"The Yankee Years" - Excerpt 2

I just finished reading the section of the book about the 1998 world series, and I found a couple of interesting comments.  Here is George Steinbrenner's take on the 1998 Yankees team:

"This," he said, "is as good as any team I've ever had, and as good as any team I've ever seen.  There's never been anyone better." - Page 66

The debate continues to this day of the best baseball team of all time.  I know the 1927, 1939 and 1998 Yankee teams are all in the mix.  Baseball-Almanac has the 1927 Yankees as the best team of all time using an explicit formula.  Do you agree?

Tom Verducci followed Steinbrenner's quote with a very clear summary of the 1998 team:

"It was never as good as it was in 1998, not with the near-perfect composition of the roster, the peak-age talent and the singular mindset of 25 grinders rolled into 125 victories.  A desperation to win.  That is what made them so historic." - Page 66

My immediate reaction to this description was recognizing just how far the Yanks have veered off track of compiling a team of winners.  The book talks a lot about the unselfishness of all 25 players on the team.  Even when a player would have a great game, it wouldn't mean anything if they lost.  Winning was all that mattered.  

I guarantee you that nobody can say with a straight face that Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira or CC Sabathia only have winning on their minds.  These are players that would fight between a $160 million contract and a $161 million contract.  

These players went to the team with the highest bid.  If the Nationals had bid an extra million per year on any of these guys, the player(s) would have signed with the Nats.  Winning was the furthest thing from their minds.

Photo from Newsday

"The Yankee Years" - Excerpt 1

I just got Joe Torre's book this past weekend, unfortunately I haven't had a lot of time to get very far in it. This will be one of many excerpts chosen by me that I will display for your viewing pleasure. You will also get my take on it, of course.

My first quote is about the 1996 season. Torre is talking about what George Steinbrenner's mentality was like on an everyday basis.

"I was so excited to be managing a club that had a chance to win that whatever he dealt out to me, I was in a great frame of mind with it," Torre said. "We'd be winning games and he'd be semi-embarrassed because we'd win on a squeeze bunt or a base hit. He wanted to mutilate people." - Page 14

This book shares a lot of inside information like this that really fascinates me. I love hearing about the specifics of what really went on in the clubhouse.

Just before this quote, the book enlightened me of how good the Yankees bullpen was in '96. "They were 70-3 when they led after six innings." 70-3..........? That's absurd. Mariano Rivera six, John Wetteland three - every time.

Joe Torre's book

Joe Torre's book "The Yankee Years" is now on sale. It's hard to get around as a college freshman like myself, but I am looking to read this book one way or another as soon as I can.

I found this review online if you are interested:

The following content was provided by the publisher.
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...continue reading here