The Truth About Ruth and More: Behind Yankees Myths, Legends, and Lore [Paperback]

Peter Handrinos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2009

The New York Yankees has always been the most storied franchise in sports--but not all of the stories are true. Its history has at times been misreported by muckraking journalists, misremebered by fans, and even misrepresented by the players themselves.

Did Babe Ruth really call his shot in the '32 World Series?

Is Derek Jeter a proven "clutch" player?

Is Joe DiMaggio the best center fielder in Yankees history?

The Truth About Ruth is an entertaining and informative dissection of these and many more of the Yankees' most legendary stories and personalities. With both sharp analysis and playful wit, baseball historian Peter Handrinos examines the Bronx Bombers' true legacy through the prism of statistics, interviews, humor, and cold, hard facts.

Who's overrated? Who's underrated? Which World Series-winning team is the best: 1927, 1939, or 1998? Whether you are a fan looking to settle a bar argument or a serious student of the sport, this book is the perfect volume to amuse and educate anyone who loves the game of baseball.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The author of Best New York Sports Arguments, Peter Handrinos is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and a graduate of Yale University. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600781926
• ISBN-13: 978-1600781926
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,715,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Handrinos is the author of Best New York Sports Arguments and The Truth About Ruth (And More). He plays ball in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every Yankee fan should have this book on their shelf!, May 3, 2009

By 

Chris Lucas (Wood-Ridge, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth About Ruth and More: Behind Yankees Myths, Legends, and Lore (Paperback)

As a lifelong Yankee fan who grew up at the Stadium (attending least 60 games a year) and as a Yankee tour guide, I've read a lot of books about the team and its history. This is by far the best I've ever read.

"The Truth About Ruth" is breezy and light, yet extremely informative. It explodes many of the myths that have formed around the team over the years. It also confirms many of the things I had suspected (like the fact that the "Yankee Stadium" I'd known all my life, the post 1976 one, was not the original Stadium, but a completely redone model.) All of the arguments are backed up by solid research and statistics, yet never gets bogged down in minutiae like other baseball books can.

The best compliment I can give this book is that it was like a bag of potato chips to me, I couldn't stop aftetr one chapter. I had to keep reading these "bite size" gems, and wound up re-reading many of them when I was done.

This book belongs in any serious Yankee fan's personal library. It would make a great gift for Father's day, Mother's day or any occasion.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Freddy Garcia???, May 3, 2009

By 

John Jorgensen (Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth About Ruth and More: Behind Yankees Myths, Legends, and Lore (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book a lot but there were quite a few ideas put forth that had me shaking my head. You would expect this in a baseball book. One that really drove me nuts was in the "True Trophy Case" chapter. In this chapter the author "corrects" the "wrong" decisions of sportswriters who either gave MVPs or Cy Youngs to undeserving Yankees, or snubbed deserving ones. He starts in the present and works backward. The first victim is Roger Clemens--He's stripped of his 2001 Cy, which is given to Seattle's Freddy Garcia. Supposedly Clemens's 20-3 record in 2001 was only possible because of Yankee offense and Yankee bullpen. Both were excellent that year. But Garcia is assumed to have attained his 18-8 without either of those factors.

Hello? The 2001 Mariners were one of the best teams ever. They won 98 games for pitchers who were not Garcia. Bret Boone and John Olerud both hit over 30 home runs; Boone, Mike Cameron, and Edgar Martinez all exceeded 100 RBI, and Olerud nearly joined them, with 95; and Ichiro hit .350. A very competent bullpen was highlighted by Arthur Rhodes, who maintained a 1.72 ERA over 79 games en route to an 8-0 record. The idea that Garcia was a genius burdened down by lackluster teammates doesn't hold.

I was surprised that at the end of the chapter Gehrig's 1927 MVP wasn't reassigned to Ruth. Much is made of the fact that the one-per-customer approach to MVP awards in the early 20th century was bogus, and everyone knows Ruth's 60 home runs would have gotten him the award but for that.

A good book, though, and full of lots of triia fodder.

2.0 out of 5 stars Revisionism at its finest, February 27, 2011

By 

Khan Sing "Magnuson3" (North Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth About Ruth and More: Behind Yankees Myths, Legends, and Lore (Paperback)

For a Harvard grad and a member of SABR, it is hard to believe Mr Handrinos included the word "Truth" in it's title. " Opinion" would be a more accurate word. I can understand how the author had a few legends that warranted debunking in mind when writing this book, but he strays into argumentative opinions way too often. And then finds whatever numbers and stats that could support his ,sometimes flimsy, opinion. It's hard to continue reading the book after his shameless use of carefully handpicked stats to prove his opinion that Mantle was a better hitter and all around player than Joe D; his attack on Reggie as being an undeserving Mr. October; and that Dent's homer in the 1978 Play-in game wasn't really such a big deal. It would be comical if it wasn't coming from an author who seems more than a misguided youth.