Baseball’s Greatest Series: Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History

Comments

1. Joshua Zeitz says:
   October 23, 2010 at 4:30 pm

   Review by Joshua Zeitz for Baseball’s Greatest Series: Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History
   Rating:
   I’ve never been a great fan of sports literature, but this book truly brings the game of baseball to life. Fast-paced and engaging, but also deeply informative, it reads like a suspense novel but packs a terrific amount of information and analysis into its pages. What I particularly like is that this book has been issued by an academic press and clearly meets a high intellectual standard; but the prose style is much less academic and more geared toward reader of high-end trade nonfiction. If you’re a Yankees or Mariners fan, or if you just love the skill and triumph of baseball, this book is a must-read.
2. Andrew Leahy says:
   October 23, 2010 at 5:13 pm

   Review by Andrew Leahy for Baseball’s Greatest Series: Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History
   Rating:
   For Yankees fans this book is a must read. Insightful and capturing, Donnelly has pin pointed the moments that have defined the greatest sports franchise as we know it today.
3. Preston M says:
   October 23, 2010 at 6:00 pm

   Review by Preston M for Baseball’s Greatest Series: Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History
   Rating:
   Donnelly’s book has clearly been meticulously researched. I was most impressed by the “inside game” represented throughout. After all these years, it was amazing to go back and “relive” that tremendous Yankees/Mariners series with such a heightened level of detail and to be so far removed now as to see the impact the series had on baseball. The insight shared by the key people involved, including Showalter and Mattingly himself, is unlike anything I have ever seen written about that series. In fact, Donnelly’s “Baseball’s Greatest Series” steers closest in its depth, details and color to Buster Olney’s “The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty”. This book is a great read for Yankee fans, Mariner fans, Mattingly fans and baseball fans in general. Highly recommend.
4. saintd says:
   October 23, 2010 at 6:50 pm

   Review by saintd for Baseball’s Greatest Series: Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History
   Rating:
   good easy read. a lot of fun stuff i didn’t know… or didn’t remember. nice book for a first time writer. could have used a better editor. there were a number of mistakes; typos, , grammar, non-sentences, etc…
5. Brian R. Maricle says:
   October 23, 2010 at 7:22 pm

   Review by Brian R. Maricle for Baseball’s Greatest Series: Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History
   Rating:
   This book provides a well-written account of the 1995 ALDS between the Yankees and Mariners. This was indeed one of the “greatest” series of postseason baseball, for many reasons. Foremost, Donnelly does a nice job of placing this series into the context of baseball following the 1994 strike. Many fans were reticent to come back to baseball, and this series provided a lot of “spark” to excite fans in the game again. Additionally, the series was very exciting. The series went the full five games, with two extra-innings games, including the deciding fifth game. Donnelly does a nice job of describing the events of each of the games. Any fan of the game would enjoy the book just for this. Also, the book presents a history of each team leading up to the 1995 postseason. This helps build up the importance of each team making the playoffs. The entire existence of the Mariners had been futile, and they were on the verge of being sold and moved away from Seattle. The Yankees were going through a historic (for them) title drought. They had been through a lot of personnel changes, and 1995 was supposed to be their best chance at a winner. Jobs were at stake. It was also Don Mattingly’s final season, so it was his only shot at the postseason. Clearly a lot was at stake for both teams.

   The only complaint I have is the uneven treatment the two teams receive in the book. The author claims from the beginning that he is a Yankees fan, and this is very evident throughout the book. All the umpire calls that favored the Mariners are spelled out in detail, but there is very little reciprocal treatment for calls favoring the Yankees. Moreover, there are numerous mentions of instances where the Yankees would have won “if this bounce had been two inches over. . .” (for example). An equal, objective approach would have made this a better book. It is good to point out how evenly matched the teams were, and how close the series was, but the clear favoritism for the Yankees detracts from the rest of the book. Despite this, the book was still a good read. The author does explain how good the series was; he acknowledges the talent of the Mariners, and what the win meant for the Mariner franchise. All told, this was a good book. I recommend it.

Speak Your Mind Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.