The Yankee Years

The first thing that strikes you about THE YANKEE YEARS is that, despite being ostensibly cowritten by legendary manager Joe Torre, it's narrated in the third person: a biography rather than memoir. While the book has become known for what it reveals about baseball giants such as Alex Rodriquez, as well as life under the ornery George Steinbrenner, Michael Kramer's narration has nothing like a gossipy tone. On the contrary, there's not much energy in his voice, especially when compared to Tom Verducci's much more spirited narration of the abridged version. Nonetheless, the low-key approach that Kramer brings to his reading suits Torre, who is known for his thoughtfulness and restraint rather than histrionics. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine


Joe Torre's recollections of his 12 years managing the Yankees is definitely recommended for baseball fans. But the listener may find fault with the abridgment. Oddly, instead of the usual complaint about abridgments--too many gaps without explanations--this abridgment is guilty of too much repetition. How many times do we need to be told that no subsequent Yankee team could equal 1998's World Series-winning mix of players or that the Yankees won four World Series in five years or that George Steinbrenner could not tolerate losing? Tom Verducci's enthusiastic reading reflects his love of baseball, but his voice just doesn't resonate the way a narrator's should. He gives a pleasant enough reading, but he shouldn't quit his day job. N.G. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine