The Yankee Years

What happens in the clubhouse....definitely stays there

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves baseball, especially the Yankees. It makes you nostalgic for the Torre Era and wish there was a way for him to come back and manage the team again. All the hype about it being a back-stabbing, revenge thing is just not true and when you actually read the entire book, you see that Joe stays true to his personality and is honest without being over the line about what he says.(Or telling "dirty" clubhouse secrets.) It takes you on a trip down memory lane, sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes exciting, but you definitely get to see how difficult it is to manage a team like the Yankees and appreciate him more for doing it while also bringing the team to levels it had not seen in years. He is a class act in my opinion and always will be and I commend him for publishing this book knowing just how harsh the media can be.

11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.

"The Yankee Years" by Joe Torre

Being a huge Yankee fan, I was looking forward to purchasing this book, and bought a copy on the first day in the stores. I expected this to be a detailed book on the thoughts, directions, inspirations and visions of Joe Torre, with the obvious ghost writing inherent in this type of book. What I found was a drawn out account of Yankee history that lost the reader often, bounced back and forth with some facts and figures, and very little from the mind of Joe Torre! This really is a book by Tom Verducci, who just happened to ask questions of some of the Yankees - including Joe Torre. The book gets bogged down often and it became painful to read at times. I had to force myself to finish it! The whole first chapter set-up was never really detailed at all, and one never gets the final thought process behind the Yankee "termination" of Mr. Torre. I am sure it wasn't granted, but to get the real scoop from Steinbrenner or Cashman would have been great.
Clearly, Mr. Verducci had some Yankees who talked more than others (eg., Mike Mussina, for example), and I feel it put a slant on the whole book.

This really is a deceiving book when you see Joe Torre's name as the author, and Doubleday really did themselves harm by presenting the book in this fashion.

If I could I would return the book. For me, it wasn't worth the time reading!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

An ok book

The Yankee Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci is an informative biography. The book Yankee Years is one of the best biographies I have ever read. It tells Joe Torre's and the Yankee player's real opinions about each other. It shows excerpts from letters and paper articles made about players and Torre throughout the Torre era. The Joe Torre era takes place from 1996 - 2007 with Torre managing the Yankees in the Bronx.
The unique thing about Yankee Years is that there is not one specific conflict. As days and seasons pass by, different conflicts arise and others are resolved. Two examples of conflicts are Clemens and Rodriguez. Clemens face social problems when Rodriguez is all conceited. Clemens came over to the Bronx from Toronto. He was a Cy Young award winning pitcher who the Yankees desperately desired. He comes over and can't seem to fit in. He is very emotional and needed to be one on one with a personal trainer to really relax and do what he does. Steroid use helped Clemens get back to being Clemens, the dominating pitcher. This of course attracted the media.
Since this book is a biography we get the real words and real information. The book is mostly out of Torre's perspective except for a few interviews from players. The book used many curses and the tone went from being angry to funny, happy, or sad. Sport commentators, Newspaper writers or just people who like the Yankees should read this book. It brings you inside the clubhouse, on the field, off the field, and in the dugout. You'll what really went down in the dynasty.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Could have done more.

This book while well written could have been much more I felt there were many places where the writers went into great depth and detail about his more liked and respected players but stopped well short of any real critical opinions or comments of well documented shortfalls and failures. The author seemed to want both sides of the fence in that there were some provocative issues that could have been delved into in much greater insight and opinion. I felt that the authors wanted the publicity and reviews of inside information but were very conscious to stay away from any real feelings and opinions. After reading this book my feelings and opinions of Joe Torre and those involved were not changed or enhanced. I expected and wanted more. Seemed to be a vanilla attempt to sell books and make money.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very interesting perspective...

Joe Torre and Tom Verducci do an amazing job in detailing Torre's years with the Yankees. As a person who has grown up not to like the NYY, I really enjoyed this book and it has given me a whole new perspective on baseball and how the much goes on behind the scenes of a baseball club. Sometimes it's not all just about baseball... I would recommend for anyone who is truly a baseball fan, and those who don't know a lot about the game may find the book interesting as Torre explains how and why things are done, and how they affect what goes on during the game.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great read

One of the best books I've ever read - can't be because I'm a big Yankee fan!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

1996 1998 1999 2000

i cant belive how much i liked it i am a huge yankees fan i am going to read it again all in all the yankees yaers is a must read book for any big yankees fan.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Source, Not a Final History

Verducci picked Torre's brain to write this history of the Yankee years. However, he often repeats the same fact several times. Some of his points are certainly valid, but he seems to underrate some of the Yankee players, especially A-Rod. Torre also neatly ducks the responsibility for the steroid era. Hopefully, someone will eventually write the story of this Yankee era with a critical eye on all the protagonists. When that happens, we will be able to evaluate the Torre regime more clearly.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A bad Read!

Joe Torre had a small role in writing the book. His insights are annedotal and are newpaper style quotes. The book rambles and has very little continuity. The only insight, or lack thereof, is in regards to the drug culture pervasive in the club house. Torre lacks credibility in his alleged ignorance of the players' use. It is not a good baseball book in my opinion.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Joe's name is on this why?

As an admitted Yankee fan and attendee of many of the games cited in the book. I enjoyed the book immensly. However, Joe Torre's contribution to the writting is minimal at best. In fact it appears Verducci spent more time with David Cone and the Bullpen catcher. That said if you are an admirer of this period in Yankee History, I think you will enjoy the book

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not at all what I expected

The marketing of this book was deceptive. I expected a first person narrative directly from Joe. Instead, we get alot of of third person accounts of what Joe said, did or encountered. I suspect he did this to avoid the legal and media fallout of "taking on the Yankees".

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Disappointing

This did not seem like it was a Joe Torre's documentation of his Yankee years. The book seemed to reflect more of the observations and opinions of Tom Verducci than Joe Torre. Although Torre was quoted numerous times, Mike Messina was probably quoted just as many times. I thought the book was disappointing. There was also a lot of repetitive rhetoric related to the on going changes that were taking place though out baseball and the structure and management of teams.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

As good as it gets

After reading the review by Beach Boy 27 it is hard for me to come up with a better review. I agree with every word written by BB27. All of the early criticism of this book was unwarrented-just a few words taken out of context. The baseball players in this book are all millionaires and if they can't take listening to the truth about themselves they should go out and get a real job. I feel THE YANKEE YEARS also gives a perspective of what modern day baseball is all about. Putting a baseball team together today isn't what it used to be. The Yankee's organization needs to move into the present and not waste millions signing last year's best players. I can't wait to see if the half billion Yankee payroll can win the World Series. If not Cashman and all the lieutenants should resign and bring back Joe. He deserves it. By the way this is as good if not the best baseball book ever written. I just couldn't put it down. Baseball is still the best sport played and the more it is cleaned up the better it will be. With AROD coming out today to admit using performance enhancing drugs GAME OF SHADOWS would be a good read for anyone interested.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

great gift book for fans

Excellent resource for Yankee fans

Delivers An Inside Look

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. It is important to not this book is written by and from Tom Verducci's point of view always going to Torre's quotes to carry the subjects along.

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.

Torre's Book A Revelation--and A Winner

While I sometimes found the third-person approach a bit awkward, the strength of the writing and the power of the experiences of Joe Torre were more than enough to captivate this long-time Yankee fan. Much of Torre's psyche and motivations are revealed in the book, and Yankee fans will revel in the detail behind key trades and moments in Yankee history. If you want a pure Yankee experience, also read Bill Madden's excellent book on Steinbrenner either before or after reading this book (I read it after); doing that gives you a definite he said/he said perspective on what really happened. Maybe the truth is somewhere in between...

not what I expected

The book was not what I expected but was enjoyable for the most part. Some of the chapters were boring. It offered an insight into baseball and confirmed some of what I thought. It is a good book for any baseball fan. It does show if people would open their eyes to what they know larger problems would never happen. Overall, I'm glad I read the book and have passed it along. It would be good for a book club but only if everyone liked baseball.

Expected more!

It was easy reading.I have an even greater respect for Joe Torre.
The Yankees are winners and will always be there at the end.I don't think anyone who manages the Yankees will ever find it an easy or appreciated task.
Joe Torre was one of the best managers the Yankees ever had and look how great they treated him (faceitiously) in the end after 4 championships.
The Yankees are no longer without serious competion in the major leagues.Parity for the "Yanks" is here to stay!

Go Yankees...

Incredibly disappointing

I cannot think of a more disappointing book, on so many levels, than "The Yankee Years." This book being little more than Tom Verducci's poorly-written hatchet job against the New York Yankees organization and paean to the Boston Red Sox and MLB revenue-sharing plan, I doubt that Joe Torre wrote more than his section of the acknowledgements. I have always had great respect for Joe's managerial skills, even when he was with the Mets and Braves, but I am now very incredulous that so many steroids-abusing players -- including, currently, Manny Ramirez -- have played on his rosters under Torre's laissez-faire attitude. While Yankees fans all know of the rather unfair treatment at the hands of George Steinbrenner's Tampa management team, in general, the previously-classy Torre's allowing his name to be associated with this project will make me think he is capable of little more than sour grapes. The book reads as a disjointed mess, a seeming combination of Verducci's previous "Sports Illustrated" pieces with too little personal insight from Torre. If anything, I think the various quotes and perspectives from David Cone and Mike Mussina, among others, show more about Joe Torre's Yankee years than anything Joe added to the book. If you are looking for a great model of a sports biography with the subject encountering a fair share of controversy with management, I would say "Winning -- Nothing Else," Michel Roy's biography of his son, the great Patrick Roy of the National Hockey League, stands as a far more engrossing and well-written memoir. For me, then, "The Yankee Years" is a big whiff at the plate.

Joe tells it as it is, truthfully.

Even if your not a Yankee fan, this is a must read.
True insight from a gentle man.