by Joe Torre
First published 1998
Joe Torre thought his baseball career was finished when the Cardinals fired him in 1995. After thirty years and 4,200 games as player and manager, he had never won a World Series. The Yankees offered him one last chance to manage their 1996 team. Torre accepted and faced the challenge of molding young stars like Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte with veterans like Wade Boggs and troubled players like Darryl Strawberry into a championship team. While Torre battled pressure in New York's demanding sports environment, his family confronted far greater struggles. His oldest brother Rocco died suddenly. His other brother Frank desperately needed a heart transplant to survive. Torre's wife Ali and his sisters, including Sister Marguerite, supported him through both challenges. Torre reveals how he earned his players' respect and built team unity while managing his personal crisis. The season culminated in an extraordinary finish when Frank received his new heart one day before the Yankees captured their first World Series since 1978, giving Torre his first championship ever.
Genres: 20th-century, american, biography-memoir, baseball
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: New York, Yankees
Period: 1995, 1996
320 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Bantam