The Yankee Years
On balance, an excellent read in spite of some frustrating overwriting.Plum-colored prose is a frequent fault of baseball books that I can tolerate at some times better than at others; here it’s bothersome because Verducci is ordinarily quite controlled, and a higher-than-expected number of copy errors didn’t help.
Nitpicking, perhaps, but consider this example, which concludes an analysis of Alex Rodriguez’s clueless approach to his own presentation:
“I began to think about the pinstripes?””The allure of the tradition?””Set my legacy?” Who spoke like that?
Well, I’d have put the question mark outside the quotation marks, to clarify that it’s not part of the quoted material, so don’t look at me.Heh.The error undercuts the larger point, and it’s a shame, because the section leading up to that sequence pulls together a lot of good insights — but it’s tough to get by with a “who talks like this” crack when your own usage is incorrect, and it happens too many times in a text the publishers must have known would get tons of attention.
Likewise the stale copy from p. 380: “As Steinbrenner dabbed at a melancholy tear, Torre knew life with the Yankees would never be the same for both of them.””A melancholy tear” is just not allowed after your sophomore year of high school; “either of them” is the indicated phrasing; “who spoke like that,” indeed.
The Yankee Years has enough dirt to make any clanky writing well worth suffering, though.Fans of the team have introduced palm to face almost continuously over the past seven or eight years in response to various inexplicable free-agent signings and pitching assessments that seemed to proceed from 3 AM tarot readings instead of research; Verducci actually does his research, and supplies zingy quotes and anecdotes confirming that Carl Pavano really is that much of a douche and Kevin Brown really was that bad of a call.
On one hand, it’s a relief to know we weren’t all taking crazy pills.On the other hand, I got annoyed by Jaret Wright all over again, and anyone who got heartburn from Kei Igawa (“anyone who didn’t” is likely a smaller cohort) may want to skip the section detailing how much he cost.
The narrative is structured well, too.The book doesn’t get mired in overly detailed descriptions of games and series that most readers remember fine on their own, and given the subject matter, Verducci does a good job keeping the Hagiograph-O-Tron from overheating.
…Usually.Once again Derek Jeter is presented as the chosen one, the favorite son, the steady leader who comes through in the clutch and then goes home for a relaxing non-tabloid-reported evening of inventing indoor plumbing and hanging the moon.I know Torre loves DJ — hey, I love DJ, but I haaaaate the fact that Jeter is either the saintly captain and the talisman of the franchise’s past good fortune or he’s an overrated android who can’t go to his left.I don’t direct this complaint at Verducci; again, if anything I suspect he’s rubbed some dirt on the halo since earlier drafts.
I’ve just gotten so tired of explaining that, like the majority of Yankee fans, I already know that Jeter is not a defensive wizard, I already know that even in his prime a periodic flashy play in the hole masked everyday performance that was merely competent or competent-plus, I already know that his habit of playing hurt is less Gary-Cooper-esque reliability and leadership and more a gesture made to an empty room that winds up hurting the team when it torpedos his OBP.”Jeter is the most overrated defensive shortstop in the –” no he isn’t, not anymore, because all anyone ever does is bag on his defense to the point where now he’s under-rated again.
Look.No: look.We watch him every day.We know.We know better than you, and it isn’t the fans who make out the lineup card every day, so please, please stop talking to Yankee fans about Jeter like we’re benighted fools blinded by the effulgence of his setting star or whatever goddamn thing.”He’s got no range” is so not a revelation that it’s practically stamped into U.S. currency, and acting like it is makes you sound ignorant.
Having gotten that off my chest (…again), I’ll return to the book, which I’d definitely recommend despite the minor irritants detailed above.It’s structured well, it’s paced well, it’s got a wealth of behind-the-scenes details, and while it’s not critical of Torre (obviously), it’s not too aggrandizing either.Would I read a book Torre hadn’t collaborated on that dug into some of the bullpen-use decisions that gave me 1,583 heart attacks over the years?Sure.But until that one gets written, this one will more than do.
Tags: Alex Rodriguez bad baseball writing books Carl Pavano Derek Jeter Jaret Wright Joe Torre Kei Igawa Kevin Brown our friend English shut up tabloids Tom Verducci
“Well, I’d have put the question mark outside the quotation marks, to clarify that it’s not part of the quoted material, so don’t look at me.”
Heh. Unless the point of the quoted material is that Rodriguez, like, talks with an uptick? At the end of sentences? Which would make the “Who spoke like that?” objection somewhat more literal. (But which, I’m fairly sure, isn’t the case.)
Also: “Verducci does a good job keeping the Hagiograph-O-Tron from overheating.”
HA! Thanks for that.
I’m in the middle of this book right now and as a casual baseball (and Yankees) fan, I’m finding it an interesting read so far. Like you, I appreciate that it doesn’t go into a pitch-by-pitch replay of every important game — not because I remember the games so well, but because I would find that really boring. That was one of my big problems with the Stephen King/Stewart O’Nan Red Sox book a few years back. Too much play-by-play.
Anyway, the other thing I like about the book so far is that it gives a decent description of some of the big issues of the game, like the effects of sabremetricians and the efforts of the league to achieve parity. While I am tangentially familiar with those issues, this book has helped to give me a better understanding of them and I wondered if it would be dull for someone like you, Sars, who follows the game more closely.
No real shockers in terms of the clubhouse personalities, but I do appreciate the peek inside the dugout too. It is a little too obvious who collaborated with the author and who didn’t, and in the chapter on steroids and supplements, I got a little sick of reading quotes from McNamee, who still seems less than credible to me. I believe him re: Clemens but when he was talking about the sport as a whole, but denying he did anything wrong, it came off as dubious.
I actually broke out laughing on the train reading the section where Mussina compares Pavano’s pitching to transplant patients’ organ rejection. Awesome simile and dead on target.
I noticed that Verducci cribbed a few sections from his SI articles (which were conveniently en-booked two years ago and which I’d recently re-read). I don’t suppose it’s plagiarism when it’s your own work, but it ain’t exactly fresh reportage, either.
Still, it was well researched and chock full of backstage dirt. Thumbs up.
Side note: I just finished the Pearlman Clemens book reviewed here a couple of weeks ago. Dude. The guy acually used ‘unphased.’ May I hit him with a brick? That couldn’t possibly faze him! Grlgle.
@Kim: I didn’t find those sections dull; I did think they were a bit too sympathetic to the “he’s a baseball man” school of thought that is still dismissing sabermetrics as geek hoodoo. Instincts, years of experience, those things still count, but I thought Cashman should have been harshed on for poor politicking, not because he got into stats (which he should have done earlier, and should have stuck to his guns tighter on).
I forgot to say that the book made me miss Moose. I’m glad for him that he retired, I think it was the right call, but sometimes boyfriend could get salty, and when he called Pavano out, it was pretty awesome.
Maybe it’s because I’m only halfway through, but so far the section on stats seems pretty favorable to me — I just read the part talking about the transformation of the Red Sox with the new hires who were all numbers guys.
Sars,
As an Indians fan: Thanks. Thanks for Carl Pavano. Do we need this right now? God!
I may have to pick up this book.
I don’t think Verducci is against the stat guys, but there was A Tone to it that suggests to me that Torre got his back up about it, when the real issues with Cashman weren’t a focus on sabermetrics but poor liaison skills.
Would I read a book Torre hadn’t collaborated on that dug into some of the bullpen-use decisions that gave me 1,583 heart attacks over the years? Sure.
I’m waiting for the Tigers equivilant of that one. I love Leyland, but good gravy, his man crush on certain bullpen members (and closers) has given me fits over the past few years.
What was the Jaret Wright thing, anyway? I understand hiring him once, but who kept hiring him? “Yes, yes, the tubby fella with the busted shoulder, that’s what we need in our starting rotation.”
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I think they should institute a “clothing optional” Yankee night. What? Too off point?
Tracy, for the fans or the players???
Sliding into second would be a major commitment with no pants on!