Book Review: RED SOX vs. YANKEES: The Great Rivalry

RED SOX vs. YANKEES: The Great Rivalry
Harvey Frommer and Frederic J. Frommer
Sportspublishingllc.com
247 pp.
$24.95

With the agonies and ecstasies of the 2003 season fresh in our minds and a new movie called “Still, We Believe” in the theaters allowing us to re-live those excruciating moments, this book recounts Game 7 of the pennant playoffs right up to Aaron Boone’s feeble homer that robbed the Sox of yet another pennant.

“Red Sox vs. Yankees” is the most useful as a richly illustrated survey of the two teams, with stats, timelines, oral narratives, game descriptions and vintage photographs of the great players of both teams. There’s Lou Gehrig giving his famous farewell speech, a relatively trim, speedy Babe, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, Casey Stengel, Luis Tiant, Allie Reynolds, Joe DiMaggio and a young Ted Williams. For laughs, you can see the baseball cards of Dwight Evans, Lou Piniella, Carl Yastrzemski, and Rich Gossage with their bad ‘70’s hair.

There’s a fascinating comparison of Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park that shows how “their styles, shapes, and locations” have influenced the supposed rivalry and the personalities and make-ups of the teams. Both parks are old, dating back to 1912 and 1923, respectively. Yankees’ players call their home “the most magical ballpark ever built.” Unlike Fenway, where players are hired for their ability to hit moon shots over the Green Monster, Yankee Stadium was built to fit the dimensions of one George Herman Ruth. The House that Babe Ruth built was just that, custom-designed for that big player’s left-handed power shots down the right field line. The fence was a mere 295 feet from home, allowing Ruth hit a homer at nearly every at-bat. One slightly morbid feature of the old stadium was stone monuments to Ruth, Gehrig, and Huggins that spooked outfielders who had to chase down balls among them. (Those monuments have since been walled off between the visitors’ and Yankees’ bullpens.) Over the years, Yankee Stadium has been renovated and improved but has lost some of its historic character. Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk once remarked, “Yankee Stadium was made for rabbits and giants,” meaning players had to run like rabbits to catch balls, and hit like giants to get out of the infield.

Fenway Park, on the other hand, is a cramped, quirky “lyrical little bandbox” with narrow, uncomfortable seats, odd angles, the Pesky Pole, and the infamous Green Monster that looms only 310 feet from home plate, tempting hitters as a deceptively easy target. Skilled outfielders like Yaz can play a carom off the Wall and fire the ball back in to hold hitters to a single at first, but to others, the Wall is a terror. At Fenway, pennants have been won and lost, crowds have cheered and cried, and a World Series has slipped away between a player’s legs. Visiting teams that come to Fenway face one of the noisiest, most raucous crowds in all of baseball and the most hated opponents of all are the Yankees.

I give mixed reviews to the last part of the book, a compilation of oral narratives and opinions offered by “celebrities, politicians, players, coaches, managers, executives, fans, and media people.” Some are riveting, like the offering from former mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose grace and dignity gave New York courage following the terrible events of September 11th. Giuliani has a true fan’s appreciation of the game and holds no grudges, calling the 2003 Championship Series “the most exciting I’ve ever been to or seen.”

Other narratives are bloated dissertations or autobiographies of player wannabes. The players themselves are the most succinct. Jason Varitek of the Red Sox talks about enjoying the competition with Yankees. A Yankees fan cruelly compares the Red Sox playing to “the repeated sailing of the Titanic.”

I can only say to fellow Red Sox fans, “Keep the faith. Maybe this is the year!”

Our Rating System is based on a four ball system as follows:
One Ball: Average. It has something to say but is nothing special.
Two Balls: Something men usually have - also means its a cut above average, and worth reading/owning.
Three balls: Stands out from its peers and is highly recommended.
Four Balls: More than just what two men have when hanging out together, it means it is an exceptional book that truly earns a walk - straight to the local book store to get a copy.

Book Review: Red Sox vs. Yankees: The Great Rivalry