rather than the American League.
One of the more fascinating reasons Gene hated the Yankees that his dad worked as a caddy at the Montclair Country Club in the 1930’s when the Great Depression was devastating the country. One of the golfers he caddied for was George Weiss, future General Manager of the New York Yankees who was legendary as being the cheapest GM in the league. Tipping a caddy cheaply in a time where money was scarce kind of has its repercussions. Gene’s dad really took exception to being tipped cheaply, especially when you rely on those tips.
Gene’s mother grew up a sports fan and loved the Yankees for a while until the Yanks traded their star pitcher, Hank Borowy away to the Cubs during the 1945 season, and who helped the Cubs land in the 1945 World Series. Borowy was also a neighbor, and Gene’s mother never forgave the Yankee franchise again.
Gene chronicles each chapter in the book by that particular year in baseball. For a Yankee fan, the hard to read the sections in the book are 1955, 1960, 1964, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1997, 2001, 2003, and 2004. All those years are where the Yankees lost.
For Gene. His heartbreak was in the 1985 World Series when his beloved Cardinals who were up 3 games to 1 on the Royals and in the 5th game Umpire, Don Denkinger missed the call at first base and called the Royals’ Jorge Orta safe when the replay shows he was out. The Cardinals were just three outs away from winning the World Series and then dropped the next three games, last one being a blowout and the Royals took the World Series Championship.
One of the many good things about Gene’s book is his consistent use of statistics on a given player or team. To those baseball number people, they will love the numbers and the fine detail.
I would recommend all of you to buy this funny, informative and historical account of the years from 1953-2005 through the eyes of the self -proclaimed “Yankee Hater.” You get to see Gene grow up and get older along with the players who come and go in the game throughout the years and an overview of the history and the winners of the World Series.
Remember folks, this is coming from a Yankee fan. But then again when a team has 27 rings, has a bulls eye on their emblem and who are the most successfull franchise ever in a major sport: there will always be haters.
Gene Hutmaker might be the leader of this cult following of Yankee Haters.
For more than 50 years Gene Hutmaker has observed baseball from every possible vantage point - a player, coach, umpire, and most importantly, a lifelong fan. His ability to recall obscure facts and stats has earned him the moniker 'The Baseball Rainman'. He recently retired from the U.S. Postal Service after 40 years and is a Viet Nam Army Veteran. He is married to Josephine (44 years and counting) and has two sons (both Yankee fans), co-author Michael, a University Dean, and Christopher, a former All-State baseball player and Wall Street Executive
For those of you who want to more about Gene and his book please go to his website for more information. http://www.bannedinthebronx.com/
Well, well, we my Dugout family. Have I got a great book for you to read.
Let me start with a great question that is going to bring a lot of you folk out there to voice your views: WHO HATES THE NEW YORK YANKEES???
As they say in Yiddish “Oy Vay!” I can just imagine the responses on this one. Especially since I bleed Yankee Blue.
You might hate the Yankees and you might know why, but Gene Hutmaker actually wrote his memoirs “Banned In The Bronx.” The Yankees Hater Memoirs 1953-2005, based on that hatred.
First let me say. This is really a good book. With help from Michael A. Hutmaker, Gene’s son, who is a Yankee fan, the research and the history woven into those years are amazing. It is more than just a rag on the Yankees book. It is history coming alive because Gene creates a year by year snapshot that went on during this time period.
Gene takes us back to 1953 where he recollects that the Yankees were talked about being “EVIL,” and that rooting for them is like rooting for United States Steel. Nothing more than a corporate giant who everyone hates because they are big and get the money and the glory.
But remember fans, Gene grew up in the Yankee heyday. 1953 was a time when the Korean War was coming to an end and a new President was leading the Country; Dwght D. Eisenhower, the great Commanding General of the Second World War. Further, growing up in a household during the Communist scare where the Cold War and Senator Joe McCarthy were all over the news, influenced Gene to hate the Yankees like the free Western world hated Russia and what she stood for.
Change was everywhere except in the Bronx in 1953. One thing was not changing. The Yankees were on their way to win their fifth World Series Championship. For a kid who liked other teams and seeing so much literature on the Yankee heroes like Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio it gets tiresome and depressing.
So Gene threw his allegiance to the St. Louis Cardinals and followed the National League rather than the American League.
One of the more fascinating reasons Gene hated the Yankees that his dad worked as a caddy at the Montclair Country Club in the 1930’s when the Great Depression was devastating the country. One of the golfers he caddied for was George Weiss, future General Manager of the New York Yankees who was legendary as being the cheapest GM in the league. Tipping a caddy cheaply in a time where money was scarce kind of has its repercussions. Gene’s dad really took exception to being tipped cheaply, especially when you rely on those tips.
Gene’s mother grew up a sports fan and loved the Yankees for a while until the Yanks traded their star pitcher, Hank Borowy away to the Cubs during the 1945 season, and who helped the Cubs land in the 1945 World Series. Borowy was also a neighbor, and Gene’s mother never forgave the Yankee franchise again.
Gene chronicles each chapter in the book by that particular year in baseball. For a Yankee fan, the hard to read the sections in the book are 1955, 1960, 1964, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1997, 2001, 2003, and 2004. All those years are where the Yankees lost.
For Gene. His heartbreak was in the 1985 World Series when his beloved Cardinals who were up 3 games to 1 on the Royals and in the 5th game Umpire, Don Denkinger missed the call at first base and called the Royals’ Jorge Orta safe when the replay shows he was out. The Cardinals were just three outs away from winning the World Series and then dropped the next three games, last one being a blowout and the Royals took the World Series Championship.
One of the many good things about Gene’s book is his consistent use of statistics on a given player or team. To those baseball number people, they will love the numbers and the fine detail.
I would recommend all of you to buy this funny, informative and historical account of the years from 1953-2005 through the eyes of the self -proclaimed “Yankee Hater.” You get to see Gene grow up and get older along with the players who come and go in the game throughout the years and an overview of the history and the winners of the World Series.
Remember folks, this is coming from a Yankee fan. But then again when a team has 27 rings, has a bulls eye on their emblem and who are the most successfull franchise ever in a major sport: there will always be haters.
Gene Hutmaker might be the leader of this cult following of Yankee Haters.
For more than 50 years Gene Hutmaker has observed baseball from every possible vantage point - a player, coach, umpire, and most importantly, a lifelong fan. His ability to recall obscure facts and stats has earned him the moniker 'The Baseball Rainman'. He recently retired from the U.S. Postal Service after 40 years and is a Viet Nam Army Veteran. He is married to Josephine (44 years and counting) and has two sons (both Yankee fans), co-author Michael, a University Dean, and Christopher, a former All-State baseball player and Wall Street Executive
For those of you who want to more about Gene and his book please go to his website for more information. http://www.bannedinthebronx.com/