Steinbrenner - The Last Lion of Baseball by Bill Madden - A-

Baseball geek here.  I was looking forward more to this book than any other on baseball which is coming or will come out in 2010.  As loyal blog readers know, March through June each year is the time when the new baseball books come out.

I looked forward to Steinbrenner - The Last Lion of Baseball for two reasons.  First, the author, Bill Madden, had followed the Yankees since the late 1970s.  If there is anyone with the ability and insight to write a definitive Steinbrenner biography, it is Madden.  Second, I would argue that George Steinbrenner was the second most influential person on the game of baseball in the last 50 years—second only to Marvin Miller.

(Interlude on Marvin Miller:  Miller, as head of the player’s union in the 1970s and 1980s, was responsible for more changes to the business of baseball than any person in baseball history.  Period.  The fact that he is not in the Hall of Fame is a crime and a shame.  And I don’t even particularly like the guy.  But I know what I know, and he belongs more than anyone else the Veteran’s Committee has elected in the last several decades.  The only reason that he isn’t in is because the Veteran’s Committee is made up of fuddy duddies (spelling?) who are bitter that they did not benefit from Miller’s actions.  Yes, I'm talking to you, Bob Feller.  They didn’t make millions of dollars.  Where was Miller when THEY needed him?  These current players are overpaid!  It’s freaking ridiculous.  The Hall of Fame has become way too political.  But I digress.  Back to your regularly scheduled post.)

Bill Madden wrote for the New York Daily News, not The New York Times, so you’d expect a little “tabloid journalism” here.  And you get it.  Steinbrenner is a complex subject.  What else explains his love/hate (sometimes back to love and hate again and again) for the same guys?  He’s extremely volatile and ran the Yankees in line with his personality.  He put too much stock in some things (losing SPRING TRAINING GAMES to the Mets?!?!) and not enough in others (managers who performed pretty well given the hands they were dealt).  He could turn on you and forget about it the next day.  Plus, if you were part of the family, even if you’d had a falling out with King George, he would be there for you in a time of need.  Again, very complex.

Steinbrenner:  The Last Lion of Baseball is a fun and entertaining ride covering the last 40 years of Yankee baseball.  Like it or not, the Yankees have been on the forefront of baseball for numerous reasons during that 40 years.  The initial free agent signings.  Reggie.  The 1977 and 1978 World Championships.  The championship drought until the 1996 despite all of the players George bought.  Four out of five world championships between 1996 and 2000.  The new stadium.  Some would say that the Yankees WERE baseball for these years.  I wouldn’t go that far, but to be honest, the Yankees have been, during the whole period, the franchise that received the most ink.  And Steinbrenner is the owner who received the most ink.

Live long, read and prosper.  We’ll leave the lights on for you.