Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees

by Joel Sherman, David Cone (Foreword)

Following the crushing defeat to Seattle in the 1995 playoffs, the Yankees replaced Buck Showalter with Joe Torre as manager and sparked a championship run that would produce four World Series titles in five years. Teeming with revelations and glorious memories, Birth of a Dynasty celebrates the unforgettable 1996 Yankees season: the season that began one of the most respected team dynasties in sports history. 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, draws on hundreds of interviews and years of on-the-spot reporting to re-create one of the Yankees' greatest years.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction

362 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Thomas Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the nearest to perfect book about the a baseball team that you will ever read. From the craziness of George Steinbrenner feeling that as owner he knows better than everyone else to the calmness of Joe Torre keeping the injury riddled team together in the quest for just one thing… the World Series ring. Joe Torre had been in baseball most of his life but the World Series escaped him while his older brother had won two rings in his career. In this team he saw the necessary skills to get him his first ring. With so many new players like the skilled and dedicated Derek Jeter, the mind wandering Bernie Williams, the tough throwing Andy Pettite, and the amazing Mariano Rivera, Joe held a team together in spite of a front office that was nearly insane because of the rantings of George and convinced them that this team was the best in baseball. This books takes us through the failure of 1995 under Buck Showalter who just didn’t have faith in his young players to the wild success of Joe Torre’s team where rookies and veterans worked together to win the World Series. If you are a Yankee fan this is a must read.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The World Series dynasty that was heard from miles away. After one of the best season coming to an end after a devastating defeat to the Seattle Mariners in the 1995 playoffs, the Yankees were determined to get revenge. The Yankees replaced Buck Showalter with Joe Torre as manager. Which would immensely change the momentum throughout the team and dugout. Eventually would create a strong enough chemistry to take them to the World Series allowing them to win four titles out of five trips which is insane. Thriving off chemistry and heart the birth of dynasty enlightens about the creation of one of the best sports teams ever. The Birth of A Dynasty writing by Joel Sherman is written in first person perspective from a journalist who had an in from media and was able to question every player and understand there daily routine and what happens within the team off the field. This helps the reader grab a perspective they can’t get any other way. For example he was able to break down the relationship and conversations the Yankees went through during transactions between Torre and Showalter and was able to bring evidence to something we knew so little about. Joel Sherman uses an informative writing form because he’s knowledge and standpoint on the franchise in this time period. This helps hinder the book because from any other perspective we wouldn’t understand as much nor understand the theories used. The tone Joel Sherman uses is informative with humor in a very sudden mellow way. He’s writting showed examples throughout Buck Showalter meetings with teams and interviews where he said “ I don’t know if I want to come back” words we thought we would never hear. In this little sound but we as a reader are able to catch an inside glimpse of the process and what occurred to have Joe as Coach. This really helped feed into the suspense of the book. As a reader and fan of the Yankees and sports fan I thought the birth of a dynasty gave me more knowledge and also gave me chills there was one moment where Joel described Derek Jeter a young rookie who would further on become a hall of fame inductee. Derek was a young piece who became a major role in the dynasty and it’s success. With a moment in game 4 of the 2001 World Series when he hit a walkoff homerun that was blast all through New York which gave him the name Mr. November. Reading this was chills flowing through my body the passion and love for the game he brought had came off to a reader through diction just shows how powerful a moment can be. Giving me nothing but positive feedback about the book I highly recommend this book to any sports reader. I thought it was great at showing passion and love but also talked about the conflicts weather it was with the crazy overpowering Seattle Mariners or with the Arizona diamondbacks and there famous pitcher Randy Johnson a man who stood at 6 foot 10 inches with a left side movement like nothing else. Just shows how great the Yankees team must’ve been to take down such a strong force weather it was the mariners, dbacks, Braves.
I firmly believe this is one of the best written and most intriguing books I read and would love for more people to get the chance to read it for sure as well as me looking into more books about the dynasty and how it has changed since that time period.

[Judd Vance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this and another book on the same topic in a 2nd hand store and went with this because the other was written in 1996, whereas this was from 2007. The other book probably had too much "Wow, the Yankeez roool" factor going for it, where this has the context of history.
It starts with the 1994 playoff loss to Seattle and how it brought down Buck Showalter and set the stage. It is amazing how everything clicked just right to make the dynasty happen: Jeter got in because of injuries. Rivera was almost traded. Those are a couple of examples.
The book covers the details of the players and how they arrived and how it all fit together. Of course it's going to talk about Jeffrey Maier (God bless him!) and the incredible comeback against the Braves.
I loved it and couldn't put it down. Then again, my plane was stuck on the tarmac for 6 hours, so it's not like I had a choice. :D

[Adamdaigle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The weakest of the four Yankees championship teams in the late 90s, but that's not to discredit them. Sherman had an accurate line on how they beat the Braves: It was players 15-25 on the roster where they had the edge.

I also believe this: Joe Torre's calm bombs were another big reason they won that year.

[Colin Cerniglia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part of this book is learning more about the Yanks-Orioles rivalry that existed at the time. The author is well-sourced and experienced. But it seems that some of the nuances of the book drag it out too much. Like he focused on the wrong items. Not as good as some of the other dynasty-era books but a good one for the hardcore fan.

[Matt Garville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great info & dirt on the team that started the run

[Chris Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as it was a good summary of this team and this season. Much of the back stories are explored of the stars such as Torre, Rivera and Jeter, the redemption of Gooden, and lesser known stories about lesser known players like Charlie Hayes. More for the Yankee fan, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

[Branden · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're a fan of the Yankees then this is a great read about the better years when the Yankees really dominated without having to break the bank on players.

[Paula Katinas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a Met fan, but I still love this book. Sherman, a columnist with the New York Post, is both a great writer and an excellent reporter.

[Leonora · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good read, for yankees fans only.