The Game: Inside the Secret World of Major League Baseball's Power Brokers

by Jon Pessah

Overview

The incredible inside story of power, money, and baseball's last twenty years.

In the fall of 1992, America's National Pastime is in crisis and already on the path to the unthinkable: cancelling a World Series for the first time in history. The owners are at war with each other, their decades-long battle with the players has turned America against both sides, and the players' growing addiction to steroids will threaten the game's very foundation.

It is a tipping point for baseball, a crucial moment in the game's history that catalyzes a struggle for power by three strong-willed men: Commissioner Bud Selig, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and union leader Don Fehr. It's their uneasy alliance at the end of decades of struggle that pulls the game back from the brink and turns it into a money-making powerhouse that enriches them all.

This is the real story of baseball, played out against a tableau of stunning athletic feats, high-stakes public battles, and backroom political deals -- with a supporting cast that includes Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, Joe Torre and Derek Jeter, George Bush and George Mitchell, and many more.

Drawing from hundreds of extensive, exclusive interviews throughout baseball, The Game is a stunning achievement: a rigorously reported book and the must-read, fly-on-the-wall, definitive account of how an enormous struggle for power turns disaster into baseball's Golden Age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316242219
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	05/05/2015
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	922,050
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Jon Pessah was a founding editor of ESPN the Magazine. He has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, managed the sports departments for Newsday and the Hartford Courant, and edited, wrote, and ran the investigative team for ESPN the Magazine.

Table of Contents

Prologue 3

Part I Changing of the Guard (1992-1994)

Chapter 1 In Bud We Trust 11

Chapter 2 A Whole New World 31

Chapter 3 Inextricably Linked 42

Chapter 4 Resurrection 50

Chapter 5 System Failure 65

Chapter 6 For the Good of the Game 81

Chapter 7 Everything to Lose 92

Chapter 8 Fehr Strikes 103

Part II Art of the Deal (1994-1996)

Chapter 9 Endgame 115

Chapter 10 Fehr's Day in Court 127

Chapter 11 Back to Work 140

Chapter 12 New Foundations 153

Chapter 13 True Lies 166

Chapter 14 Dynasty 180

Chapter 15 Deal! 191

Part III Secret of Success (1997-2000)

Chapter 16 Setting Up Shop 205

Chapter 17 Almost Perfect 220

Chapter 18 Secrets 233

Chapter 19 Question of Balance 248

Chapter 20 Ring for Roger 267

Chapter 21 Hope and Faith 278

Chapter 22 Dollars and No Sense 293

Part IV Power Play (2001-2003)

Chapter 23 Miller Time 301

Chapter 24 More Than a Game 313

Chapter 25 Bud's Bluff 331

Chapter 26 Trouble Ahead 342

Chapter 27 New Deals 356

Chapter 28 Renovations 365

Chapter 29 Tipping Point 373

Chapter 30 Looking for Answers 387

Chapter 31 Testing Positive 395

Part V Revisionist History (2004-2007)

Chapter 32 Government Intervention 409

Chapter 33 Curses 425

Chapter 34 Selig's Choice 433

Chapter 35 Transfer of Power 447

Chapter 36 Calling Mr. Mitchell 464

Chapter 37 Last Stand 478

Chapter 38 A Change in Plans 495

Chapter 39 Mitchell Gets His Man 502

Chapter 40 Questions and Answers 514

Part VI Legacy (2008-2010)

Chapter 41 The More Things Change 531

Chapter 42 Moving On 546

Chapter 43 Road to Cooperstown 558

Epilogue 575

Acknowledgments 594

Notes and Sources 597

Index 631

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/18/2015
The action is in the boardroom, not the ballpark, in this dramatic account of the business side of baseball. Journalist Pessah follows the 23-year reign of retiring baseball commissioner Bud Selig. During his tenure, the sport wrestled with labor conflicts over ballooning player salaries, including a work stoppage that cancelled the 1994 World Series; a split between large-market and small-market teams over revenue-sharing; and the simmering scandal of steroid abuse, which threatens to wreck the game (after helping rescue it by fostering crowd-pleasing home run hitters). Pessah sometimes styles Selig as the man who saved baseball, but that judgment is belied by the hard-hitting substance of his narrative, which often shows the comissioner using underhanded tactics and making ill-considered decisions in pursuit of the narrow interests of owners (especially himself). Depicted as more heroic are Don Fehr, the players' union chief who parried Selig's maneuvers, and Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, the always entertaining tyrant who built great teams while improving the sport's finances. Pessah includes engaging play-by-play from key games, but his focus is on contract negotiations, revenue models, politics, deal-cutting, and the commercial calculations behind moving a team or injecting steroids. The resulting account of off-field strategizing is as engrossing as any stadium showdown. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Finalist for the 2015 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year

"A compelling, high-stakes look at baseball.... Pessah does a great job of providing glimpses of conversations fans were not privy to, while placing them in context by describing what was happening on the field in that moment. Essential for fans of 1990s- and 2000s-era baseball."—Library Journal (starred review)

"The action is in the boardroom, not the ballpark, in this dramatic account of the business side of baseball.... Pessah includes engaging play-by-play from key games, but his focus is on contract negotiations, revenue models, politics, deal-cutting, and the commercial calculations behind moving a team or injecting steroids. The resulting account of off-field strategizing is as engrossing as any stadium showdown."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Engaging, nitty-gritty account of the Bud Selig era, including backroom battles with George Steinbrenner, Don Fehr and steroids."—Sports Illustrated

"Pessah has made his book read like a great novel.... The author also brilliantly shows the impact the game had and continues to have on American life, and how it maintains its prominent place in the cycle and fabric of our country's summers. Pessah is adept at revealing the ebb and flow of fan despair, anger, and joy."—Russell P. Gantos Jr., New York Journal of Books

"In clear, accessible prose, [THE GAME] covers strikes, steroids and everything in between. Not an easy task. The most memorable sections are about Steinbrenner. Pessah deftly captures the man's heavy-handed—and often underhanded—leadership."—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times

One of "The Season's Best Baseball Books"

"A poignant account of the power struggle between three men: MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and player's union leader Don Fehr."—Robert Birnbaum, The Daily Beast

"This might be the definitive account of how front offices control Major League Baseball.... Pessah crafts freeze-frame descriptions of the most critical backroom moments of the modern era...."—Rob Fischer, Men's Journal

"There are lots of fresh notes, quotes and anecdotes in The Game, but its chief value for those who care is its meticulous reconstruction of the fraught era.... The most compelling parts of The Game deal with baseball's abject failure to confront the steroid plague."—Edward Kosner, Wall Street Journal

"A gritty and sensational history of America's national pastime... a juicy and engrossing story that reads like a thriller, with a star supporting cast... A must-read before 2016 labor negotiations begin. Pessah calls the game perfectly."—Marilyn Dahl, Shelf Awareness

"Serious baseball fans will appreciate the author's deep research and his ability to weave multiple stories together into a graceful narrative."—Kirkus Reviews

"An important addition that will go down as the ultimate look on the business side of the Bud Selig era."—David Schoenfield, ESPN

"Fascinating.... This juicy read focuses on three men who shaped [baseball's] history over [the last] two decades—Selig, union head Don Fehr, and Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.... the most surprising part of the book is without a doubt the portrait of Steinbrenner. While still rendered as an insatiable tyrant, the Boss—and his willingness to put his money where his mouth is—is a breath of fresh air."—The Daily Beast

"A sweeping and comprehensive investigation of the business of baseball over the past three decades.... Fascinating."—Anthony L. Fisher, Reason.com

"Pessah tells a story that is equal parts history lesson and political docudrama, cultivating an entertaining read.... An eye-opening account of how the current era of baseball was made and who, for better or worse, led it to where it is now.... I fully recommend any baseball fan who is passionate about the sport as a whole — both past, present, and future — to pick up The Game."—Charlie Poliseno, SB Nation's "DRaysBay"

"Highest recommendation."—Gordon Edes, ESPN Boston

"Jon Pessah clearly had good access to Bud Selig.... Very well done."—Budd Bailey, The Buffalo News

"MLB fans will love all the backstage accounts of the internecine warfare between commissioner and players, commissioner and owners, owners and owners and players and players."—Jim Dey, The News-Gazette

From the Publisher

★ 05/15/2015
Not many books about baseball focus on the perspectives and motivations of owners and officials as much as this one. Pessah, a founding editor of ESPN Magazine, weaves a large amount of research to create a compelling, high-stakes look at baseball from 1992, just before the resignation of former Commissioner of Baseball Fay Vincent, until 2010. Central to the story are some of the most famous figures in baseball during that time: commissioner Bud Selig, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) executive director Don Fehr. The author delves into topics such as the rise of steroids and the resulting scandals, disputes between the MLBPA and team owners, and the advent of revenue sharing. The strength of this work is that it pulls no punches. Bud Selig is seen as obsessed with controlling public perception of his legacy; that desire is evident in the decisions he makes as commissioner. Pessah does a great job of providing glimpses of conversations fans were not privy to, while placing them in context by describing what was happening on the field in that moment. VERDICT Essential for fans of 1990s- and 2000s-era baseball.—Matt Schirano, Magnus Wahlstrom Lib., Bridgeport, CT

Library Journal

Jeremy Arthur’s narration shapes the story of the power struggle that occurred in baseball from the early 1990s to 2010. He never camps up accents, never uses imitations; he just recounts the three parallel stories: the inner turmoil in the Yankees front office, led by George Steinbrenner; the politicking surrounding the administration of baseball commissioner Bud Selig; and the labor fight between union and management. Save for a couple of mispronunciations, Arthur capably narrates this twenty-year moment in time, on and off the diamond. His occasional incredulity is appropriate as the listener hears about some of the behind-the-scenes bumbling that went on. M.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

JULY 2015 - AudioFile

Jeremy Arthur’s narration shapes the story of the power struggle that occurred in baseball from the early 1990s to 2010. He never camps up accents, never uses imitations; he just recounts the three parallel stories: the inner turmoil in the Yankees front office, led by George Steinbrenner; the politicking surrounding the administration of baseball commissioner Bud Selig; and the labor fight between union and management. Save for a couple of mispronunciations, Arthur capably narrates this twenty-year moment in time, on and off the diamond. His occasional incredulity is appropriate as the listener hears about some of the behind-the-scenes bumbling that went on. M.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

JULY 2015 - AudioFile

2015-05-06
A massive institutional history of Major League Baseball since 1992. In this hefty tome, Pessah, a founding editor of ESPN the Magazine, provides a history of baseball from the vantage point not of the players or even the games on the field, but rather through the lens of three of its most powerful off-the-field figures. The first of these is Bud Selig, Milwaukee Brewers owner-turned Commissioner of Baseball and the central personality in the narrative. Indeed, the book is essentially a history of Selig's tenure in the commissioner's office. The second is Don Fehr, the head of the MLB Players Association, the most powerful and successful union in professional sports (and maybe in American life). Rounding out Pessah's troika is the most dubious selection, George Steinbrenner, the late New York Yankees owner. Steinbrenner was undoubtedly a significant presence in baseball history but not necessarily that much more essential than a number of other owners and others stalking the game's circles of power. Serious baseball fans will appreciate the author's deep research and his ability to weave multiple stories together into a graceful narrative. But those who want to focus on the game on the field may leave unsatisfied, as some of the major events in baseball's history in the last quarter-century or so get short shrift—e.g., the epic 2004 postseason run of the Boston Red Sox and dozens of other vital moments. In their places are front-office battles, Machiavellian machinations, and boardroom egos. These are not unimportant topics, and they are what Pessah promises, but they may not be the most important in the minds of those who love the game. Labor strife and controversies over performance-enhancing drugs absolutely are essential to baseball's recent history, but the author presents them as virtually the only parts that matter. An important but incomplete picture of baseball's Bud Selig era.

Kirkus Reviews