This is a very funny book. On one hand, it's a very compelling read for any Yankee fan as you get insight and history that is greatly satisfying to read. On the other hand, this is such an openly biased book from the POV of Cashman that it is fairly frustrating!

The Yankee Way is one of the better Yankees books looking at Brian Cashman's tenure of fascinating stories behind the scenes. One criticism can say that multiple other books look at each of these eras more in depth, but the genius of this looks mostly at Cashman's role. A sports GM lasting that long with such a major sports franchise is a noteworthy story and Cashman still being here after all the drama makes this book worth reading.

Given the frequency with which the late George Steinbrenner hired and fired field managers and general managers through much of his tenure as the owner of the New York Yankees, it seems hard to believe that the current general manager (and now senior Vice President), Brian Cashman, is in his 27th year at the position. His tenure is the subject of this excellent book by New York baseball journalist Andy Martino.

The book, despite words to the contrary by both Martino and Cashman, could be considered a biography of sorts on Cashman. His upbringing, college years and how he became interested in the business side of baseball are all mentioned. His break came in 1986 when while still attending the Catholic University of America (on a baseball scholarship) he worked as an intern for the Yankees. He got his first paid gig for the team as a baseball operations assistant. He gradually worked his way up in various positions until being named Yankee GM in 1998.

No one, including Cashman himself, will say that his rise in the front office as well as the immediate success the Yankee had under him as GM with three consecutive World Series championships and five American League pennants in his first 6 years, was all due to him. The core of that team was recruited, signed and developed under Gene “Stick” Michael, who ran the club when Steinbrenner was banished from baseball between 1990 and 1992. Micheal and his work is covered quite extensively in the book as well as that of Bill Livesey, the scouting director who had his own system of grading and developing players.

Cashma’s handling of the team never truly wavered during his tenure, during the early championships and the advent of analytics. The Yankees were the forefront of the use of this data along with a few other teams, most notably the Houston Astros. Other issues affecting the Yankees and Cashman’s handling of the drama are included. Most notably, these include the tense relationship between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez and the free agency winter of 2022-23 when Aaron Judge became a free agent and ended up re-signing with the Yankees.

It helps if the reader is at least somewhat knowledgeable about baseball in the 21st century as if they are not, they may get lost in all the analytics. However, if the reader does have at least a rudimentary understanding of the sport this is a great read, even if one is not a Yankee fan.

I wish to thank the publisher for providing a review copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

They say that the Golden Era of Baseball is whenever you were a kid, following your heroes, unaware of what went on in the front offices with all the dealmaking, undercutting and other issues that go into the making of a team.

Andy Martino would have you believe this all started with the promotion of Brian Cashman to the position of general manager, the architect when it comes to putting personnel together with the sole goal of winning a World Series. I hold a different concept of what exactly “the Yankee Way” is. To me, the Bronx Bombers have always been a team of class. They have been the icon of a successful sports franchise, despite the occasional hiccup here and there, since they acquired Babe Ruth in 1920. What follows is a succession of Hall of Famers: Ruth, Gehrig, Dickey, DiMaggio, Berra, Mantle. Yes, they hit a speed bump in the late 1960s to early 1970s, but once George Steinbrenner bought the team, the expectations returned to those high standards, with constant rules about deportment and decorum. Cashman did not invent this.

Steinbrenner, aka “The Boss,” was a demanding cuss. He was famous for hiring and firing --- and rehiring --- managers and general managers. People went in knowing what to expect. Many thought they could shake off the constant looking-over-the-shoulder and interference from Steinbrenner.

Cashman certainly did. He began his career with the Yankees at a very early age, observing what went on with his superiors. One day it would be his turn; he would be one of the youngest GMs in the history of the game for a team that imposed perhaps the greatest expectations.

It was a different world for his predecessors, including Ed Barrow, who oversaw the first Yankee dynasty from the 1920s through the mid-1940s, and George Weiss (1948-1960), with a couple of others thrown in. Teams were much more in control of the fates of the players. There were no multi-year, multi-million-dollar contracts, and athletes were pretty much beholden to the whims of the teams for whom they played in the years before free agency.

Martino, who wrote the acclaimed CHEATED: The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing, does another great job of presenting his topic in empathetic and practical terms, going into great depth (almost too much?) about front office dealings. He gives plenty of credit to Cashman’s predecessors, but I believe not enough to executives from other teams who came up with the notion of acquiring players who can get on base and score runs. This was done years before, as popularized in Michael Lewis’ classic MONEYBALL: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.

Despite his success, Cashman still had to deal with Steinbrenner’s “what have you done for me lately” philosophy. Working in the biggest media fishbowl in all of sports similarly has its disadvantages, trying to deal with figurative dumpster fires --- as when the Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez, a thorn in the side of their established superstar, Derek Jeter. Trying to make everyone content, if not actually happy, is another constant issue when it comes to deciding whether to retain a favorite like a Bernie Williams or take on malcontent baggage in acquiring a David Wells or a heated rival like a Roger Clemens.

THE YANKEE WAY undoubtedly will be a critical work in the literary oeuvre about this historic franchise.

Reviewed by Ron Kaplan (www.RonKaplansBaseballBookshelf.com) on May 25, 2024

This book gives a different perspective then your normal sports books that cover a player, team or a manager. It gives the history and behind the scenes look at the General Manager and the office staff with stories concerning the owners and various players sprinkled in. Love them or hate them as the title implies this focus on one of the biggest if not the biggest sports team the New York Yankees and like any could story even if you have read numerous books about the Yankees especially in the last fifty to sixty years there are still many nuggets of information to gain from reading this book. I found it funny how Buck Showalter and Gene Michael got their nicknames by both being naked and no not at the same time. Two people that are predominate in this Yankee history book are Gene Michael and Brian Cashman. Crazy to think with the many accomplishments under Cashman that Yankees have posted thirty-one or thirty-two straight winning seasons. As you will see the Yankee Way is not only a mantra, but an actual book pieced together for all in the organization. This covers how the Yankee's evaluated drafts prospects and potential trades, scary to think how Aaron Judge almost became an Atlanta Brave. You also learn about some of the relationships and see that it definitely not all warm and fuzzy. While the main focus is on the Yankees it does go into detail on teams in the MLB have made use of Analytics and Biomechanics even though there were certain individuals who used these stats in the 60's, 70's and 80's before there was such a name. This is a very informative and you should not be disappointed.

As a baseball fan myself, Andy Martino knocked this book out of the park! This book had a great pace, filled with details enough to move the stories along quickly, without boring you to sleep with unnecessary and unrelated tidbits that many historical baseball books have a tendency to do.

Andy brought a great perspective to details surrounding the Brian Cashman era (1986-present), as well as the events that lead up to Hall of Fame worthy career as GM of the New York Yankees.

Some of the items I really enjoyed were the stories about the rebuild that gave us that historically great late 90’s Yankees teams, including the retooling of the farm system. The discussion about the shift into analytics driven decision making as a franchise was particularly fascinating as well.

I would definitely recommend this book as a read for casual and diehard fans alike. This advanced copy was provided to me by NetGalley and Doubleday Books in exchange for my honest and fair opinion.

As a born and bred New Yorker I’ve always followed the Yankees.This book was so well written and researched giving a eye opening look at what really went on what it takes to keep this organization running dealing with the big egos high priced players.An excellent behind the scenes look.#netgalley #doubleday

This book is well researched and written. It gives a good history of the New York Yankees from the late 1960s to the present in regards to the organization and how it went about redeveloping a championship team multiple times. George Steinbrenner made it extremely difficult and the author is very direct in his criticism pointing out that much has been glossed over prior to and subsequent to his death. It also points several individuals who played key parts that are relatively unknown. A must read for any Yankee fan.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page.