Download PDF Doc Donnie the Kid and Billy Brawl How the 1985 Mets and Yankees Fought for New York Baseball Soul Chris Donnelly 9781496205537 Books
Download As PDF : Doc Donnie the Kid and Billy Brawl How the 1985 Mets and Yankees Fought for New York Baseball Soul Chris Donnelly 9781496205537 Books
Doc, Donnie, the Kid, and Billy Brawl focuses on the 1985 New York baseball season, a season like no other since the Mets came to town in 1962. Never before had both the Yankees and the Mets been in contention for the playoffs so late in the same season. For months New York fans dreamed of the first Subway Series in nearly thirty years, and the Mets and the Yankees vied for their hearts.
Despite their nearly identical records, the two teams were drastically different in performance and clubhouse atmosphere. The Mets were filled with young, homegrown talent led by outfielder Darryl Strawberry and pitcher Dwight Gooden. They were complemented by veterans including Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, Ray Knight, and George Foster. Leading them all was Davey Johnson, a player’s manager. It was a team filled with hard‑nosed players who won over New York with their dirty uniforms, curtain calls, after-hours activities, and because, well, they weren’t the Yankees.
Meanwhile the Yankees featured some of the game’s greatest talent. Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly, and Don Baylor led a dynamic offense, while veterans such as Ron Guidry and Phil Niekro rounded out the pitching staff. But the Yankees’ abundance of talent was easily overshadowed by their dominating owner, George Steinbrenner, whose daily intrusiveness made the 1985 Yankees appear more like a soap opera than a baseball team. There was a managerial firing before the end of April and the fourth return of Billy Martin as manager. Henderson was fined for missing two games, Lou Piniella almost resigned as coach, and Martin punctured a lung and then gave drunken managerial instructions from his hospital room. Despite all that, the Yankees almost won their division.
While the drama inside the Mets’ clubhouse only made the team more endearing to fans, the drama inside the Yankees’ clubhouse had the opposite effect. The result was the most attention-grabbing and exciting season New York would see in generations. And it was the season the Mets would win the battle for the hearts of New York baseball fans, dominating the New York landscape for nearly a decade, while the Yankees faded into one of baseball’s saddest franchises.
Despite their nearly identical records, the two teams were drastically different in performance and clubhouse atmosphere. The Mets were filled with young, homegrown talent led by outfielder Darryl Strawberry and pitcher Dwight Gooden. They were complemented by veterans including Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, Ray Knight, and George Foster. Leading them all was Davey Johnson, a player’s manager. It was a team filled with hard‑nosed players who won over New York with their dirty uniforms, curtain calls, after-hours activities, and because, well, they weren’t the Yankees.
Meanwhile the Yankees featured some of the game’s greatest talent. Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly, and Don Baylor led a dynamic offense, while veterans such as Ron Guidry and Phil Niekro rounded out the pitching staff. But the Yankees’ abundance of talent was easily overshadowed by their dominating owner, George Steinbrenner, whose daily intrusiveness made the 1985 Yankees appear more like a soap opera than a baseball team. There was a managerial firing before the end of April and the fourth return of Billy Martin as manager. Henderson was fined for missing two games, Lou Piniella almost resigned as coach, and Martin punctured a lung and then gave drunken managerial instructions from his hospital room. Despite all that, the Yankees almost won their division.
While the drama inside the Mets’ clubhouse only made the team more endearing to fans, the drama inside the Yankees’ clubhouse had the opposite effect. The result was the most attention-grabbing and exciting season New York would see in generations. And it was the season the Mets would win the battle for the hearts of New York baseball fans, dominating the New York landscape for nearly a decade, while the Yankees faded into one of baseball’s saddest franchises.
Download PDF Doc Donnie the Kid and Billy Brawl How the 1985 Mets and Yankees Fought for New York Baseball Soul Chris Donnelly 9781496205537 Books
"Loved Donnelly's first book on the 1995 ALDS between the Yankees and Mariners and this latest book is even better. Donnelly takes you inside the clubhouses of the 85 Yankees and Mets and brings to life the fascinating drama surrounding both organizations. These teams were loaded with iconic players, managers and owners and Donnelly uses them to tell an awesome story. With the Mets a year away from winning the WS and the Yankees in the midst of a playoff drought that would last until 1995, this really is a fascinating book. Younger generations will love learning of the time when the Metropolitans actually ruled NY baseball. And those who lived through that era will have it brought back to life in vivid detail. This is a must read for any Yankees, Mets and baseball fans. Best book of 2019!"
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Tags : Doc, Donnie, the Kid, and Billy Brawl How the 1985 Mets and Yankees Fought for New York's Baseball Soul [Chris Donnelly] on . <DIV><I>Doc, Donnie, the Kid, and Billy Brawl</I> focuses on the 1985 New York baseball season, a season like no other since the Mets came to town in 1962. Never before had both the Yankees and the Mets been in contention for the playoffs so late in the same season. For months New York fans dreamed of the first Subway Series in nearly thirty years,Chris Donnelly,Doc, Donnie, the Kid, and Billy Brawl How the 1985 Mets and Yankees Fought for New York’s Baseball Soul,University of Nebraska Press,1496205537,Carter, Gary,Gooden, Dwight,Martin, Billy,Sports rivalries - New York (State) - New York - History - 20th century,Sports rivalries;New York (State);New York;History;20th century.,BASEBALL,BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY / General,General Adult,HISTORY / United States / State Local / Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA),History,New York,Non-Fiction,SPORTS RECREATION / Baseball / History,Sports,Sports Recreation/Baseball - History,Sports History; Sports Studies; Baseball History; New York Yankees; New York Mets; Subway Series; Major League Baseball; MLB; Darryl Strawberry; Dwight Gooden; Keith Hernandez; Gary Carter; Ray Knight; George Foster; Davey Johnson; Rickey Henderson; Dave Winfield; Don Mattingly; Don Baylor; Ron Guidry; Phil Neikro; George Steinbrenner; Billy Martin; Lou Piniella,Sports History;Sports Studies;Baseball History;New York Yankees;New York Mets;Subway Series;Major League Baseball;MLB;Darryl Strawberry;Dwight Gooden;Keith Hernandez;Gary Carter;Ray Knight;George Foster;Davey Johnson;Rickey Henderson;Dave Winfield;Don Mattingly;Don Baylor;Ron Guidry;Phil Neikro;George Steinbrenner;Billy Martin;Lou Piniella,Sports rivalries - New York (State) - New York - History - 20th century,Sports rivalries;New York (State);New York;History;20th century.,UNIVERSITY PRESS,United States,BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY / General,HISTORY / United States / State Local / Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA),SPORTS RECREATION / Baseball / History,Sports Recreation/Baseball - History
Doc Donnie the Kid and Billy Brawl How the 1985 Mets and Yankees Fought for New York Baseball Soul Chris Donnelly 9781496205537 Books Reviews :
Doc Donnie the Kid and Billy Brawl How the 1985 Mets and Yankees Fought for New York Baseball Soul Chris Donnelly 9781496205537 Books Reviews
- 1985 was a baseball season that captivated New York that the city hadn’t seen in nearly 30 years. Both of the city’s teams, the New York Mets and New York Yankees, were involved in tight races for their respective divisions that came down to the final week of the season. Both teams had star players that captivated their fan bases. One had a long history of winning, the other was mostly known for its struggles save for one magical season. The stories of both the Mets and the Yankees during that crazy season are captured in this book by Chris Donnelly.
The personalities of the front office personnel could not have been different. The Mets were owned by Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, who were hands-off owners and left the team in the hands of general manager Frank Cashen. Cashen’s baseball moves were approved by the owners and some turned out to benefit the Mets in a big way. Two trades that were of this nature are discussed in the book, trades in which the Mets acquired catcher Gary Carter and first baseman Keith Hernandez.
On the other hand, the Yankees were owned by George Steinbrenner, who was continually second guessing the decisions of his general manager and field manager. Some of Steinbrenner’s more famous rants about the running and performance of his team and players are documented in this book, including his insult of outfielder Dave Winfield, calling the All-Star player “Mr. May.†He fired manager Yogi Berra after only 14 games in 1985 and re-hired Billy Martin for the fourth time. These are just a few of the many times a Steinbrenner action is described in the book.
The play of both teams on the field, however, makes up the bulk of the book and for both of them, they played above expectations. The Mets were an up-and-coming club in 1985 with young stars Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry leading the way. Gooden had one of the best seasons ever recorded by a pitcher, and when Carter was acquired from the Montreal Expos, the Mets got even better. However, while they were in first place for a brief stretch, they ended up finishing second to the St. Louis Cardinals.
As for the Yankees, they used the frequent circus-like atmosphere surrounding Martin and Steinbrenner to their advantage by shutting it out of their minds (as best they could, anyway) and playing good baseball as well. While Don Mattingly was a young star on the rise, the team was mostly made up of veteran players such as Winfield and Rickey Henderson. While their expectations were not as high, the Yankees had some great play as well and like their cross-town rivals, they finished second as well behind the Toronto Blue Jays.
The overall arching theme of this book, however, is the battle to win over the city – both in the press, in the stands and in the hearts and minds of baseball fans in New York. While Cashen is occasionally quoted in the book (from newspaper accounts at the time) about the Yankees, the writing about Steinbrenner and his obsession with the Mets and their success makes for good reading. At times these passages could be hilarious, sometimes maddening, but always entertaining.
For these reasons and many more, every fan of one of the New York teams needs to add this book to their bookshelves. An informative, entertaining and well-researched book, it captures the spirit of New York baseball during that crazy 1985 season.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. - Loved Donnelly's first book on the 1995 ALDS between the Yankees and Mariners and this latest book is even better. Donnelly takes you inside the clubhouses of the 85 Yankees and Mets and brings to life the fascinating drama surrounding both organizations. These teams were loaded with iconic players, managers and owners and Donnelly uses them to tell an awesome story. With the Mets a year away from winning the WS and the Yankees in the midst of a playoff drought that would last until 1995, this really is a fascinating book. Younger generations will love learning of the time when the Metropolitans actually ruled NY baseball. And those who lived through that era will have it brought back to life in vivid detail. This is a must read for any Yankees, Mets and baseball fans. Best book of 2019!
- I've read every release by author Chris Donnelly. As a Yankees fan, his eloquent and passionate writing, brings me back to a happier, more innocent time, when I was a kid growing up witnessing the Mets-Yanks tug o' war up close. This particular book is a wonderful and fun read. I finished it quickly, as it was difficult to put down. A must read for any Mets or Yankees fan growing up around that time. For younger fans, it will literally bring you there, like a time machine. It's books like this that remind me how enjoyable reading is. Great job by Mr. Donnelly.
- Donnelly's book brought me back to my favorite baseball summer, when I'd be calculating my favorite New Yorker's averages while the games were still being played. It is a MUST read for baseball historians, children of the 80s, and nostalgia addicts, like myself. I picked it up while I was in the middle of another enjoyable book, and finished Donnelly's before returning to the first. It was that captivating. I had a smile on my face the entire time!! Go Mets & Yanks!!!
- For Met fans there was only a small historical window of relief from Yankee domination. Donnelly does a wonderful job of helping us remember a time when the best baseball in New York was happening at Shea.
