The Yankee Years, Joe Torre
The Yankee Years, Joe Torre
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The Yankee Years

Author: Joe Torre, Tom Verducci

Narrator: Tom Verducci

Abridged: 8 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/03/2009


Synopsis

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.

About The Author

Joe Torre played for the Braves, the Cardinals, and the Mets before managing all three teams. From 1996 to 2007, Torre managed the New York Yankees. He is currently the manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tony on February 12, 2009

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, bu......more

Goodreads review by Matthew on November 09, 2023

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......more

Goodreads review by Kevin on December 03, 2017

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.......more


Quotes

“One of the best books about baseball ever written.”—New York Daily News 

"An insightful and non-hagiographic look at a legendary manager and team during one of baseball's most transformational eras."--Boston Globe
  
"The consummate insider's view of what may be the last great dynasty in baseball history."--Los Angeles Times
 
"An appealing portrait of a likable, hard-working man. One closes the book with a high regard for Mr. Torre, not least as a manager."--Wall Street Journal
 
"A lively chronicle. . . . What this book does . . . very persuasively is chart the rise and fall of one of baseball's great dynasties, while showing the care and feeding it took to bring the city of New York four championships in five years." —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
 
"A capacious fresh account of [Torre’s] great run in the Bronx.... Verducci has range and ease; he's a shortstop on the page." —The New Yorker
 
"Compelling. . . . A hybrid of insider reporting [and] autobiography." —The Christian Science Monitor
 
“Fascinating reading.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“[Filled with] many insights, some about human nature, many about the great American game.” —Bloomberg News