The Yankee Way: The Untold Inside Story of the Brian Cashman Era

by Andy Martino Narrated by Andy Martino

Overview

With rare access to the inner sanctum of the New York Yankees, SNY analyst Andy Martino weaves two years of exclusive interviews with general manager Brian Cashman into a revelatory account of never-before-told stories about Derek Jeter, Aaron Judge, Alex Rodriguez, the complex front office, team ownership, and insights into the World Series wins and day-to-day running of the team that fans never get to see.

When Brian Cashman arrived in the Bronx as an intern in 1986, he discovered a team in chaos, run on impulse and emotion and lacking the sheen that had defined the Yankees in earlier eras. Decades later, Cashman had risen through the ranks of the front office, earned the trust of the Steinbrenner family, and become the longest-serving GM in the Yankees' storied history, helping to transform the Yankees to glory with a string of World Series championships and an unmatched streak of winning seasons. *

With unprecedented inside access and featuring exclusive interviews with Cashman, owner Hal Steinbrenner, top front-office executives, current Yankee stars and coaches, award-winning baseball journalist Andy Martino gives fans a view from the GM's seat that we would never normally see. From Cashman's battles with inscrutable team captain Derek Jeter, to tensions between Jeter and A-Rod, to Cashman's struggles with beloved manager Joe Torre. This book explores the management of egos on the field and in the front office, as well as the evolution of the manager position over generations and into the analytics era. Packed with drama and intrigue, this is the definitive inside account of the most intriguing and storied franchise in Major League Baseball.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Vivid… The Yankee Way is Andy Martino’s playful romp through modern Yankee history… What sets this book apart from the usual Yankees hagiography—and what makes it palatable even to a Red Sox fan who lives in Pittsburgh and actually does root for U.S. Steel—is its portrait of the inside mechanics of the game.”
—The Wall Street Journal

"A stroke of baseball genius... [Martino] finally defines the one and only true 'Yankee Way.'"
—Elite Sports NY

“Andy Martino has uncovered the secret sauce behind the Yankees sustained excellence, aka, The Yankee Way. Through countless interviews and tireless digging, Martino has cracked the previous proprietary code of what makes the Yankees the Yankees. This book covers all the years that I have been around the Yankees and I found myself frequently saying, ‘I didn’t know that.’ It’s a must read for anyone who loves baseball and wants to know how the sausage is made.”
—Michael Kay, New York Yankees broadcaster for the YES Network, and host of The Michael Kay Show on ESPN New York Radio

"Every Yankees fan knows the boldface names and broad-strokes history of the most successful franchise in sports. Now, with Andy Martino’s comprehensive and compelling The Yankee Way, we go behind the pinstriped curtain to the engine room of the empire. With lively anecdotes and insights from a wide array of first-hand sources, Martino weaves a tale of relationships forged and broken, architects emboldened and belittled, philosophies embraced and rejected – and the pull of an ever-evolving front office that keeps Brian Cashman, the indefatigable general manager, coming back for more."
—Tyler Kepner, Senior Writer, The Athletic and New York Times bestselling author of K and The Grandest Stage

“This is your all-access pass to the inner workings of the Yankees front office. Andy Martino has hit a grand slam for anyone who ever dreamed of having a seat at the table.”
—Bryan Hoch, Yankees reporter for MLB.com, author of 62: Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees and the Pursuit of Greatness

“I have written about Brian Cashman for more than 30 years for five different newspapers in the New York market. I thought I knew every last detail about Cashman’s career in the Yankees’ front office. I was wrong: Thanks to relentless reporting, Andy Martino opened my eyes with a deep-tissue portrait of Major League Baseball’s most successful – and most polarizing – executive. The Yankee Way marries access and insight to deliver a reading experience that’s impossible to put down.
—Bob Klapisch, New York Times best-selling author of Inside the Empire and baseball columnist for the Star-Ledger/NJ.com

“In The Yankee Way, Andy Martino gives rare insight into the inner workings of the Yankees. I learned something new in every chapter.”
—Zack Britton, Yankees pitcher, 2018-2022

“Martino...does another great job of presenting his topic in empathetic and practical terms... The Yankee Way undoubtedly will be a critical work in the literary oeuvre about this historic franchise.”
—Bookreporter

“Martino (Cheated), who covers Major League Baseball for SportsNet New York, delivers a winning chronicle of the recent history of the New York Yankees focused on the tenure of general manager Brian Cashman . . . A colorful portrait of a transformative era, this should be required reading for Yankees fans.”
—Publishers Weekly

"A must-read for Yankees fans, and even those who hate the Yankees will learn a thing or two about the game."
—Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2024-04-04
An in-depth look at Brian Cashman’s stewardship of the New York Yankees.

In 2022, notes sportswriter and SNY analyst Martino, Cashman “quietly achieved a significant milestone…he passed Ed Barrow as the longest-tenured general manager in the history of the world’s most iconic sports franchise.” That was no small accomplishment, given former owner George Steinbrenner’s volatility. It hasn’t helped that over the years, Cashman had to deal with both Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, who figure here as prima donnas. Cashman isn’t well known to general fans outside the Yankees orbit, though he’s central to the club. As Martino relates, although Billy Beane is likely the best known of all GMs thanks to Michael Lewis’ Moneyball, Beane himself has said that “Cashman is the best to ever do the job,” calling him “the Tom Brady of GMs.” Apart from the ups and downs of Cashman’s career, which didn’t always hit Steinbrenner’s metric of success (namely, winning the World Series), Martino is very good at detailing the many things that a general manager does, from hand-holding players who need a little extra attention to kicking dirt on umpires’ shoes à la Billy Martin. It’s clear from his account that Cashman paid attention to his peers and predecessors in how he evaluated players not just by numbers but also by intangibles like character, where numerous championship-level players come up short. Cashman’s player acquisitions, though sometimes at odds with the owners’ wishes, have tended to be right, though they’ve entailed battles along the way—e.g., the decision not to re-sign Rodriguez, the fight to keep superstar Aaron Judge (“their icon, their marketable Ruth/DiMaggio/Mantle/Jeter”) on the roster, and so forth—recounted in Martino’s memorable set pieces.

A must-read for Yankees fans, and even those who hate the Yankees will learn a thing or two about the game.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159634276
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	05/21/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

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