The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty, Buster Olney's tale of the 1996-2001 Yankees, set against the backdrop of their heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Diamondbacks, made me feel like I'd just eaten a bucket of popcorn.
Like an involuntary reaction to popcorn in my lap, I couldn't keep my paws of this book, despite the fact it never quite wowed me. This wasn't the tasting menu at Per Se, just popcorn. Light and familiar, a nice treat without much of a lasting impression.
About 15% of Last Night is a chronicle of the loss in Arizona, with the remaining 85% providing stories about the Yankee principals involved. Stories of their acquisition or development by New York, on-field performances, clubhouse presence and off-field demeanor. Or, in the case of George Steinbrenner, stories of him being a dickhead bully.
Stories I knew already.
That's not to say I knew everything already — Olney's best inside stuff recounts hits and misses from the GM's perspective, including 11th-hour deal-making and deal-breaking — but I think this is one of those books that casual baseball fans are likelier to love than season-ticket holders who read about these guys every day for years and know how it all turns out.
Olney's job wasn't easy. It's not like New York newspaper writers keep secrets like they used to. We know David Wells was a pain in the ass. We know El Duque was moody. That's why Last Night could never have the seismic impact of
Richard Ben Cramer's Joe Dimaggio: The Hero's Life, which, through years of meticulous research, blew the doors off our perception of the Yankee Clipper.
Couple of nagging issues I have, though I do give Last Night a favorable rating, because I thought it was cleverly put together and well-written:
• If the story is about the crushing blow in Arizona, why is the cover pic of Mariano Rivera in a home uniform? This has driven me crazy since it was published.
• On page 64, Olney on Yankees fans' love for manager Buck Showalter before the 1995 ALDS: "Showalter, after all, had received the loudest cheers during the pregame introductions just before the series with Seattle began." Uh, come again? Don Mattingly owned the Bronx those two nights.
In Five Words or Less: Those Were the Daaaaaaaays!
I agree, Paul.
I was at game 2 of the Seattle series. I have never heard the stadium that loud as it was after Sierra and Mattingly went back to back. I have been there for about 20 post season games over the last 10 years and have never heard it like that.
Posted by madison at April 17, 2006 4:23 PM