The 1998 Yankees The inside story of the greatest baseball team ever

Enthusiastic history of the baseball squad that Derek Jeter called the "greatest team ever." The 1998 New York Yankees, writes veteran baseball writer Curry, was a powerhouse team in every respect: Its bullpen was headed by Mariano Rivera, one of the most consistently productive pitchers in the game, with catching duties shared by Joe Girardi and Jorge Posada and talented players at every position. For the most part, the players got along, with the usual tensions, under the watchful gaze of manager Joe Torre. Not that all the season's moments were blissful. As the author notes, "Posada was as passionate and as intense as any player I ever covered, a player who was never hesitant to tell a pitcher how he felt about a disappointing pitch or an awful outing. As Posada's stature and playing time increased, he became as much of a leader as any Yankee. And, if he felt the need to get loud and demonstrative…he would." He was particularly hard on pitcher David Wells, who had a few disastrous moments but who also pitched a rare perfect game that year. Curry is strong on personality profiles, and it's clear that he's spent a lot of time in the dugout and locker room. He chronicles a near-knockdown fight between Wells and fellow pitcher David Cone, and he records an all-too-public brawl between the Yankees and the Orioles after an Orioles pitcher threw a ball at left-handed batter Tino Martinez that "drilled [him] between the 2 and the 4 on his back." The 1998 season, culminating in a World Series sweep of the San Diego Padres, had plenty of fine moments of vindication, including Rivera's atoning for a previous season of allowing one homer too many. It was a season, writes the author, that was "as remarkable as any in their illustrious history." Buffs may quibble at Curry's best-team-ever claim, but Yankees fans will enjoy his paean. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.