I can't believe it's been 25 years since the 1998 Yankees won the World Series. I will be the first person to admit that the baseball strike a few years earlier had hurt my love for the game, and while I was happy to see it resume a year later, I didn't watch religiously the way I had in seasons past. 1998 would be a year when my love for baseball was renewed. The McGuire/Sosa chase had a lot of my attention as well as my beloved Cubs making the playoffs for the first time in 9 years. But over in the American League, the Yankees had my attention too, those late nineties teams dividing my love and loyalty with the Baby Bears. Seeing them (Yankees) make their way through the season and then the playoffs and World Series fed my love of the game. I vividly remembered so many moments, but still ended up going down a rabbit hole and finding a copy of the 1998 World Series video to watch. While that was a fun trip down memory lane, it didn't hold a candle to how Jack Curry describes the season; that is pure baseball poetry, and I loved every second of it.

Special thanks to Twelve Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

Jack Curry did an awesome job with this book! He revisits one of the greatest baseball teams of all time, the 98 Yankees, 25 years later, as told by player and coach interviews. Derek Jeter, David Cone, Brian Cashman, and Joe Torre are just a few of the many storytellers you will find in the book.

This book used a perfect combination of player and coach stories, along with Jack’s first hand account as a reporter who followed the team that year. I really enjoyed the perspective of so many of the players, that often gets lost in a book like this. He did a nice job of giving a small background introduction of each of the players, while sticking to the important parts of why we’re here, baseball.

This book was fast paced, well written read, that transitioned throughout the season well. This book was provided to me by Twelve Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest and fair option. I would definitely recommend this book, if you even have the slightest interest in baseball, especially if you were around to witness the greatness that was the late 90’s New York Yankees.

There have been and will continue to be endless arguments about which baseball team is the greatest in history or whether it's even possible to compare teams that thrived during different periods of history. However, in this book, Curry doesn't just make a case for why the 1998 Yankees can or should be considered the greatest team ever, he reconstructs their entire season and shows how that legendary team came together and how that incredible season came to be.

This book is much more than a look at statistics and box scores. It is a deep dive into everything and everyone that made up that team and shows how each of them contributed to the end result of that unbelievable season. It is full of quotes from the actual participants as well which makes it feel like you are getting a real insider's perspective on the season and not just some journalist's view.

If you hate the Yankees, this book certainly isn't going to change that. If you aren't necessarily a Yankee fan, but you are a sports fan, especially a baseball fan, you still may enjoy certain aspects of this book including information regarding what it takes to put a team together and the player's perspectives of what that season was like. However, if you are a Yankee fan, this book is definitely one that you will treasure. It will give you the opportunity to relive that epic once-in-a-lifetime season whenever you want by just opening the book and reading it.

I enjoyed this book so much! My husband has been a Yankee fan all his life and has shared many exciting and fun memories about THE Yankees. So, I had an enjoyable time reading this book to him and discussing the amazing players of the 1998 team.

I loved the history and the statistics that Jack Curry included. And Curry has a wonderful writing style that made this book interesting and compelling even if a person was not an avid sports fan. It was an easy read with lots of information. I highly recommend it!

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Jack Curry, and Twelve Books for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Ask any sports fan about who is the greatest team, no matter the sport, and you are very likely to get not only an answer that might surprise you, but you will also get a passionate explanation from that fan to explain their answer. While Jack Curry is a very good baseball journalist who has covered the New York Yankees in both print and broadcast media, he does this very type of explanation in this book when telling the reader why the 1998 Yankees should be considered the greatest baseball team ever assembled.

The book has both typical and non-typical aspects of books that describe a particular season. Typical in that there are many game recaps and insights into specific games, plays and player reactions over the course of the season. In fact, this book goes further back than just the 1998 baseball season – it starts with the day the Yankees were eliminate in the 1997 postseason by the then-Cleveland Indians. Curry does well writing about the emotions of the Yankees on that day, and keeps it up throughout the book with all the highs and lows – mostly highs – in his description of the team.

Where the book does not fit into the typical one season recap is that the main stars of the team are the players who are described in the most pages. While yes, readers will learn some information they may not have known about the “Core Four” of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada, other players are prominently on display in this book.

Those include David Wells (yes, his story about being hung over while pitching a perfect game is confirmed), Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, World Series MVP Scott Brosius and second baseman Chuck Knoblach. Some get more pages written than others, but this was something I really enjoyed in the book – learning about more than those players already known well and in the baseball Hall of Fame. Plus, there is an excellent section on Brian Cashman, who was promoted to general manager of the team before the 1998 season and felt the pressure from owner George Steinbrenner to win the championship that year.

While I again want to emphasize that Curry is a journalist and not a fan, and in no way does this review imply that he sounds like a fan, the book can come across as trying too hard to convince the reader that there is absolutely no baseball team that can be considered better than the 1998 Yankees. There are several worthy reasons why this is case and Curry does make a strong argument, but there points repeated several times that don’t need to be, such as the 125 wins the Yankees racked up between the regular season and the postseason. At the end, he acknowledges other teams that can make a case for being the greatest, but he sets them aside to let the reader know that in no uncertain terms, one must conclude it is this team. Yankee fans will certainly not need any verification like this to make that assessment, but for other readers, this is a good book for helping to answer any questions they may have about this team.

I wish to thank Twelve Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a yankee fan but more importantly a baseball fan this book was great! Great pictures, great history and great facts. This is a must have for yankee fans and baseball fans.

Are you a NY Yankees fan? Do you remember the magical 1998 season?

In The 1998 Yankees, author Jack Curry takes the reader back to the magical 1998 season when the NY Yankees won their 24th championship, and he gives a detailed inside story of why the 1998 Yankees team is the greatest baseball team ever!

Following a disappointing end to the 1997 post season, the 1998 NY Yankees team started the new season with unfinished business, and played with a vengeance to claim the championship. Follow along as author and Yankees analyst Jack Curry takes you behind the scenes of the magical 1998 season that brought an unprecendented 125 wins, and a season of pure dominance. Packed with interviews about the season from the players on the 1998 Yankees team, coaches, and executives, Jack provides a new perspective, insight, and statistics that lays out the reason why the 1998 Yankees team was the greatest team in baseball history.

As a NY Yankees fan from childhood, I loved reading The 1998 Yankees! Author Jack Curry took me back to that magical season, and I went along for the ride on the incredible journey that lead the 1998 Yankees team to an unprecedented 125 wins and their 24th world series championship. I loved reading all the stories from the players and coaches interviews, the amazing statistics, and the photographs that were included in the book. You can't help but get caught up in the excitement as the 1998 season unfolded. The Yankees were relentless in their pursuit, they were focused, confident, and dedicated, which led to a season of dominance. As a Yankees fan, you can't help but relive that magical season as you turn the pages, from the players' stories to the timeline of the season, author Jack Curry sure does make a case of why the 1998 Yankees was the greatest baseball team ever!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

https://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-1998-yankees-by-jack-curry-book.html

The older you get, the more recent events become “history.” Take THE 1998 YANKEES: The Inside Story of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever by Jack Curry. It’s hard to believe that was 25 years ago! Some of the players are now members of AARP. Now that’s depressing.

Curry, who collaborated on memoirs with David Cone, Paul O’Neill and Derek Jeter --- three key contributors to that squad --- does a masterful job recreating the excitement of that year, which is not necessarily an easy task for such a dominant group.

There’s no doubting that it was a fun year, full of colorful characters --- like the Cuban defector Orlando “El Duque” Hernández and a very young Jeter, as well as reclamation projects like former Met Darryl Strawberry. Curry does a deep dive into the backstories of the regulars but recognizes that it takes more than a handful of superstars to make the engine run. So he does his best to include the supernumeraries who stepped up and made valuable contributions in their own right.

People who read my blog know my feelings on the use of superlatives in book titles, but in this case, Curry just might be right. One bone of contention, though: some fans and members of the media have made a habit of referring to the Yankees’ win total of 125 as the best in history. That’s only true because they include the postseason victories, which no other team does. In fact, the Yankees actually had a record of 114-48, two fewer wins than the 1906 Chicago Cubs (who played seven fewer games; the Seattle Mariners matched the Cubs’ total in 2001).

From "2023 Summer Baseball Titles: Tradition and the Bucking Thereof" on Bookreporter.com

If you enjoy listening to Jack Curry's commentary on the Yankees on TV, you'll enjoy his look at the 1998 team. You can definitely hear his voice in every line. This is a love letter to an amazing, once in a lifetime season. Bumps and hurdles are gently explained away and the rest is an ode to what makes the Yankees unique in the MLB. Certainly a must read for any Yankees fan.

One of the best baseball books I've ever heard about a fascinating team. I learned things about players like David Cone, David Wells and Bernie Williams for the first time after following the NY Yankees for years. The 1998 team being flawless on the field and overcoming flaws in the clubhouse make this story possibly the most fascinating of the sport in decades

Growing up I was a NY Mets fan. So I really enjoyed reading about Daryl Strawberry. My high school boyfriend was a Yankees fan so that's when I began watching the Yankees. And when I saw Derek Jeter, that was when I really became a NY Yankees fan. When I think about the NY Yankees, the 1998 team is what I remember most. Mariano Rivera, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Tino Martinez and of course Derek Jeter. Just to see their names again brings up so many memories of watching them play. This book is so riveting. It was interesting to read about David Wells and Joe Torre's relationship. This book is a must read for any baseball fan.

Thank you to NetGalley, Twelve Books and Jack Curry for an ARC of "The 1998 Yankees: The Inside Story of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever".
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I have been a Yankees fan since the mid 1970's and have read many books regarding this team and especially the team, players and managers of this team from the last 30 years. I was a little skeptical of what more could be said about this team. But this author Jack Curry who was a journalist for the New York times and currently works for the YES network did an amazing job by providing a lot of new information from many interviews with the individual players and the Managers and the owner himself. It was great to learn about the backstory of moments in the games and reading about some of the struggles that the team experienced. This stretch from 1996 to 2004 Yankees has to be considered a dynasty when you look at close they could have been to playing and possibly winning six world series in a row that is domination. You should this book a great read if your baseball fan and even more so if you are a Yankee's fan. I found myself going back and rewatching some of these games and it brings back some great memories.

Jack Curry gave a great inside look into one of the best assembled baseball teams of my lifetime. Hearing stories of Jeter and Mo as rookies and the Warrior really brought me back to my childhood. An excellent read for any Yankee fan.

The 1998 Yankees are arguably one of the greatest major league baseball teams, if not the greatest. I grew up a Yankee fan in 1980s and early 1990s (when they weren’t that good). However, I enjoyed watching those teams and especially loved it when the made to the playoffs in 1995. Although, I was deeply disappointed when they fired Buck Showalter following that season. Along with his firing and me going to DC for college I didn’t follow the Yanks as much as I had in previous years. That all changed with the 1998 season. I can’t believe it has been almost 25 years since that historic season. It was great to relive the memories and the players of that special year with Jack Curry’s new book, “The 1998 Yankees: The Inside Story of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever.” I highly recommend this book if you are a Yankee fan or if you simply love reading about baseball. It is a short, concise book that has lots of fun and interesting information.

As a big Yankee fan, this book scratched a major itch for me. I love learning more about the players from these years. A very fun book.

I suppose I should make a disclaimer before I begin my review. I was born a Yankee fan in 1982 and have been a rabid one every since. Growing up, the Yankees were terrible. The 1996 team was great but 1998 was when people started calling you a "bandwagon" fan because it was the start of a true dynasty. This is all to say that yes, of course I am biased before I even opened this book. If it was about the Red Sox, I wouldn't even open it. But this is about my favorite team of all time and written by one of my favorite baseball reporters.

Of course I loved this book. Jack Curry recounts the magical baseball season of 1998 where the Yankees were crowned the greatest team of all time. Curry gets a bunch of fun insights from the team and it was a great walk down memory lane. I would say that all of my disclaimers should not obscure the fact that Curry knows how to tell a story. Each chapter looks at a few players and how they came to be a part of a bigger puzzle. Putting aside my fandom, I wondered if someone who knew nothing about this team would get as much out of it as I would. Considering Curry reminded me of multiple players who I barely remember, I would have to say yes. Everyone gets a chance to shine and their contributions are noted. Importantly, Curry never misses a beat in explaining how this team climbed the proverbial mountain. If you like baseball, it's got to be on your shelf.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Twelve Books. The full review will be posted to HistoryNerdsUnited.com on 5/2/2023.)

I was eleven years old during one of the most incredible baseball seasons you'll ever see, and twenty-five (damn) years later I still enjoy reading about that Yankee team and their remarkable achievements. Jack Curry has spent most of the last thirty years around the Yankees, so his knowledge, experiences and connections make him pretty well-suited to cover this team.

On the whole, if you were a fan at the time or if you have spent any time over the last twenty-five (again, damn) years researching the 1998 Yankees, most of these stories probably aren't new. This is a very famous team with a ton of very famous individual personalities, almost all of whom are still around (George Steinbrenner, of course, being the most notable exception) and still talking about this team. So there was never going to be a ton of breaking news in the book. Curry does do a fine job filling in blanks (I don't know that I knew who was potentially on the trading block for Randy Johnson) and refreshing my memory (I'd almost completely forgotten about the Dale Sveum saga) while still writing a book that isn't going to leave readers with no foreknowledge of the 1998 Yankees baffled.

The book is somewhat on the short end, though, and I wouldn't have minded if he went a bit more in-depth on chunks of games during the regular season as he did with most of the playoff games (The ALDS also gets a little bit brushed over during the Strawberry chapter). The chapters covering the ALCS and the World Series are the best parts of a really good book, and I would have liked more of it. But that's a pretty nitpicky complaint for a book I really, really liked.

I want to thank NetGalley and Twelve Books for my ARC copy

Thank you to NetGalley and Twelve for the ARC.

Jack Curry nailed it with this one about the greatest team any of us will see. Curry has instant credibility on the subject, as he covered the team during the season. This is not simply a retelling of what happened in various games. The book is much more behind the scenes, with tons of new on the record interviews with all of the big names you would expect and the not so big names like Homer Bush, Mike Buddie and Ricky Ledee.

Usually books about great teams are boring and not nearly as interesting as books about the terrible teams, but Curry really moves this one along with all of the interviews and stories.

Anyone who loves baseball will not argue to anyone saying the 1998 Yankees were the best team in baseball. Between their talented roster and their unwillingness to give up, this team actually played like a TEAM. No one show boated, no one had their own agenda - they just played ball. Filled with greats like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, David Wells, Andy Petite, Paul O'Neill, Shane Spencer, Ricky Ledee, Chuck Knoblauch, Scott Brosius, Tino Martinez, and David Cone this team seemed to be unbeatable. While Jack Curry takes the reader on an inside view directly from the players mouths, they are also taken backstage and shown how the team rallied against sick players, players in a slump, bad plays, bad calls and out of this world personalities. Anyone who loves baseball needs to read this book.

My two favorite things…..reading and the Yankees. Jack Curry seamlessly combines them both in this extremely readable reflection of the 1998 season. I only hope there will be pictures included in the final print! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me this sneak peek.