Inside The Empire: The True Power Behind the New York Yankees

by Bob Klapisch, Paul Solotaroff

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A riveting look at what is really said and done behind closed doors with the New York Yankees, the most famous and wealthiest sports franchise in the world
 
Using the 2018 baseball season as the backdrop, Inside the Empire gives readers the real, unvarnished “straight-from-the-gut” truth from Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone, Giancarlo Stanton, C.C. Sabathia—even Hal Steinbrenner and Randy Levine—and many more.
 
This is baseball’s version of HBO’s award-winning NFL series “Hard Knocks.” Klapisch and Solotaroff take you deep into the Yankees clubhouse, their dugout, and the front office and pull back the curtain so that every fan can see what really goes on.

Bottom line? You may think you know everything about the storied franchise of the New York Yankees and what makes them tick. But Inside the Empire will set the record straight, and drop bombshells about iconic figures along the way. There’s never been a baseball book quite like it.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction, New York

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 2019

Reviews

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts of this book are excellent. I especially liked the chapter "Night School" which focused on how the Yankees acculturate their Third World prospects. (Example: have them watch Friends re-runs to help them with English). The opening chapters of the book are also first rate, as the authors discuss Brian Cashman, analytics, and how they prepare all their players for the media.

But the heart of the book focuses on the 2018 season, and once that gets going, the book isn't anything special. There is no sense of momentum. Much of this lies flat.

And the authors themselves are annoying. A lot of their commentary is overblown, maudlin, and has all the weight of a piece of cardboard. For example, they call Randy Johnson "the detestable Big Unit" (p.88) and don't really back that up except that he once yelled at a cameraman. There is occasional talk about how different these millennials are - without any awareness that Old Style vs. New Style generational conversations are eternal. (Even the specific comments they slot in here could be made decades ago when Baby Boomers were the young'uns). Late in the book, the authors claim that in the Wild Card game, it took 12 pitches for the A's "spines and spirits broken beyond repair." (p.186). Oh, brother - what overblown rhetoric. A few pages earlier, we're told the team and town fell "wildly back in love with each other" (p.183) in the last two weeks of the season. I mean, maybe that's true - but the book is so full of it so many times that it's hard to take seriously.

[Rich Iurilli · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was INSUFFERABLE. It has a few good insights about player development but wastes the rest of its pages recapping the 2018 season (if you just read this you’d never know that team won 100 games), regurgitating tired criticisms and whining about strikeouts, bloggers, millennials and whatever else Bob Klapisch doesn’t like.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was some really interesting information about the front office in this. I knew some of it, but there were definitely things I didn't know. The details of how the YES Network came about were really interesting to me, for example, and I'm still horrified at the idea that the Dolans could have purchased an 80% interest in the team.

However, I read this knowing that I would probably not enjoy it because I'm generally not a fan of Klapisch's writing, and I was absolutely right on that front. To start off, there were a few details that were not accurate (he referenced Mark Shapiro as the architect of a title-winning team in Cleveland - title, to me, means World Series champ - and said that Don Mattingly had no coaching experience before taking over as manager of the Dodgers, when he was absolutely a hitting coach and bench coach under Torre first). I definitely also didn't need his repeated digs at millennials, the way the game is played now, Stanton, etc. And large portions of the book took repeated shots at Torre, Girardi, etc., while not evaluating problems like roster construction, which is primarily the responsibility of the front office. One season we had Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon as two fifths of the starting rotation, but sure, the lack of titles in the 2000s is all Torre's fault.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow on the uptake, but some real good stuff when the book starts to veer away from just covering the 2018 team for the first hundred pages or so to the behind-the-scenes of how they got there (Randy Levine, YES Network, Yanks in the 90's, etc.). Imagine this will age well when the 2018 team and season isn't as fresh in one's mind. Really good point in time to write something like this because 2018 is truly the product of a decision led by Cashman to pivot the way the Yanks do business -- from investing in soft assets (aging superstars) to hard ones (analytics, performance science academies, etc.).

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been on a quest to read all of the Pulitzer Prize novels, starting with the newest and working my way back. After 43 I needed something light, and this served that need. I picked up this book after hearing one of the authors on the Jim Rome show. An entertaining read, but one of this nature in some respects could be risky. What I mean by this is that it will be interesting to revisit some of the assertions the authors make about the 'Baby Bombers' in a few years to see what holds up. People joke about the Yankees being the Evil Empire, something I actually enjoy, as it gives fuel to good natures banter and trash-talking (my daughter has a storm trooper/Yankees shirt). But things certainly have shifted. Old man George is gone, and his children, and especially Brian Cashman, do not hold the same views about buying (overpaying) for stars to win titles. This book gives a lot of insight into the mind of Cashman, who is referred to as the most powerful man in baseball. As someone who loved The Captain, it was hard to read about how the last contract negotiations went with Jeter (not really a negotiation, but hardball by Cashman). This book is not really one to 're2pect' Derek Jeter. Nor is it very kind to Joe Torre or Joe Girardi. In baseball it is never a good idea to hang on to the 'what ifs' and 'if onlys' that happen on the field (or the front office). That is the overall message of the book. And that's a good thing, because this work does shed some light on some things that make New York sports fans cringe. Most notably is the fact that Steinbrenner nearly sold the Yankees to the Dolan family (yes, THOSE Dolans). After watching Jimmy Dolan run the Knicks into the ground while treating the storied franchise like a personal cash cow, I am grateful that the deal never went through. In the end this was a nice excitement piece to get me ready to watch the boys of summer get started, and hopefully Cashman's diligence will help the Yanks end up on top of the heap this year.

[Jonathan Mcwalter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really really wish Goodreads would implement half stars because this would have been two and a half stars. There are some bright spots when the story goes in depth on some players and I can’t discount the one on one’s with Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman, but the rest of this book is filled with a lot of 2018 season recapping (and not done very well) and some whiny not amusing witticisms. Just not a fan of this and I’m actually a Yankees fan.

[Timmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

It comes to my realization that I've read a lot of books about the Yankees. This was the worst of the lot. The writing style of this author was nothing short of abysmal. My advice, immediately cease and desist from taking literary recommendations of anybody who rated this 4 stars and dissociate in life with anybody who gave 5. Inside the Empire....One star.

[Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is two books pretending to be one: the first will only be interesting if you were a fan of the 2018 Yanks. As somebody who followed the team extensively, these sections feel like a (mostly) happy retrospective and a "what could have been" narrative. The second is one that would be interesting to any fan of modern baseball: a discussion of how the Yankees inner-workings go, what the GM does, how the president Randy Levine leveraged the stadium costs and stadium concessions. I was particularly interested in the minor league aspects, how the Yankees teach low-A prospects money management and nutrition to avoid constant McDonald's orders, English lessons and even swarmed-by-the-media lessons.

It really takes what the Yankees stand for metaphorically (Tradition, class, etc.) and explains how they got to this step, and how they turned from the teams of the 60's when Steinbrenner bought them to the new analytical, Cashman-made Yankees of 2020.

[Jason Grossmann-Ferris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely...a book. It was, for the most part, entertaining in the way that watching a documentary in class is: it's what you have in front of you, so you engage with it out of boredom and end up either pleasantly surprised or even more bored than you were before you focused on it. This book was a mix of the two outcomes. Parts of it were dry and bland and made me sleepy, such as the (brilliantly recounted, I'm sure) tale of the Yankees' establishment as a mainstay on television. Other parts were captivating and actually delivered on my preconceived notion of the book as a fast-paced backstage account of the Yankees' rise to greatness. Overall, if you like the Yankees, go for it (this one's for you, Mr. Gavitte). Otherwise, you can definitely miss it.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book came out with a lot of publicity. No surprise there Huh. A book about the Yankees, and their new generation of players. Some nice insights about how they are building their team. If you are a baseball fan you might enjoy the book.

[Ken Heard · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first this looked like it had great potential. It could be a "Moneyball" or "Big Data Baseball" book on the NY Yankees, and regardless if you're a fan or not of the team, the Yankees are the quintessential of baseball empires.

I thought this would be a look at the strategies employed in making the team what it was. Instead, it's a focus on 2018's season and, based upon Klapisch's reporting, I was somewhat surprised that this was a 100-game winning team. The Red Sox won 108 games, though. His biases came through strongly in the book. He loves Yankee outfielder Aaron Judge and is not a fan of Alex Rodriguez, citing two poor post seasons he had and ignoring others that were successful. He also slams Joe Torre, the manager who brought back the World Series tradition after Billy Martin left some 20 years earlier.

And he thinks GM Brian Cashman is a sheer genius.

The writing is pretty juvenile, too. Klapisch resorts to a lot of metaphors and euphemisms throughout the book that, at times, seem inside jokes to native New Yorkers. I felt like I wasn't cool enough to understand.

I'm a Yankees' fan. My father grew up in New York and watched in the days of DiMaggio and Berra and instilled in me the fandom of the team. When I think of the "empire" it's of the days of Mantle and Munson and Reggie Jackson and 1977, not the Core Four and the ever-pleasant manager Aaron Boone.

In light of the chance that there's not going to be baseball for a while, this is a decent reminder of the sport. However, I have Roger Kahn's "October Men," the look at the 1978 Yankees; and a bio on George Steinbrenner on deck to read and those will be much more fufilling.

[Nick Stubbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essentially just a play by play of the Yankee 2018 season. Interesting prose but already lived through it so didn’t need the recap.

Interesting front office stuff but again, when it came to the Yankees, I expected more in the weeds stuff on players.

[Ron Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read, nice to see inside the walls however too many times you could tell despite the access they got the writers wanted more and you could read the whiny voice in the writing, along with a veiled although slight a dislike of the Yankees.

[Emily Barranca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Would give 0 stars if I could. The incredibly biased, anti-player tone through the whole book is hard to stomach for any fan, and it’s questionable if you can even call this nonfiction. If I wanted to read gratuitous Cashman fanfiction, I would have gone to tumblr.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doing a season retrospective on a team is a tough task.  One can choose a team that one thinks will be really successful that fails spectacularly, leaving one with the choice of having to repurpose one's book to reflect that changed reality or to let the manuscript be scrapped.  In this particular case, though, there was no collapse.  By and large the Yankees have been a safe choice to write about because even when they are "rebuilding" for their next championship window they typically do well enough to play in games that matter into September and frequently end up in the playoffs even when they do not have the talent to make it to the World Series.  So it was in 2018 when this particular book was written by someone who wanted to look at the way that the Yankees were seeking to become a perennial championship contender once again with a new manager and a new generation of pinstripe heroes to bring into the public consciousness, and even though the result of the season was nothing particularly impressive, the book still does its job of promoting the Yankees and their approach to baseball for readers who like that sort of thing.

This book, at a bit more than 200 pages in length, mixes its approach between a look at the 2018 season of the Yankees as well as an attempt to look behind the scenes at people who will be a lot longer than your usual trade deadline rental.  The authors begin with a discussion of the power hitters that the Yankees had assembled (1) and looks at the beginning of the season and a key series at Boston (2).  After that the author looks in detail at Brian Cashman and his contribution to Yankee greatness (3) as well as the importance of Aaron Judge as a leader of a young team (4).  There is a discussion of CC's role as an elder statesman (5) and as well as of the injuries that decimated the team (6).  After this the authors explore the education of young Yankee players in Tampa (7) as well as the business nature of Yankees trading for key upgrades for deep playoff runs (8).  Then the personal angle returns with a chapter on Hal Steinbrenner (9) as well as the return of Judge after recovering from injury in September (10) before the inevitable-seeming end of the season in the ALDS against Boston (11).  The book then closes with an epilogue about hot stove season as well as acknowledgements, sources, an index, and some information about the authors.

This book is certainly an informative read, but I have to admit that I am rather ambivalent about the existence of such a book.  The 2018 Yankees were not a particularly special team, given that they won a wild card birth and then failed to even make the AL Championship series, much less the World Series.  They were, at best, one of the eight best teams in baseball, when most of their team was healthy, and if that was the case one would have books on the Astros and Dodgers and Red Sox nearly every year.  Part of the reason this book has a compelling narrative is that it appears the Yankees are even stronger this year, and so if the Yankees become World Series heroes in 2019 or the early 2020's, this book will appear to be all the more prescient because it appeared before the beginning of that World Series window.  But if the Yankees do not end up having some championship runs, this is the sort of book that few people will remember in the future, and that would make this a much less compelling read, since the authors appear to be aiming for a reputation as prophetic sports analysts.

[Bernie B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book follows the Yankee 2018 season with many diversions to review recent history and events to provide background and context. I found the first several chapters to be rambling and slow. They do describe how general manager Cashman cemented his position as the intellectual power behind the Yankees. They help explain how the Yankee organization is evolving from the spend big - win now days of George Steinbrenner to the more restrained and analytical style that many of the winning teams use today. I was surprised to find that these chapters contain a fair amount of anti-Jeter and Torre invective and gossip, despite they being two of the more beloved personalities in NY Yankee lore.

To me, chapter 7 and 8 are the core of the book. Chapter 7 details the Yankee academies that prepare promising players from poor backgrounds of Central and South America for the pressure cooker that is Yankee baseball. They teach these teenagers not just baseball in the Yankee way but nutrition, personal finance, social mores, how to deal with the press, and language both English and Spanish as some players have only basic Spanish skills. It is amazing that the Yankees are devoting such resources given that such a small fraction of the players they develop actually make it to the big leagues. Of the 170 players in the system, only 5 or 6 make the pros. However, all players that they take in but don't make the team, get a college scholarship as a parting gift.

Chapter 8 discusses the business arrangements that George Steinbrenner and Randy Levine, Team President, used to make the Yankees the richest team is all of sports. There is more that could be said about this aspect of the game, but chapter 8 covers the basics. They are very clever and powerfully connected business men.

The last chapter covers the fiasco of the 2018 playoffs. Most Yankee fans would best skip this chapter.

[Robert P. Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting account of the Yankees team, focusing primarily on the 2018 season.

What comes across is how much the writers, and others, dislike Jeter, how strong a candidate for the manager job Boone was, and how wonderful a player and person Judge is. Also getting what seems to be justifiable praise is C. C. Sabathia who pitched through so much pain, and changed his approach to pitching in order to pitch as long as he did.

The authors focus much attention on Cashman's role as general manager and present him as being someone who now runs the day to day operations of the team with almost no interference from Hal Steinbrenner.

I get the sense that Cashman was one of the main sources for much of the information in the book and they certainly go out of their way to praise him.

The authors for the most part give a straight narrative. When they stray from that they tend to have superficial discussions of issues. A few times they mention that the Yankees eschew bunts and small ball in favor of getting home runs. But I still think the evidence is that small ball doesn't pay off. They are critical of Girardi's style of managing the Yankees but pass over all the success he had. Similarly, they are critical of Joe Torre, suggesting that by the end he was not really focusing on managing the team.


Both authors would do well to read about the law of small numbers. They put great stock into how the Yankees did during short playoff series. But that tells one almost nothing about the quality of a team.

The authors do talk about the grind of the season and it is amazing that any player is able to get through an entire season without being injured.

So overall a fun book to read, don't look for any great insights, and even for a Yankees hater the players come across as being people you could root for.

[Ric · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of books on the Yankees because of my love for them, and this was is undoubtedly the worst. Klapisch and Solotaroff come off like people who are bitter that the game has passed them by and are stuck in the past. They’re constantly insinuating the players are soft because of their generation, calling the social media team nerds and bloggers because they don’t understand how the game is marketed, and clearly not understanding the evolution of baseball in the current day.

They’re also horribly misinformed, which is almost impressive when you consider journalists who have inside information probably shouldn’t be. Saying Mark Shapiro was the architect who turned Cleveland into a title winner when they made the World Series once in the last two decades and run through the worst division is baseball every year is patently incorrect. Saying Toronto is the only stadium who serves beer in cans in asinine, considering I’ve bought beer in cans at 4 stadiums last season alone. And saying that the joke amongst some Yankee beat writers was that the Yakuza was telling Tanaka to throw games is sorta racist and undermines one of the better pitchers in pinstripes in the last decade.

I also didn’t like the constant shit talking about Giancarlo Stanton, who’s one of the hardest workers on the team and a guy who takes major accountability in the press when he does mess up. Also, saying only good things about Randy Levine is hilarious when anyone who follows the team knows how god awful he is.

[Ian Morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

The next baseball book in my library, Inside The Empire was something I had been meaning to read but hadn't got around to yet. Given the current COVID shutdown of sports, I was hoping this book would fill in some much needed baseball "something" for me. It sort of did, but I hoped for more.

Yes, I did like the book enough to give it three stars. There is interesting background on how the YES Network came to play and some fun moments of Yankee history. I also enjoyed learning about what the Yankees are doing as an organization to rebuild the culture of the organization from the scouting and player development aspects. I was unaware of what they had going in Tampa and the commitment the team was making to developing the Latin players for more than just "béisbol."

Most of the book focused on the 2018 season and how they fell apart in the playoffs to their rival Red Sox. Most baseball fans already know enough about all of that. I wanted a little more opening up from Cashman and would have loved more from manager Aaron Boone or even the Steinbrenner family members. It felt more like an extra long,long-form read in a magazine.

Is this worth your time? If you are a Yankees fan, sure. If you miss baseball and want a quick read to fill the void? Sure. Is this a "must read" book? That depends...

[Marty Monforte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bob Klapisch and Paul Solotaroff co authored this book. The work is a combination of an view of the inner workings of the Yankees and a summary of the 2018 season. The book seems to emphasize the latter more.

The authors showed some insight into the Yankees and a decent ability to discuss important moments of the season. They begin the book with a discussion of the general managers meeting, which takes place annually during the off season. At this particular meeting, the Yankees were approached about the possibility of acquiring slugger Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins. The Yankees were approached in part because they could afford the remainder of Stanton's lucrative contract and because the Yankees were on a list of teams that Stanton was willing to go to.
Of course, we know that eventually, the Yankees traded for him.

The book spends time discussing the career and contributions of general manager, Brian Cashman, the development of the younger Yankees such as Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Luis Severino and others. The book also focuses on the role that Randy Levine has played within the Yankees' organization and the ownership style of Hal Steinbrenner.

Towards the end of the book, the authors deal with the playoff run that ended with a loss to the Boston Red Sox in the divisional series. Aaron Judge's triumphant return to the Yankees after his injury is also addressed.

Overall, this is a decent book. It grants some insight into the Yankee organization and the 2018 season.

[David Edie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a difficult book to review! To start, the positives: this book was filled with inside details that were not available to fans prior to this book, including on-field & in-clubhouse anecdotes as well as details to how the behind-the-scenes team works in the New York and Tampa offices as well as the creation and success of YES Network. Now, the negatives: had I reviewed this book prior to reading the epilogue, my thought would have been that Cashman and/or Levine had ghost-written this book as a way to tear down their employees, however after reading the epilogue and afterword, it seems that Solotaroff and Klapisch simply have nothing positive to say about anyone and truly don't understand the topic they have written about. This book tries to market itself as being a glimpse into the modern way baseball is run, but don't let it fool you: this is a hitpiece on all of the things that Klapisch feels are ruining the game of baseball. The two stars are for the anecdotes that absolutely could not have been attained without this book. The lack of the other three stars are for the inaccuracies and awful writing abilities of the authors.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book four stars and it only applies to those who are New York Yankee fans or baseball fans. As a Yankee fan, I found this behind the scenes look at the 2018 season to be fascinating. And it so aptly relates to the current situation with the Yankees today.

What I found very interesting is the authors writing about teams and players before we knew about the Astros cheating scandal or how pitchers were using substances on the ball for greater control and spin rate. It was ironic reading from today's perspective, the authors praise the Astros and some great pitchers. Little did they know at the time why the Astros won a World Series or why some of the pitchers were pitching so great!

If you're a Yankee fan, you will love this book. And at the same time, understand why the Yankee organization is the way it is today. You might even enjoy this book if you are a baseball fan in general. Overall, one of the better sports books I've ver read.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some truly fascinating moments. In hindsight, much of this is a horror novel rather than a sports book, especially for Yankees fans. Some compelling looks at what goes on behind the scenes at the Yankees circa 2016-18, but given the complete collapse of this team and its ability to develop any degree of consistency - and it's tendency to fade hard, mid-to-late-season - it should probably be far more critical of the approach Hal and Cashman have taken with the team. Also there are passages where the writers come off as a little insufferable. Klapisch's take on the radio in Boone's car, for example. Please, dear Bob, what wonderful music do you listen to and why is it so superior to his choices? There are few things in this world worse than a music snob who mocks the listening choices of others. Or is this just your way of refusing to do the hard work of criticizing Boone's actual managing -- where there is much room for criticism -- so you attack his radio instead?

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

As others have said, if you are a Yankees fan you will likely enjoy this book. The book takes an in-depth look into the 2018 season largely through the lens of Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner. It also covers some interesting topics including how the Steinbrenner ownership group turned a fledgling organization in the 70s into the most profitable sports organization in history.

As the authors mention, both the new-school players (Judge, etc) and ownership (Hal Steinbrenner) have embraced a tight-lipped mentality which prevents any real juicy details from being revealed. While there are no real bombshells, there are definitely some interesting details mentioned by the authors including friction between Cashman and Jeter, why the Yankees decided to get rid of Joe Girardi, and some of the personalities in the clubhouse. I was also pretty surprised how candid Brian Cashman was regarding some of his opinions.

Overall, the book is interesting and a fast read. I definitely recommend for anybody who wants an in-depth look into the New York Yankees organization.

[Louis Lapides · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any serious NY Yankee fan would devour this book. Bob Kaplisch and Paul Solotaroff were given the green light from the Yanks to go behind the scenes to write about everyone associated with the NY organization.

The book is filled with memories of the Yanks going back to the 80s and focusing in on the 2018 season. The authors had access from Cashman to other major admin people in the Yankee organization and most of all, to every player on their roster as well as up and coming stars from their minor league operations.

This look at the NY team was fair and honest. The closing chapter was a bit harsh regarding the final divisional series with the Sawx. Kaplisch was brutal towards a team that won 100 games in the regular season.

If you want the inside dope on the power behind the NY Yankees, this book will not disappoint.

[Mickey Mantle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked it up for light reading. I once was a huge fan of MLB, but have become totally bored with four hour games and teams waiting for a 3 run homer. This book entertained me and reinforced my belief in the dullness and lack of action in this "Modern Era".
The writing style was "different". Half Yankees Fanboys and half objective observers.
The 2018 best laid plans of the Yankees to power their way to the World Series resembled a derailed D Train.
The Brian Cashman portrayal was excellent. The George and Hal Steinbrenner stories were great. Randy Levine sounds like he was born a businessman with a M.B.A. in the cradle.
The Epilogue stated the unvarnished truth. The Red Sox are doing things better than the Yankees. Not for lack of effort.

[Patrick Krause · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and researched book about the 2018 New York Yankees, and how the front office is set up for continued success now and in the future. The book spent a little too much time on the details of the Yankees season on the field, and I wanted more information on how things are working behind the scenes. It would have been more interesting to read about how Cashman and company are working behind the scenes during the season, than another rehash of Sanchez and his lost season.

But, for baseball and Yankees fans, there's a bit of the curtain being pulled back on the work of Cashman, Randy Levine, and the Steinbrenner family.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's best if you're a Yankees fan if you want to read this book, because the writers are such homers that it's super noticeable and it takes you out of the 'story' a bit. There are some interesting behind the scenes vignettes, a lot of descriptions of games, and a ton of the authors kissing current Yankee management booty (and George Steinbrenner's (RIP) too). I guess they wanted to keep their access....which they did get, there are interviews with key people who run the club now, and a lot of trashing of those who are no longer involved.

I got this on a Prime Day sale for cheap, so I can't say it was a waste of coin. Barely.

[Matthew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on the Yankees and the front office doings that go on there. It honestly would have received 5 stars except the author takes some rather unnecessary jabs at pro athletes that he clearly doesn't like (Jeter, Tyson) that come off like someone scared to insult them to their face so they backhandedly do it in a book. It was also only about the 2018 season really, which isn't really made clear until you start actually reading the book.

Irregardless though, it is a great read and really entertaining. The author is funny and if he took out the childish jabs, it would have been a knock out 5 star. Def read if you're a Yanks fan. Oh, and Boston still sucks :D

[Erik Redin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to give this book 4 stars because it is full of really interesting tidbits about the Yankees and how they're run under Brian Cashman, but the last chapter and epilogue ruined it a bit for me. The last chapter reflects on the Yankees' 2018 ALDS loss to the Red Sox, but in the entire chapter it's never mentioned how Alex Cora completely outmanaged Aaron Boone. Then in the epilogue, a final sitdown interview with Cashman to reflect on the season and postseason, Boone's name is not mentioned once. Not once is Cashman asked to reflect on Boone's performance as a rookie manager.