Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees [Hardcover]

Joel Sherman (Author), David Cone (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2006

A 10th anniversary celebration of the 1996 Yankee season--the season that sparked a dynasty--teeming with revelations and glorious memories for baseball fans everywhere

In the fall of 1995, the New York Yankees suffered a crushing game 5 defeat to the Seattle Mariners--ending their championship dreams. Remarkably, this loss and the end of Buck Showalter's role as manager would lead to one of the most respected team dynasties in sports history. Now veteran New York Post columnist Joel Sherman, who has spent more time with the Bronx Bombers in the past 15 years than any other writer, tells how a down-and-out manager named Joe Torre, working with young, untested players like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, would win the 1996 World Series and a total of 4 championships in 5 years.

Along the way, Sherman captures the drama and behind-the-scenes intrigue of a season that started in disarray but would quickly highlight some of the most talented players in Yankees history. Using hundreds of interviews and years of on-the-spot reporting, Sherman re-creates one of the Yankees' greatest years as only he can.

"To be properly told, the story of the dynasty's beginning must be told by an insider, someone who can take the reader behind the headlines and box scores to the true pulse of the team. . . . Joel Sherman is that insider."--Sports Illustrated baseball writer Tom Verducci

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Full of rich, detailed reporting ... One doesn't have to be a Yankees fan to enjoy this book, but a fan of baseball and good writing." --John Feinstein, author of A Season on the Brink

"In rich detail, Joel Sherman examines the architecture of a modern dynasty: the art, the science, and yes, sometimes the amazing luck. The '96 Yankees, rife with characters and comebacks, provide fertile ground for Sherman's sharp reportorial skills."--Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated

"Sherman's fly-on-the-wall familiarity with his subject results in countless revelations, many of which will surprise even hard-core Yankees fans."--Chad Finn, Boston Globe

"A superb account of the making of a champion, with inside info about Joe Torre, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, and many behind-the-scenes players. It's the type of info you don't see in most baseball books."--Jon Heyman, Newsday.com

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

JOEL SHERMAN has been writing for the New York Post since 1989, first as a beat reporter covering the Yankees from 1989 through 1995, and then as a baseball columnist ever since. He lives in Westchester, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; First Edition edition (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594862443
• ISBN-13: 978-1594862441
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,336,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've read, June 12, 2006

By 

Phil Carlucci (Valley Stream, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees (Hardcover)

I am not a big fan of Joel Sherman's New York Post column, so I didn't have the highest of expectations when I first opened this book -- but I must say that after reading the opening three chapters on the '95 Division Series, Joe Torre and Derek Jeter, I was hooked. This book is the equivalent of Buster Olney's "Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty", only Sherman covers the buildup to the 1996 World Series victory and its lasting effects, whereas Olney used Game 7 of the 2001 Series to recap the dynasty and how it had reached that night in Arizona.

Two things jumped out at me with Sherman's book. First, he does a great job describing the key moments of the season, so much so that instances I had forgotten about of late were suddenly fresh in my memory once again. While some have found this tedious, most people who followed the Yankees that season will welcome all of these tidbits and game descriptions. Secondly, as much as I previously knew about the dynasty Yankees, Sherman manages to bring new things to light that I'm sure most Yankee fans were unaware of, and emphasizes the importance of happenings that back then may not have seemed so significant. Sherman also makes it a point to show how much luck and "destiny" played into the title run. Like Tony Fernandez breaking his elbow at the end of Spring Training after a Derek Jeter error extended the inning, followed by the Yankees nearly trading Mariano Rivera to Seattle for FELIX FERMIN and starting Jeter at AAA in '96.

Sherman provides background on a number of players and issues -- Rivera, Jeter, Torre, Joe Girardi, Tino Martinez, David Cone and Bernie Williams, to name a few, as well as the end of the Buck Showalter era, the abuse of Bob Watson, Steinbrenner's behind-the-scenes craziness, the split in the organization over using a rookie shortstop to start what was hoped to become a championship season, David Cone's battling with and comeback from his aneurysm, and Frank Torre's heart transplant, among plenty of other issues.

I highly recommend it for any Yankee fan, especially those who followed the '96 season as closely as I did.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magnificent Look Back At A Magnificent Season, August 15, 2006

By 

Eric Paddon (Morristown, NJ) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees (Hardcover)

My favorite kinds of baseball history books are the ones sportswriters and historians do in looking back retrospectively at a great season of a great team. It's hard to believe the Yankees of the late 90s have already reached that time where such a book is necessary, and Joel Sherman of the NY Post has delivered with the best possible look back at how a great dynasty began.

Far superior to Buster Olney's 2004 work (which was ruined by its overobsessive focus on Game 7 of the 2001 WS in too much minute detail), this book starts with the 1995 Division playoff loss to Seattle and builds things from there. The difference between this overview, and the one written after the 96 season by John Harper and Bob Klapisch, is that being written with the benefit of ten years of perspective, we can understand better how the 96 team that started it all, did not begin the dynasty in pounding, intimidating fashion. Rather, the 96 club of Joe Torre was one that had to face an uphill climb through key injuries like David Cone's aneurysm, and who also were at one point in the ALDS against Texas halfway from going down 0-2 iin the series with three games on the road ahead of them.

Sherman's conclusion is also a welcome breath of fresh air to all the crap that was written during the Yankees dynasty run of how their greatness somehow revealed some alleged "problem" in the game of baseball about the "unfairness" of the Yankees ability to win. What the Yankees did starting with the scrappy 96 club, and which they built on with the greater glories of 98-00, deserves to be ranked as perhaps the greatest feat ever performed by a baseball team. And all the whining from the Yankee-haters (the most pathetic group of people in all of professional sports fandom) should be seen only for the sour grapes galore that it always will be.

Bravo Mr. Sherman, for giving us a look-back to feel good about, and doing so in a fascinating, gripping way. Let's hope the 10th anniversary of the 98 team will soon see a similarly well-written retrospective!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Check this out!, May 16, 2007

By 

C. Taylor "Chris Picks!" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees (Hardcover)

If you are a fan of the yankees or grew up during their dominant years then this book is for you. It gives you great insight into your favorite players, and history of their rise.

Did you know Mariano Rivera almost got traded 3 times? Or Jorge Posada was a minor league shortstop?

Good Stuff!