Book Review - Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain

Marty Appel took his first crack co-authoring a Thurman Munson autobiography in 1977. "Can you make it funny?", Thurman asked Appel. "Sure, give me more funny stories." It turned out to be a more "traditional" version of an autobiography than Appel had signed on for.

Now in his second Munson book in 32 years (in stores this past Tuesday), Appel, a Yankee PR man from 1968 to 1977, really has the goods on Munson. I wasn't yet born when Thurman Munson passed away, but after reading Appel's account, really just a series of stories from friends, family, teammates and acquaintances, I feel gypped that I never got to see him play for myself.

I've grown up rooting for two clean-cut Yankee captains, Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter. So imagine my surprise to learn that just 30 years ago, the Yankee captain was a man who dressed in polyester on and off the field, had nicknames like "Tugboat," and "Beer Can," and responded to being booed at Stadium by flipping off the Yankee faithful. Goose Gossage says that when he'd come in to close out the game, Munson would greet him politely at the mound: "Hey f*ckhead, how are you gonna lose this one?" I wonder if Posada ever said that to Mariano...

Appel's book gives the fans an insight to Munson that he never could while Munson was alive, both the good and the bad. He once went 11 days without shaving during the season--a big Yankee no-no. He demanded that in his contract, there be a clause so that no matter who the Yankees acquired, Munson would always be the highest paid player on the team. And he loved the serenity that came with flying his own planes--a hobby he picked up to spend more time at home with his family.

Reading this book is a treat, even for a younger generation of fans who only know names like Bobby Murcer (the man I was named after) and Lou Piniella for their work in baseball after their playing days. Some of the stories are so good that I almost felt like Appel was cheating for being so well-connected with the Yankees, having been in their employ during some of the truly great what-it-means-to-be-a-Yankee kind of years.

Marty Appel is a pro, and it's apparent in Munson. The first half of the book is a connected series of anecdotes from Thurman's formative years and playing career. The second half winds down with lucid, but not gruesome details about the crash from the two other passengers that survived the crash, teammate reactions, life after Thurman Munson, and really just a lot of powerful stuff that not too many authors would have had such easy access to.

We don't love the term "True Yankee" here at NSI, but if there ever was one, it was Thurman Munson. Read the full post, after the jump

George Steinbrenner Biography - Book Review Pt. 1

George was never a dynasty builder, because he was incapable of leaving well enough alone. He was a compulsive meddler who had to be in complete control over every aspect of the organization, and his most detrimental flaw was that he always thought that because he had once been a coach, he knew more about the sport than his coaches."

--Peter Golenbock, from the new George Steinbrenner biography, (You might be surprised to learn that the above quote is actually referring to a then 30-year-old George Steinbrenner's time as owner of the Cleveland Pipers, a professional

The folks over Wiley Publishing were kind enough to send over a copy of George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built The Yankee Empire for NSI to check out. Wiley has also been cool about allowing us to publish a few excerpts from the book on our site, which we'll do in the next couple of weeks in a multi-part series. In the first hundred pages, it'll become painfully obvious to readers that taking the reigns of the Yankees wasn't really a matter of choice for Big Stein; it was more like a matter of time.

The first couple of chapters drag a bit: remembering old Yankee Stadium and ushering in the age of The House That George Built. It also covers George's childhood with his very strict father, his adolescent years, and his transition from annoying spoiled rich kid to annoyingly-successful-but-still-spoiled richer adult. If you stick it out, you'll be rewarded with some expository writing that sketches an enigmatic egomaniac in the making. In the anecdote below, Golenbock describes an all too familiar-sounding George, who ran his teams in his own distinct way:

"The Pipers [the basketball team Steinbrenner owned from 1960-62] had a slim lead over the Pittsburgh Rens, led by Connie 'The Hawk' Hawkins, and Steinbrenner saw that the Rens had to play three games against Hawaii right at the end ... The Hawk was averaging forty-two points a game, except when he played against [Pipers' Center Dick Brott], who held the star to seventeen points a game. George ... traded Brott to Hawaii so he could help them beat Pittsburgh and give the Pipers the ... championship. Remarkably, it turned out just that way."

Stories like the ones George includes don't happen by accident. No stranger to sports biographies, Golenbock answers a lot of the questions that Yankee fans and Yankee detractors have had since he took over the team in 1973: What the hell is wrong with this guy? How did he get this way? Was he always like this? This last passage epitomizes the relationship between George and his father, Henry, in the days when George was working for his dad as described by family friend Patsy Stecher:

"The father ... took him into a room, gave him holy hell, and fired George. The next morning Geroge was going to get up real early and clean out his office so he could have one-upmanship on his father ... there was a knock at the door [at George and his wife Joan's house], and it was his father, who was carrying all the contents of his office desk. He dumped it all on their living room floor and left. His father beat him to it."

The book is in stores now. Love him or hate him, it's a good read at under 350 pages. You know how the story ends, but it might be cool to find out how it wound up there.
Read the full post, after the jump

Meet "The Truth About Ruth and More: Behind Yankees Myths, Legends, and Lore" Author Peter Handrinos Tonight At Borders In Manhattan

We were recently given the opportunity to read an advance copy of Peter Handrinos' The Truth About Ruth and More: Behind Yankees Myths, Legends, and Lore. We are still working on getting through the entire book, and plan on posting a full review in due time. Our early thoughts are that it is a great book for those Yankee fans who aren't afraid to think differently about things they thought they knew in regard to Yankee history. It reads like a compilation of in-depth blog posts strung together in book form. Some may see that as a positive, and some may think of it as a negative. For the blogging/"Moneyball" generation, this book is a must read.


That being said, the author, Peter Handrinos will be signing his new book tonight in New York City.

Details:
Borders Books at Park Avenue & 57th Street, midtown Manhattan
Thursday, April 2nd (TONIGHT)
The time: 7 pm

According to Peter, "after the event there will be a complimentary bar reception, so hopefully it’ll be a good night for fans of Yankee baseball and/or free drinks."

There you have it, baseball books and booze. What more can you ask for on a Thursday night? Read the full post, after the jump