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The Devil Wears Pinstripes: George Steinbrenner, the Satans of Swat, and the Curse of A-Rod
In The Devil Wears Pinstripes, Jim Caple, ESPN.com’s “designated Yankee hater,” takes on the rabid fans of baseball’s twenty-six-time World Champions, and offers a decidedly different slant on the New York Yankees—the losers of thirteen World Series.
Caple delivers his send-up of the evil empire with scathing irony, laying waste to all things Yankees. A creative and unauthorized timeline pokes fun at the organization’s trades, its legendary vanity, and its near-lethal stadium food. He skewers the owners, coaches and players—from the target of all targets George Steinbrenner to the pinstriped icons in the House That Ruth Built. Heroes and lesser mortals appear in all their tarnished glory, whether they’re participating in a World Series shutout, in drunken brawls at strip joints, or engaging in the notorious wife-swapping incident of the 1970s.
Die-hard Yankee haters and the fans of all other baseball teams are sure to appreciate this hilariously provocative diatribe.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2005
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 5, 2022
As autumn rolls around, there seem to be a few things that are certain. One of them happens to be that the New York Yankees will be playing in the post-season. The arrogance of the team – and its owner – has spawned an entire generation of baseball fans who might root for various teams in their own cities, but have in common their hatred of the Yankees.
With a tongue-in-cheek salute to those fans, Jim Caple has authored a book celebrating all there is to hate about the Bronx Bombers. Caple is a senior writer at ESPN.com and is known for his hatred of the team.
That’s not to say his feelings about the Yankees don’t come through loud and clear in The Devil Wears Pinstripes. Far from it as he goes into extensive detail about all there is to hate the Yankees for. The main focus of the book is the time since the team was purchased by George Steinbrenner, but there are reasons throughout many of the generations.
To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
With a tongue-in-cheek salute to those fans, Jim Caple has authored a book celebrating all there is to hate about the Bronx Bombers. Caple is a senior writer at ESPN.com and is known for his hatred of the team.
That’s not to say his feelings about the Yankees don’t come through loud and clear in The Devil Wears Pinstripes. Far from it as he goes into extensive detail about all there is to hate the Yankees for. The main focus of the book is the time since the team was purchased by George Steinbrenner, but there are reasons throughout many of the generations.
To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
October 25, 2020
Really fun at times. Some jokes/ideas fall flat, but most are both smart and funny.
July 31, 2009
For as much as I hate the Yankees, and as much as I love sarcasm and wittiness, I was expecting to just adore this book - and I did love parts of it. Caple is a funny, funny man and there's just so much to mock about the Yankees organization - the evil empire of baseball whose owner fires people for taking their pre-approved Christmas vacation, fires and re-hires his manager umpteen million times and at one point actually recieves a lifetime ban from the Baseball only to have it lifted (wish it hadn't been...).
The Yankees really are evil - a lot of what he writes is true... but sometimes he writes things that aren't true and drowns them in so many obscure pop culture references that I had to sit and stare at the page for a couple of minutes to figure out what was fact and what was fiction. Anything referring to star wars was obviously false - but if it referenced something I wasn't familiar with, I wasn't always sure if he was serious. Which is probably because I'm the most gullible person on the planet - tell me anything with a straight face and I'll believe it :)
While Caple is hilarious and has some excellent things to say, a whole book of his slams on the Yankees is a bit much. Sometimes I felt like I'd heard the same joke 40 times already, but it's probably just because his writing style is the same throughout.
And then...he throws in a gem like this:
"Sure, there is an undeniable pleasure in rooting for a team and in being able to look down on opposing fans with equal measures of superiorty and disdain. But that's also the Ruthian drawback in rooting for the Yankees (along with high ticket prices, overpriced concessions and crude neighbors). The true pleasure in sports comes not from simply winning but from watching a team overcome adversity to win in the end. The joy of sports is never the final destination, it's the journey. It's experiencing the highs and the lows, and appreciating those highs all the more because of the awful lows.
Yankees fans can't know that. Their team has been so successful, they are so rich and so stocked with talent, that anything less than a World Series victory is a complete disappointment. And by the same token, if they win, there is no real sense of accomplishment. ... Anyone can root for a team that wins all the time. The test of a real fan is whether you have the character to stick with your team through thick and thin."
...and that is why I'm a Twins fan :)
The Yankees really are evil - a lot of what he writes is true... but sometimes he writes things that aren't true and drowns them in so many obscure pop culture references that I had to sit and stare at the page for a couple of minutes to figure out what was fact and what was fiction. Anything referring to star wars was obviously false - but if it referenced something I wasn't familiar with, I wasn't always sure if he was serious. Which is probably because I'm the most gullible person on the planet - tell me anything with a straight face and I'll believe it :)
While Caple is hilarious and has some excellent things to say, a whole book of his slams on the Yankees is a bit much. Sometimes I felt like I'd heard the same joke 40 times already, but it's probably just because his writing style is the same throughout.
And then...he throws in a gem like this:
"Sure, there is an undeniable pleasure in rooting for a team and in being able to look down on opposing fans with equal measures of superiorty and disdain. But that's also the Ruthian drawback in rooting for the Yankees (along with high ticket prices, overpriced concessions and crude neighbors). The true pleasure in sports comes not from simply winning but from watching a team overcome adversity to win in the end. The joy of sports is never the final destination, it's the journey. It's experiencing the highs and the lows, and appreciating those highs all the more because of the awful lows.
Yankees fans can't know that. Their team has been so successful, they are so rich and so stocked with talent, that anything less than a World Series victory is a complete disappointment. And by the same token, if they win, there is no real sense of accomplishment. ... Anyone can root for a team that wins all the time. The test of a real fan is whether you have the character to stick with your team through thick and thin."
...and that is why I'm a Twins fan :)
March 26, 2009
The Devil Wears Pinstripes is a hilarious book about the Yankees. The author, Jim Caple talks about how bad the Yankees are and just makes fun of them. From their legendary players to their fans, there is always something wrong with the Yankees. For all you Yankee-haters this book is like a bible. In the end, you can take the Ultimate Yankees Quiz to see how much you know about "the worst team in the history of baseball."
August 14, 2007
I thought the book was funny, with facts and satire. By page three I had already laughed out loud, and the last line of the book was, in my opinion, the funniest.
January 24, 2008
Pretty good, but some of Caple's gags get old after a while.
July 24, 2008
LOVED IT! Very interseting read for those who love to dislike the Yankees!
March 29, 2013
Decent --- Funny at times but kind of dragged on with some of the stories.
July 17, 2014
A somewhat entertaining account of the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry over the years. Very light-hearted, humorous fare here - nothing heavy at all. Fun to dip into for all baseball fans, nothing more.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews