"The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History" will be well-received by Yankee fans and those wanting to do a little quick research on some of the best in Bronx Bomber history. Written by Robert W. Cohen, a self-pronounced Yankee fan who grew up practically in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, the book is a well-researched labor of love.

As a longtime Yankee fan, I'm not sure that I agree with Cohen's ranking of all 50 players, but he does backs up his list with logic and stats. There are few surprises in the first 10 or so (Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Berra, Jeter, just to name the top 6), but there are a number of lesser-known Yankee (like Bob Shawkey, Vic Raschi, and Charlie Keller) who populate the bottom third of the list.

The book is set up in short 3-5 pages of snippets about the history, playing days as a Yankee, best moments, and overall stats for the 50 players. Weighing in at 288 pages, the book also features 30 pages or so of pictures of the great 50, a short summary of the second best 50, and a glossary of abbreviations and terms for stats cited. ( )

I love lists, baseball and the Philadelphia Phillies. Living in NYC these last 25, years I have learned to love the Yankees as well. After all, they play in the American League, so they only play the Phillies in meaningful games once a century in the World Series.

This book delivers what it claims. It is a ranking of the greatest Yankees, in order. Cohen has a few pages of explanation for each entry, along with a summary of achievements. You may disagree with some of his choices (Robinson Cano over Tino Martinez?), but there is plenty here to argue over!

Compiling any kind of list with the word "greatest" in it is going to be problematic, and certainly writing a book about the greatest players in the history of the Yankees is going to be tricky, but Robert W Cohen in his book, The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History gives it an honest shot. Providing a strong introduction to his book where he outlines his criteria for his listing, Cohen then goes on to provide interesting stats and biographies of his picks of the best New York Yankees. Certainly, Alex Rodriguez is a problematic choice, but otherwise, this is a well researched and informative read. This book would make a great gift for any Yankee fan --- especially if he (or she!) wants to argue about the author's picks! ( )

The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History is a 300 page book that opens with “Introduction: The Yankee Pedigree” before covering the top 50 players. The introduction covers the Yankee beginnings in Baltimore, the move to New York in 1905, the move to the Polo Grounds in 1915, and the storied success in the following decades. That history is brought forward to the super stars of today in an overview format before covering the author's decision making process in ranking players.

Three factors weighed into the author's decision making process. He considered the “Level of Dominance” a player achieved with the team such as batting tiles, pitching awards, or some other offensive or pitching statistic. That same type of information was considered internally to determine how a player ranked among his other Yankee players when factoring in the era the player performed in as clearly, over time, baseball is a very fluid sport with numerous changes in the players and the game itself over the years. Also important was how much the player impacted the team on and off the field and what impact his presence had on the Yankee legacy. It is worth noting that only the period a player was with the Yankees was considered for the above determinations.

By author Robert W. Cohen’s standards he determined that Number one is Babe Ruth with Dave Righetti coming in at number 50. In between are Yankee's such as Derek Jeter (number 6), Alex Rodriguez (number 12), Rich Gossage (number 36), Sparky Lyle (number 41) and many more. Each chapter covers the players biography while a Yankee as well as informative about the context of the player in history. Each chapter has a career highlights section that covers “Best Season” and “Memorable Moments/Greatest Performances” as well as “Notable Achievements.” The “Notable Achievements” section is in bullet point format and especially suitable for settling trivia arguments.

Starting on page 263 after the top 50 players, the author designates a starting team and pitching staff as well as a second team. Author Robert W. Cohen than goes on to list the next 50 players deserving of honorable mention. That includes such notables as Wally Pipp (number 52), Lou Piniella (Number 60), C.C. Sabathia (number 61), Tommy John (number 76), and Garry Sheffield (number 100). While not as comprehensive in detail as the main part of the book, each player has a listing of their stats with the team under the heading of “Yankee Numbers” as well as their “Notable Achievements.”

Also included is a two page index of common baseball terms, a biography of the source material used in the book and a six page index. An author bio page detailing the author's baseball credentials and other accomplishments close the book.

While surprisingly void of any photographs at all, there is a wealth of information on the profiled players in The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History. The book is a comprehensive educational resource for fans and non-fans of the Yankees. Those looking for scandalous details won’t find much, if any, in this book. Those looking to find more about the accomplishments of various players and the context of the time they played will find much to savor in this excellently done reference style book.

It should be noted that this is a reprint edition of a book released previously last year through another division of the same publisher. This 2013 edition of the book was done before the recent news regarding Alex Rodriguez came out regarding his use of performance enhancing drugs and other issues.

The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History
Robert W. Cohen
Taylor Trade Publishing (The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.)
http://wwwrowman.com
2013
ISBN# 978-1-58979-815-1
Paperback (also available as an e-book)
300 Pages
$19.95

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013 ( )

http://www.moibibliomaniac.com/2013/08/a-most-heavenly-review.html

A Most Heavenly Review?

Things have gone to hell in a hand basket up here. And She is pissed. New York Yankee fans are fighting amongst each other over that darn book, The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History.

It all started out peacefully, with Yankee fans preaching about glowing deeds Yankee players from their respective generations accomplished. But then it turned to nasty words –– words we don't usually hear up here –– about the has-beens and upstarts with undeserved better rankings than their players of their own generations. To top it off, some of the Yankee fans managed to get their favorite players riled up. And that made the angels nervous because they had seen what pride hath wrought up here before.

I tell you, She is threatening to send the whole bunch to Purgatory, fans and players alike. And as for that all-knowing author, Robert H. Cohen –– God rest his soul –– I hope he knows there will be a proverbial lightning bolt heading his way in the near future.

All was well when an early review copy of that darn book somehow made its way up here. Yankee fans from all generations had no qualms at all with Cohen's first four picks: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle. There were a number of rumblings concerning the placement of the next five: Yogi Berra, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bill Dickey, and Whitey Ford. But a great multitude of Yankee fans went through our holy roof when it was announced that Cohen selected Don Mattingly as the tenth greatest player in New York Yankees history.

Thank God for no-nonsense gun laws up here, or we would have had a bloody war on our holy hands. No-nonsense gun laws? Simple. It means "no guns, period"(.)

The bickering over Mattingly got so bad that She commanded me in to mediate the mess. I chose two of the most vociferous Yankee fans: one from Generation X, and the other from Generation Y. I set up two pulpits. And then I said, "Let the debate begin."

Says the Generation X Fan:
Don Mattingly? Really? Bull Donkey...

(Note from me: much stronger words were used, but we don't record such words up here).

How many home runs did he hit in a World Series game? None. Umm... how many World Series games did he play in? None. Yes, he is "number ten," all right.

Rebuts Generation Y Fan:

Why? Why did Cohen select Don Mattingly? Because Mattingly is the greatest player in New York Yankees history who never played in a World Series! Moreover, Mattingly holds the Major-League record for most home runs over an eight-game stretch –– ten of them he hit!

Retorts Generation X Fan:
Ten home runs? Wow! Roger Maris hit 61 home runs and where is he on Cohen's list? Number 22. Number 22? Are you kidding me?
(Note from me: "Kidding" is not the precise word Generation X Fan used, but it does end in "ing.").

Are you sure you're not related to Mattingly? Maybe Cohen is related to Mattingly?

At this point in the debate, Generation X Fan asks me to check The Book of Deeds online to see if either Cohen or Generation Y Fan is related to Mattingly. I have the results in two seconds: "Neither Cohen or Generation Y Fan is related to Mattingly," I reply.

Says Generation X Fan:
I am troubled with Cohen's interpretation of what really went on in 1961. That's not how I remember it. And I lived it. If I may, Pete, can I read a portion from Cohen's book which really disturbs me?

I nod my head. The multitude of Yankee fans grows noisier. Could this matter be the proverbial nail on the head?

Generation X Fan reads from pages 115 and 116 of Cohen's book:

...The feelings of the fans toward Mantle and Maris gradually intensified the following year, as the two sluggers drew closer and closer to Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. Since the mark was held by a Yankee, New York fans felt that Mantle should be the one to break it. Furthermore, many people believed that Maris's .269 batting average made him unworthy of eclipsing the great Ruth's long-standing record. The fans subsequently cast Maris as an outsider and a usurper, and nothing he might have done from that point on would have been good enough to please them.
Displaying their indifference toward Maris, fewer than 15,000 fans showed up at Yankee Stadium on the season's final day to see the slugger establish a single-season record....

Generation X Fan clears his throat and continues:
I was fourteen years old that year. Injury-wearied Mantle was the favorite, and he valiantly tried to keep pace with Maris, but he eventually ended up in the hospital in September. I kept track of their home run race by attending games, watching games on TV, listening to games on the radio, and reading about the home run race in the newspapers. Maris gradually developed a toxic relationship with the press, but the majority of the fans still respected him. And in late September, Maris was our only hope. We were still rooting for him to break Ruth's record. Speaking of rooting for him, I was at that game. I saw Roger Maris break Babe Ruth's record. I tell you, it felt like there were more than 15,000 fans in the stands. Could you please check on that Pete?

I check and respond:
Roger Maris yesterday became the first major league player in history to hit more than 60 home runs in a season.
The 27-year-old Yankee outfielder hit his sixty-first at the stadium before a roaring crowd of 23,154 in the Bombers' final game of the regular campaign.

Generation X Fan smiles and says, "I'm glad the Book of Deeds has got it right."

To which I reply: "Actually, that's from page one of the Oct. 2, 1961 edition of The New York Times. And films captured of that momentous moment show fans giving Maris a standing ovation."

At this point in the debate, with the record set straight, God had seen and heard enough. In two nanoseconds She implanted the thought in the brains of Yankee fans and players alike that all Yankee players were equal to each other in Her eyes. And those were the only eyes that counted.

As for Cohen, God relented. She cancelled the lightning strike. She figured he would get enough static from the Yankee fans still on earth. God knows who the greatest players in New York Yankees history are! ( )