To celebrate the official opening
of the 2016 baseball season, Innovative hybrid publisher Riverdale Avenue Books (RAB) has just
released Bronx Bummers: The Unofficial
History of the New York Yankees’ Bad Boys, Blunders and
Brawls by Daily News staffers
Robert Dominguez and David Hinckley.
Whether you love the Yankees or loathe them, even the
most casual baseball fan is well versed on the team’s nearly 100-year lineage
of legends that span the decades from Ruth to DiMaggio to Mantle to Jeter.
Most every book on the Yankees, therefore, heralds the unparalleled
winning tradition of the famed Bronx Bombers. This is not that kind of book. In
Bronx Bummers: The Unofficial History of the New York Yankees’ Bad Boys,
Blunders and Brawls, the authors shine a light on the dark side of the team’s
otherwise illustrious history.
In 50 lighthearted chapters, Bronx Bummers
begins with the tale of the Yankees’ first colorful owners in 1903 — one was a
former New York police chief widely considered the most corrupt cop in city
history, the other was Manhattan's biggest owner of illegal gambling dens — and
continues through the sordid exploits of some of the team’s earliest stars,
including a slick-fielding first baseman run out of baseball for throwing
games; a good-hitting pitcher who derailed his Hall of Fame-bound career with
his brawling and boozing ways; and even the great Babe Ruth himself, who
regularly led the league in HRs, RBIs and STDs. And while most baseball teams
have a history of bench-clearing brawls, Dominguez and Hinckley, veteran New
York City tabloid reporters, chronicle how the Yankees hold the unofficial
record for most fights between teammates — not to mention the most front-office
blunders. From the bad old days of the team’s origins as the Highlanders all
the way to the Bronx Zoo years and beyond, Bronx
Bummers divulges what really went on behind the boxscores of baseball's
winningest franchise.
Author Robert Dominguez explained the genesis of the
book. “The seed of the idea for a book detailing the ‘human’ side of Yankee
heroes goes back at least 45 years, when I was growing up near the
Stadium. Back in the early ’70s you could easily sneak into the players’
parking lot, and even as a wide-eyed 10-year-old it was easy to see who the
really nice ones were (Thank you, Mel Stottlemyre, for your autograph),
the not-so-nice (Screw you, Mike Kekich, for promising me one and then driving
away) and even which of the married ones were out trolling for groupies. So
while I’m still a diehard and devoted fan to this day, it was a blast to delve
into the Yankees’ rich history and uncover some of the sordid stuff that people
either don’t remember or don’t realize happened.”
Co- author David Hinckley added, “baseball is a game
where the core challenge is to overcome imperfection — to get a hit three times
out of ten, to advance four bases when most of the time you won’t. That’s why
it was so much fun to dig back into moments that did not have a good outcome.
It’s what baseball is about, as much as the moments that do. So we looked on
these remembered tales as twofers: a consolation for Yankee haters and a
reminder for Yankee fans that the HRs and Ws taste sweeter when you endured a
few Ks and Ls along the way.”
Publisher Lori Perkins said, “As a native New Yorker and a
life-long Yankees fan, I thought I knew it all, but Dominguez and Hinckley
really unearthed some great ‘bad Yankees’ tales. I couldn’t put the book down.“
No comments:
Post a Comment