What do you think?
Rate this book
Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss
Since their breakthrough championship season in 1923, when Yankee stadium opened, the New York Yankees have been baseball's most successful, decorated, and colorful franchise. Home to Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Berra, Mantle, Jackson, and Mattingly; and later Torre, Jeter, Rivera, and Rodriguez, the team has been a fixture in our national consciousness.
Yet it's been nearly seventy years since Frank Graham wrote the last narrative history of the team. Marty Appel, the Yankees' PR director during the 1970s, now illuminates the team in all its century-plus of glory: clever, maneuvering owners; rowdy, talented players; and, of course, twenty-seven championships. Appel heard war stories from old-timers like Mantle, Berra, and Casey Stengel, and has maintained a presence in the organization ever since. A collector, writer, and raconteur, he gives life to the team's history, from the muddy, uneven field at Hilltop Park in the 1900s to the evolution of today's team as an international brand. Loaded with over a century's worth of great stories, folklore, and photos, this is a treasure trove for lovers of sports, the Yankees, New York history, and America's game.
Yet it's been nearly seventy years since Frank Graham wrote the last narrative history of the team. Marty Appel, the Yankees' PR director during the 1970s, now illuminates the team in all its century-plus of glory: clever, maneuvering owners; rowdy, talented players; and, of course, twenty-seven championships. Appel heard war stories from old-timers like Mantle, Berra, and Casey Stengel, and has maintained a presence in the organization ever since. A collector, writer, and raconteur, he gives life to the team's history, from the muddy, uneven field at Hilltop Park in the 1900s to the evolution of today's team as an international brand. Loaded with over a century's worth of great stories, folklore, and photos, this is a treasure trove for lovers of sports, the Yankees, New York history, and America's game.
640 pages, Hardcover
First published May 8, 2012
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
May 20, 2012
Even though I'm not a fan of the Yankees I was really looking forward to reading this history of one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. Especially since it was written by a man that had worked for the Yankees and was familiar with the people and places that helped make the team what it is today. And yet...that inside perspective presents a drawback in telling a complete story. While Marty clearly knows his stuff, it often feels at time like he's treading lightly about events, such as how former players were treated or about Steinbrenner, because he still considers the Yankess his family.
Even worse his writing style leaves something to be desired as at times he overwhelms and confuses the reader. For example, he'll begin talking about events about 1903 and get distracted by the fact that Derek Jeter was born close by some 70 years later and mention that for a paragraph before jumping back to 1903. And he does this over and over again, devoting paragraphs to events out of timeline that instead of creating a more compelling story only overwhelm it. And when he does present material in a chronological manner, it feels staid and boring. Like we're reading an encyclopedia instead of a compelling story of such a storied franchise.
In short, even though Marty knows his stuff his writing style creates a boring, bland, and sometimes overwhelming story. I was really hoping that it would have been more like the recent biography of Bill Veeck, than reading an encyclopedia. If you're a die hard Yankees fan then this book might appeal to you...otherwise you'd be better off looking elsewhere.
Even worse his writing style leaves something to be desired as at times he overwhelms and confuses the reader. For example, he'll begin talking about events about 1903 and get distracted by the fact that Derek Jeter was born close by some 70 years later and mention that for a paragraph before jumping back to 1903. And he does this over and over again, devoting paragraphs to events out of timeline that instead of creating a more compelling story only overwhelm it. And when he does present material in a chronological manner, it feels staid and boring. Like we're reading an encyclopedia instead of a compelling story of such a storied franchise.
In short, even though Marty knows his stuff his writing style creates a boring, bland, and sometimes overwhelming story. I was really hoping that it would have been more like the recent biography of Bill Veeck, than reading an encyclopedia. If you're a die hard Yankees fan then this book might appeal to you...otherwise you'd be better off looking elsewhere.
July 21, 2023
I really liked this, but man was it dense. However, reading about the illustrious history of the Yankees was a perfect escape for someone who watches every game of the current last place 2023 New York Yankees.
May 16, 2023
I don’t have much to say about this book. It was pretty much exactly what I expected. I mean that in the best way possible. I expected perhaps, the definitive history of The Yankees. And I wasn’t disappointed. I learned a massive amount of information about the ball club that dominated Major League Baseball throughout multiple non-consecutive decades. This information was in the form of anecdotes and statistics primarily. The Yankees are so interesting. There seem to be large dry spells for them, but they have consistently been able to pull themselves back up and reignite a new dynasty from the ashes of their rich history.
I really loved the focus on the players. There were so many fun little factoids and somewhat psychological analyses on Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, etc.
It’s easy to hate The Yankees for the years of complete World Series domination, the obnoxious fans, and the sketchy politics of the front office, but it’s hard not to respect them in some regard. A massive amount of the pivotal historical Baseball moments happened with The Yankees at the forefront. You almost can’t remove The Yankees when you talk about Baseball history. They played such a huge role in shaping the game and cultivating the best-of-the-best.
Anyway, this book was awesome. My only complaint was it was sometimes pretty difficult to follow. I felt like Appel mostly told the story chronologically, but there were plenty of times where he jumped forward and went off on a bit of a tangent. I found myself frequently hoping for a reminder on what year was actually being discussed. I suppose it’s probably next to impossible to remain completely chronological when you’re writing a book like this, but even still it somewhat disrupted my reading experience.
Here are some examples of what I would think to myself:
“Are we still in the 1930s?”
“Wait, is Yogi Berra still even still playing at this point?”
“Are they coming off a World Series win this season?”
With that small criticism aside, Pinstripe Empire was a complete….home…run…..
(sorry)
I really loved the focus on the players. There were so many fun little factoids and somewhat psychological analyses on Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, etc.
It’s easy to hate The Yankees for the years of complete World Series domination, the obnoxious fans, and the sketchy politics of the front office, but it’s hard not to respect them in some regard. A massive amount of the pivotal historical Baseball moments happened with The Yankees at the forefront. You almost can’t remove The Yankees when you talk about Baseball history. They played such a huge role in shaping the game and cultivating the best-of-the-best.
Anyway, this book was awesome. My only complaint was it was sometimes pretty difficult to follow. I felt like Appel mostly told the story chronologically, but there were plenty of times where he jumped forward and went off on a bit of a tangent. I found myself frequently hoping for a reminder on what year was actually being discussed. I suppose it’s probably next to impossible to remain completely chronological when you’re writing a book like this, but even still it somewhat disrupted my reading experience.
Here are some examples of what I would think to myself:
“Are we still in the 1930s?”
“Wait, is Yogi Berra still even still playing at this point?”
“Are they coming off a World Series win this season?”
With that small criticism aside, Pinstripe Empire was a complete….home…run…..
(sorry)
February 27, 2017
I've been excited to read this book ever since it was given to me by my boyfriend as a 20th birthday gift. He's a White Sox fan, but he was once a Yankees fan, and since they're unlikely to ever have to meet in any real battle, I'll let him root for both.
I had few problems with the writing of Marty Appel. He's obviously a tremendous Yankees fan, and has a big respect for the history. One tiny complain is that he did make some cutesy jokes about the emergence of more women fans. At a time when he could have very simply just said, more women fans decided to come to games, probably because it was finally more acceptable, he tended to say that woman fans were coming to the game probably because of the cute new faces on the field. Which may have also been true--but I think a mention of the women fans who had been Yankee fans all their lives but when it wasn't acceptable to go to games should have gotten a mention as well. Also, he did have a tendency in his writing to do things like mention someone, go on a tangent, and then continue, "He..." as if the tangent hadn't happened, which would require some back-tracking. I sometimes needed to look up some terms as well--I don't blame Appel for needing to check what an RBI or a .500 season was, but every once in a while he would use a nickname that he had never or would never explain. There were at least two nicknames used that I will never know who he was referring to.
But those are small complains relative to the history that Appel created. Reverent and sticking to the facts while maintaining a deep love of the team nonetheless, he didn't skip over the losses or the unfortunate seasons. Sometimes he went a bit quickly through the championship seasons, actually, which seemed odd, but he had a deep and reverent understanding and description of the star teams and the non-star teams as well, and a long and good explanation of the Steinbrenner years in between wins. Things I thought he did particularly well: Lou Gehrig just in general, as well as his illness and farewell; Bucky Dent's famous homer; Yogi Berra's run on the team; and descriptions of Yankee Stadium, the new, the renovated, and the old. He also did a good job of tying in the PR (makes sense as he was the PR director for several years), legacies, etc. that went into the Yankees as well as the game itself, as that's a big part of being a Yankee fan.
It was engrossing and incredible. I loved reading about the Yankees; I grew up through the Core Four and I loved hearing the details of all the stories of the Yankees I vaguely knew. I loved reading the details, the players, the bios of players like Mattingly, Ruth, DiMaggio, Munson, the ones I knew and the ones I didn't, them all. I knew about 27 championships, I knew about the Core Four, I knew vaguely that we had a great history, but I didn't know it in detail, and now I'm proud to say I do. This is a Yankees history written for Yankees fans by a big Yankees fan, for those who know the history probably less than someone who wants to learn it (I realize that from experience with my dad, who would either agree emphatically and tell an accompanying anecdote when I told him what I'd learned, or shake his head and rant off on why it was wrong) (that said he usually nodded, so still, kudos to Appel).
Probably my favorite parts other than Gehrig and Dent and Berra as cited above were the parts I recognized. The 2000 World Series against the Mets I remember vividly as the first time I became interested in baseball, at age 5, when I came home and said, "Daddy, I'm a Mets fan!" because all the kids on the bus (including the cute boy, naturally) were, and he said, "Okay, honey, but two things: first, you'll be sleeping in the garage, and two, your grandpa is coming to visit you from the grave."
That night, I became a Yankees fan, and I rooted for the Yankees all Series with everything I had.
I remember the 2009 World Series as the first I watched, in earnest, actually knowing all the rules of baseball (I'd known the rules for a while by then, but it was the first World Series that I watched all the way through) (it was the first in a while that had the Yankees in it, after all). I remember challenging the classmates who were Phillies fans the next day. 27 World Championships. I did my best to rub it in their faces. All I'll ever have to say is "27" to shut up any fan of any other team who tries to challenge my Yankees. I doubt any team will ever approach that many.
And I remember history that goes beyond all that. I remember sitting in the 2009 stadium so we could see it before it was gone and watching the Yankees win their last game and sweep the Sox; jumping up and down when "Enter Sandman" came on. And I remember sitting in the new one, in 2013, to say good-bye to Matsui on Matsui Day (getting a free bobblehead) who had re-signed as a Yankee so that he could retire as one. To say good-bye to Mariano himself, too, who had announced he'd be retiring after the season. Jeter went up and hit a homer on his first hit. Mo came out to save the game. Soriano hit the clincher. It was a fantastic game.
Telling my dad the things I'd learned, he started rattling off stories of rooting for the Yanks in his childhood, of my grandma watching the Yankees even after her eyesight had begun to fail, staying up all night to see the late night games even though her usual bedtime was something like 9, of his grandpa at baseball games and yelling to his mom that Bucky Dent had hit the homer, quizzing my sister and I on Yankees trivia and the Sox rivalry. For me, all these memories emerged as I read, everything that connects me to a Yankee. One night, I took my Yankees hat off the dresser and put it on my head as I read about Gehrig's speech. It felt right.
That's what this book is about. It's a fitting tribute to the Yankees and their fans. And it was a blast to read.
I had few problems with the writing of Marty Appel. He's obviously a tremendous Yankees fan, and has a big respect for the history. One tiny complain is that he did make some cutesy jokes about the emergence of more women fans. At a time when he could have very simply just said, more women fans decided to come to games, probably because it was finally more acceptable, he tended to say that woman fans were coming to the game probably because of the cute new faces on the field. Which may have also been true--but I think a mention of the women fans who had been Yankee fans all their lives but when it wasn't acceptable to go to games should have gotten a mention as well. Also, he did have a tendency in his writing to do things like mention someone, go on a tangent, and then continue, "He..." as if the tangent hadn't happened, which would require some back-tracking. I sometimes needed to look up some terms as well--I don't blame Appel for needing to check what an RBI or a .500 season was, but every once in a while he would use a nickname that he had never or would never explain. There were at least two nicknames used that I will never know who he was referring to.
But those are small complains relative to the history that Appel created. Reverent and sticking to the facts while maintaining a deep love of the team nonetheless, he didn't skip over the losses or the unfortunate seasons. Sometimes he went a bit quickly through the championship seasons, actually, which seemed odd, but he had a deep and reverent understanding and description of the star teams and the non-star teams as well, and a long and good explanation of the Steinbrenner years in between wins. Things I thought he did particularly well: Lou Gehrig just in general, as well as his illness and farewell; Bucky Dent's famous homer; Yogi Berra's run on the team; and descriptions of Yankee Stadium, the new, the renovated, and the old. He also did a good job of tying in the PR (makes sense as he was the PR director for several years), legacies, etc. that went into the Yankees as well as the game itself, as that's a big part of being a Yankee fan.
It was engrossing and incredible. I loved reading about the Yankees; I grew up through the Core Four and I loved hearing the details of all the stories of the Yankees I vaguely knew. I loved reading the details, the players, the bios of players like Mattingly, Ruth, DiMaggio, Munson, the ones I knew and the ones I didn't, them all. I knew about 27 championships, I knew about the Core Four, I knew vaguely that we had a great history, but I didn't know it in detail, and now I'm proud to say I do. This is a Yankees history written for Yankees fans by a big Yankees fan, for those who know the history probably less than someone who wants to learn it (I realize that from experience with my dad, who would either agree emphatically and tell an accompanying anecdote when I told him what I'd learned, or shake his head and rant off on why it was wrong) (that said he usually nodded, so still, kudos to Appel).
Probably my favorite parts other than Gehrig and Dent and Berra as cited above were the parts I recognized. The 2000 World Series against the Mets I remember vividly as the first time I became interested in baseball, at age 5, when I came home and said, "Daddy, I'm a Mets fan!" because all the kids on the bus (including the cute boy, naturally) were, and he said, "Okay, honey, but two things: first, you'll be sleeping in the garage, and two, your grandpa is coming to visit you from the grave."
That night, I became a Yankees fan, and I rooted for the Yankees all Series with everything I had.
I remember the 2009 World Series as the first I watched, in earnest, actually knowing all the rules of baseball (I'd known the rules for a while by then, but it was the first World Series that I watched all the way through) (it was the first in a while that had the Yankees in it, after all). I remember challenging the classmates who were Phillies fans the next day. 27 World Championships. I did my best to rub it in their faces. All I'll ever have to say is "27" to shut up any fan of any other team who tries to challenge my Yankees. I doubt any team will ever approach that many.
And I remember history that goes beyond all that. I remember sitting in the 2009 stadium so we could see it before it was gone and watching the Yankees win their last game and sweep the Sox; jumping up and down when "Enter Sandman" came on. And I remember sitting in the new one, in 2013, to say good-bye to Matsui on Matsui Day (getting a free bobblehead) who had re-signed as a Yankee so that he could retire as one. To say good-bye to Mariano himself, too, who had announced he'd be retiring after the season. Jeter went up and hit a homer on his first hit. Mo came out to save the game. Soriano hit the clincher. It was a fantastic game.
Telling my dad the things I'd learned, he started rattling off stories of rooting for the Yanks in his childhood, of my grandma watching the Yankees even after her eyesight had begun to fail, staying up all night to see the late night games even though her usual bedtime was something like 9, of his grandpa at baseball games and yelling to his mom that Bucky Dent had hit the homer, quizzing my sister and I on Yankees trivia and the Sox rivalry. For me, all these memories emerged as I read, everything that connects me to a Yankee. One night, I took my Yankees hat off the dresser and put it on my head as I read about Gehrig's speech. It felt right.
That's what this book is about. It's a fitting tribute to the Yankees and their fans. And it was a blast to read.
February 10, 2021
Great all encompassing Yankee history lesson. Go Highlanders.
July 21, 2012
If you're a baseball fan, and particularly a Yankee fan, this is an enjoyable read--a history of the Yankees, essentially year by year. It covers on field as well as off field/business events. The book is crammed full of largely useless and often not particularly interesting statistics--construction details about the original Yankee Stadium as well as the new one, etc.
My biggest complaint about this book is that it is largely a "PC" version of the history. Appel doesn't exactly ignore some of the more controversial aspects of the Yankees' history--the notorious cheapness of the general managers during the '50's; the Yankees' racism in refusing to aggressively pursue black players long after most other teams; the team's failure to maintain a solid farm system in the early '60's, leading to 2nd division status in the second half of the decade; the damage to the team resulting from Steinbrenner's egotism and interference in the '70's and '80's--but he soft pedals each of these stories.
My biggest complaint about this book is that it is largely a "PC" version of the history. Appel doesn't exactly ignore some of the more controversial aspects of the Yankees' history--the notorious cheapness of the general managers during the '50's; the Yankees' racism in refusing to aggressively pursue black players long after most other teams; the team's failure to maintain a solid farm system in the early '60's, leading to 2nd division status in the second half of the decade; the damage to the team resulting from Steinbrenner's egotism and interference in the '70's and '80's--but he soft pedals each of these stories.
August 23, 2017
I really loved this book. As a Yankees fan, it was a must read for me. From the early days of the Highlanders to the death of the Boss in 2010 (and a bit beyond that), Marty Appel does a wonderful job of getting the behind the scenes scope and in exquisite detail. Yankees fan and even baseball fans not so fond of the Yankees will enjoy this historical gem of Yankees baseball.
July 26, 2021
The complete history of the New York Yankees.
There were many parts of this book that I loved. It covers the history and highlights the names, eras, and events that have come to define the Yankee team. I am a huge Yankee fan, but I learned so much more about the team from this book, especially during the pre-Ruth years and the down years of the 70s-90s.
2 things I didn't like: sometimes the author went to great detail on things I didn't care to know about. It became information overload to know that the wife of the groundskeeper had a brother that pitched in a minor league game against someone that would be famous for another team (I made that up but there are lots of examples of those types of details in the book). Also, I wish he had kept it third person the entire book. It soured me when he would jump in with little things that he did. Who cares that you had the foresight to grab a bat or ball and send it to the Hall of Fame. Just say that the bat is in the Hall of Fame now. I wanted to read Yankee's history, not the author's history.
Other than that, I enjoyed the book as a complete timeline of events.
There were many parts of this book that I loved. It covers the history and highlights the names, eras, and events that have come to define the Yankee team. I am a huge Yankee fan, but I learned so much more about the team from this book, especially during the pre-Ruth years and the down years of the 70s-90s.
2 things I didn't like: sometimes the author went to great detail on things I didn't care to know about. It became information overload to know that the wife of the groundskeeper had a brother that pitched in a minor league game against someone that would be famous for another team (I made that up but there are lots of examples of those types of details in the book). Also, I wish he had kept it third person the entire book. It soured me when he would jump in with little things that he did. Who cares that you had the foresight to grab a bat or ball and send it to the Hall of Fame. Just say that the bat is in the Hall of Fame now. I wanted to read Yankee's history, not the author's history.
Other than that, I enjoyed the book as a complete timeline of events.
April 29, 2019
Excellent history of the New York Yankees. Despite the size of the book (over 600 pages including references), it managed to provide a wonderful look into the history of the ball club. Marty Appel was not a "Yankees be praised" writer in this book, although there is a positive spin to the history. Appel also detailed a lot of the "games" played from the corporate side; the conflicts and hard choices made by those who owned the Yankees in the Highlander Days; through the eras of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle; and years under George Steinbrenner. It balanced how they won championships with how they lost titles; how ineffective the Yankees were from 1965-1975; and how the game changed following free agency. Lots of names, sub-stories; to include sections where they addressed the broadcasters like Mel Allen, Red Barber, Phil Rizutto, Frank Messer, Bill White, Bobby Murcer and current voices Michael Kay and John Sterling) and how they covered the Yankees. Wonderful book for all baseball fans.
April 9, 2023
I love baseball, and I love the history of the game, and, no matter what your opinion of the franchise itself, you can't appreciate the history of baseball without knowing the history of the Yankees. The names alone shout "BASEBALL!": Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle. This was a very well-written history of the team from their beginning as the Highlanders at Hilltop Park and the Polo Grounds to the death of owner George Steinbrenner. The book is written in a narrative style and is a great read. The author was the PR director for the Yankees in 70s, so he has a great deal of first-hand knowledge of the team and the players of that era. Like my interest in American history, my interest in baseball history is somewhat limited to the late 19th and early 20th century, so I'll admit to speeding up the audiobook after the 1940s. My standard for a great narrator is one that doesn't detract at all from the story, and Gregory Gorton met and exceeded that standard. This isn't a book that I would be interested in reading/listening to again, but it was certainly worth one read.
July 30, 2022
A pleasure to read and I'm not a Yankees fan. Engaging year-by-year historical account on the New York Yankees from the team's start in 1903 through 2011. Given the author was a former front-office employee for the club, he had direct access to various players, management, and other Yankee employees who could provide reliable information and anecdotes on the history of the team. I felt it was well-researched and I learned a lot about the team, the players, and the stadiums where they played which I never knew before.
The author provides a lot more information than the statistical records, such as narratives on the characters who founded the team and the early players like Wee Willie Keeler and Home Run Baker, or anecdotes like what Yogi Berra remembered when he went out to dinner with Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe. The author provides mini-biographies of various people in the Yankees history as well that I found interesting and informative. I really liked this book.
The author provides a lot more information than the statistical records, such as narratives on the characters who founded the team and the early players like Wee Willie Keeler and Home Run Baker, or anecdotes like what Yogi Berra remembered when he went out to dinner with Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe. The author provides mini-biographies of various people in the Yankees history as well that I found interesting and informative. I really liked this book.
April 25, 2020
Wow! Never quite had nearly 600 pages fly by quite like in this book. Sure, Appel's history of the team is loaded with details and anecdotes and spans more than a century of team history, but the only slow parts are the chapters in between pennants and championships and those are (thankfully) few and far between in Yankee history. I would recommend this to any Yankee fan with a knack for history, especially those who want to learn more about the pre-Ruth Yankees (and Highlanders).
June 12, 2017
The Yankees aren't my team but I still love this book, the don't even have to be your favorite team to like this book, loved reading from how the franchise started from Hilltop Park in 1903 to Babe, Lou, Joe D, Mickey, to present day with Jeter(he hadn't retired yet) to the new Stadium, it's a must read for any baseball fan regardless if you're a Yankee fan or not.
July 29, 2017
Not a Yankees fan, but admire their history. This was a very comprehensive look at each season, with some very good insight. I will say I'm not in love with Marty's writing style, sometimes he took a topic of course before getting back to the original thought, but overall I enjoyed it, the man knows his Yankees.
August 31, 2018
Excellent history of an iconic institution. Very complete. Interesting. Enjoyable read. This was written by an insider, but it didn’t shy away from speaking frankly about blemishes in the team’s history. (As a Royals fan I’m “officially” a Yankees “hater”, but a history of the Yankees is a history of Baseball and I recommend this to all fans of the game.)
February 27, 2020
I read this for my 2020 Reading Challenge and the prompt was A book you picked because the title caught your attention. I actually found this book in the Barnes and Noble in Baltimore while I was there for a Yankees Game. I really enjoyed reading this I just wish the chapters had been divided by decades and were labeled accordingly.
March 26, 2020
This book provides a great overview of every season of Yankees baseball from their founding in 1903 through the publication date in 2011. I was especially interested to hear about the pre-Babe years, which are seldom talked about. The research and historical content is first rate. The one issue with the audiobook was mispronunciation of a lot of names.
October 5, 2017
I'm not a Yankee fan at all but I thoroughly enjoyed this year by year history of the team and the evolution of MLB
April 17, 2019
If you want to know anything about the Yankees this is the book. Tons of history and baseball legends succinctly, yet adequately covered in Marty Appel’s work.
April 30, 2019
An interesting read for die-hard Yankees fan.
June 29, 2019
Well written and above average research.
August 25, 2019
A must read for all Yankee fans.
January 15, 2020
Loved it! If you're a Yankees fan it's a must read. If you're a baseball fan it's a must read.
March 17, 2022
Add more stars if you don't know Yankee history. I do, so I didn't learn much. Maybe you will feel differently. Enjoy!
April 24, 2023
Great Yankees book!
I know that I'll be reading this again, and I have a couple Yankee fan friends I intent to gift it to.
I know that I'll be reading this again, and I have a couple Yankee fan friends I intent to gift it to.
March 20, 2015
I picked this book because it seemed interesting. I have been a Yankees fan ever since I was born. I seemed interesting because it talks about the Yankees history and legacy over the past centuries of them in their beginning roots to what they are known as to this day. The title Pinstripe Empire is related to the Yankees jersey. They have always wore pinstripes since they were called the New York Yankees. Their jerseys are a big part of their history and their winning ways to get to the World Series. The author wrote the book to tell the story of how the Yankees got their roots and their name. The author tells all the greats of the team who have played for this historic championship winning team. Greats that include Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter, etc. Anyone who loves baseball or a good book on history of a great team would love this book. It explains every little detail that goes on in the Yankees clubhouse to their life outside of baseball and to their stats as a player when they played. Some facts about the team and the players is that they have won 27 World Series Championships, 40 Pennants won, and 18 Division Titles. The Yankees have always relied on their power-slugging ways to win. After the Babe came to New York, they have always been a playoff contender and a favorite to win the World Series. Many of the Yankees former players are on their way to being a member of the Hall of Fame or are in it. Greats have gone and are coming to help the Yankees in their winning ways. Weather a Yankees fan or not, it is a great book for any baseball fan or for anybody. This great book covers the Yankees all they way back to their beginning roots from The Highlanders and when they were in Baltimore, to the way to the current day franchise as known as the New York Yankees. It is mostly based in New York and also at some historic ballparks, including the Old Yankee Stadium, and the old Polo Grounds.
The author gives a message about where the Yankees have come from and how their history got started. They started in Baltimore and now they reside in Bronx, New York. They tell the story about how they got all their championship winning players, most from free agency and trade, but a few from prospects coming up and out stand themselves as players.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves baseball or a good story of rich history on a great team. The idea is to get a better understanding about where they come from and how they got in New York in the first place. They are one of the most richest teams in Sports today and also have lost of history dating way back to when they were not even known as they Yankees. And that is where the Pinstripe Empire got its start.
The author gives a message about where the Yankees have come from and how their history got started. They started in Baltimore and now they reside in Bronx, New York. They tell the story about how they got all their championship winning players, most from free agency and trade, but a few from prospects coming up and out stand themselves as players.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves baseball or a good story of rich history on a great team. The idea is to get a better understanding about where they come from and how they got in New York in the first place. They are one of the most richest teams in Sports today and also have lost of history dating way back to when they were not even known as they Yankees. And that is where the Pinstripe Empire got its start.
February 26, 2017
Great, great, great historical Yankees book. Loved every minute reading it. A MUST read for any die-hard Yankees fan, like me. :-). Timed the completion perfectly for the opening of spring training. I am SO ready for baseball to start and take my mind off of what's occurring in DC and around the U.S.
December 18, 2016
This is a long and thorough book that describes every Yankee season from 1903 to the present. If you have read other histories you will see some cross-over but you might also be surprised at the extra information. I have long known that the Kansas City A's of the late 1950s were much like a farm team for the Yankees, but I had no idea why they made so many lopsided trades until Appel explained the relationship between the owners. I also got more insight into the second tier stars like Earl Combs, Tony Lazzeri, Joe Gordon and Allie Reynolds. I came away understanding more about Mel Allen and how hard he took it when he was fired as a Yankee broadcaster. Maybe the most rewarding thing was understanding the early ballparks like Hilltop Park and the Polo Grounds and their locations in North Manhattan. Both were surprisingly close to where Yankee Stadium would eventually be built in the Bronx. And the Polo Grounds would last long enough to host the Mets for their first couple of seasons.
I knew very little about the New York Highlander days other than Chesbro winning 40 games and Wee Willie hitting them where they ain't. This was a rag tag group of players always in the second division. But by starting at the beginning you start to see how the longevity of people with the organization is kind of a glue that binds the newer generation to the older one. Pete Sheehey was 60 years with the Yankees as was Bob Shepherd. Gene Michael has been with the Yankees for nearly 50 years himself.
There was also a big gap in my knowledge of the Yankees during World War II and the Yankees between their success in the 60s and their resurgence of the 1970s. These eras are both covered relatively well. You also get the idea of how it was to play for the different Yankee managers through the years. There is so much to cover that some seasons get less ink than others and so you will sometimes want to know more, but it's an overall rewarding reading experience.
I knew very little about the New York Highlander days other than Chesbro winning 40 games and Wee Willie hitting them where they ain't. This was a rag tag group of players always in the second division. But by starting at the beginning you start to see how the longevity of people with the organization is kind of a glue that binds the newer generation to the older one. Pete Sheehey was 60 years with the Yankees as was Bob Shepherd. Gene Michael has been with the Yankees for nearly 50 years himself.
There was also a big gap in my knowledge of the Yankees during World War II and the Yankees between their success in the 60s and their resurgence of the 1970s. These eras are both covered relatively well. You also get the idea of how it was to play for the different Yankee managers through the years. There is so much to cover that some seasons get less ink than others and so you will sometimes want to know more, but it's an overall rewarding reading experience.
June 11, 2024
The Yankees are one of, if not the, most storied athletic club in the world, with a mass number of titles and title series appearances filled with legendary players who tower over the history of the game. Trying to cover a full history of this club is not an easy task, but if there was anyone capable of taking it on, it’s Marty Appel. The end result, however, is largely what you would expect from trying to bite off so much history in one book, even if that book is sizable in and of itself. Appel is clearly extremely knowledgeable about the Yankees history (those familiar with the author know why), but trying to jam all of that history into this book results in a thousand-foot view of the organization’s history, covering more of a general overview of what happened and some central characters and relationships, without providing much insight into the personalities, teams, and the mythos that has made the Yankees such a global brand.
The story is long, but many of the famous characters and era are covered briefly, discussed almost solely in terms of what they did on and with the team, and possess disappointingly little new insight into what this history means. For someone looking to learn about Yankee history and its central players, this is a great book, and on a general level, this book is very readable with good information for those simply looking to learn more about Yankee history. But for anyone seeking anything more, it would be better to pick up a book focused on more specific eras in Yankee mythology.
The story is long, but many of the famous characters and era are covered briefly, discussed almost solely in terms of what they did on and with the team, and possess disappointingly little new insight into what this history means. For someone looking to learn about Yankee history and its central players, this is a great book, and on a general level, this book is very readable with good information for those simply looking to learn more about Yankee history. But for anyone seeking anything more, it would be better to pick up a book focused on more specific eras in Yankee mythology.
March 5, 2013
A book about the Yankees should be exciting, full of stories about the players and the team. It should be a personal look more than just a review of stats and win/loss percentages. At least I think so but the author of this book disagrees with me. This book reads as if it was written by a sports columnist and not an historian. It felt like this to me: Here we go to the next season, here are some players, this one was important just look at his stats, here we are in the World Series, now off to the next season.
But a team like this has to have stories. Players have to have more than just stats. Who are they? Where did they come from? How did they end up on the Yankees? Where did they go? Who knows, certainly not me after reading this book. Other than a few big name players there is really nothing about any players other than their stats. Whole seasons can be summed up in a few paragraphs. I just didn't find it that interesting but maybe I went into it looking for something that it isn't.
Can I recommend it? If you are looking for a 600 page impersonal look at the team then yes I can recommend it. If you are looking for a story of the team and the players then I think you will be as disappointed as I was.
But a team like this has to have stories. Players have to have more than just stats. Who are they? Where did they come from? How did they end up on the Yankees? Where did they go? Who knows, certainly not me after reading this book. Other than a few big name players there is really nothing about any players other than their stats. Whole seasons can be summed up in a few paragraphs. I just didn't find it that interesting but maybe I went into it looking for something that it isn't.
Can I recommend it? If you are looking for a 600 page impersonal look at the team then yes I can recommend it. If you are looking for a story of the team and the players then I think you will be as disappointed as I was.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews