The Amazin' Mets, 1962-1969, and: The Yankees in the Early 1960s (review)

In the introduction to The Yankees in the Early 1960s, William J. Ryczek explains his two new books were originally intended as one-the story of baseball in 1960s New York and the reversal of fortune experienced by Gotham's two major league clubs. The author and publisher thought the book too long, so Ryczek spliced it into two. This decision could be considered a risky one-the subject matter is well-worn territory, while a big-picture look at the fortunes of the two teams and how they related to each other is not.

Both books are based on interviews with dozens of players from the two teams, focusing almost entirely on voices we have never heard. While many readers might be familiar with Whitey Ford's take on the 1961 Yankees, or Tom Seaver's recollections of 1969, these books instead present the insights of Eli Grba and Bobby Pfeil, among many others with comparable résumés. This provides the books with a uniqueness they otherwise would not have, while limiting their ability to present the entire story. Grba's memories of 1961 (or Joe DeMaestri's, or Rollie Sheldon's) are interesting and valuable, but at first it feels like we are sitting at the kids' table and wondering what we are missing in the dining room.

This feeling passes when readers understand that the books are not really about the Yankees or Mets that we are familiar with. The books are not so much about the teams as they are about how the players felt trying to make and remain with those teams. Phil Linz laments that Yankees batting coach Wally Moses had no interest in working with him, a .230 hitter who wanted to hit .260, but loved working with someone like Tom Tresh, who was a good hitter already (56). The books present this kind of look into the world of the players at the back end of the roster. When Doc Edwards (45 games for the 1965 Yankees) talks about Mickey Mantle, we learn more about Edwards than we do about his famous teammate.

The Amazin' Mets quotes Lou Klimchock, who had five at bats for the 1966 Mets, about his experiences joining the Athletics as a teenager (118), and on Mets manager Wes Westrum (127), teammates Dick Stuart (132) and Greg Goosen (186), and manager Gil Hodges (for whom he played nine games while with the Senators in 1963, 190). What's more, Klimchock also shows up in the index to The Yankees six times, although he never played for that club.

Surprisingly, none of these meanderings seems forced. Writing about Wally Moses as a batting coach, the author includes several anecdotes from non-Yankees about other batting coaches, so that Don Bosch reinforces Phil Linz's recollections, though Bosch might never have met Moses. A reader who wants to keep his focus on the Yankees or the Mets might be frustrated by the wandering around. If you are content to pull up a chair and listen to ballplayers talk about scratching out a life in the big leagues, you won't mind at all.

Let's start with The Yankees. The book covers the years 1960 through 1966, a stretch which began with five straight pennants. The first three-quarters of the book recalls the championships from the point of view of players like Marshall Bridges and Pete Mikkelson, though Ralph Terry's recollections of the 1960 and 1962 World Series are prominent. The general story is not new, but the role of the lesser player on these teams is interesting and well presented.

Not much time is spent on the why's and how's of the Yankees' sudden collapse, which is appropriate. The last to know would be the fifth outfielder. Popular opinion holds that after four decades of coming up with star players...