This Day in Yankee History

by Ronald L. Meinstereifel

Reviewed by Robert Palazzo

Let me start by establishing three facts:

1) I am a passionate, life-time New York Yankee fan.

2) This is my first stab at a book review

3) It isn't easy to write a book review if you didn't enjoy the book.

I have to say up front ­ I didn't enjoy This Day in Yankee History written by Ronald L. Meinstereifel. Or perhaps I should say compiled by. That's what the book is ­ a compilation of dates and stats and trivia type information.

The format of the book is clever. The author takes the reader through almost 100 years of Yankee history (1903 to the present). Starting with January 1st and continuing through December 31st, a day-by-day chronicle of events is provided, each day in annual chronological order. For example, information would be provided for events that occurred on January 1st, starting with the earliest year (1903) through the present. Then January 2nd would be the same; then January 3rd, etc. Next February, then March, etc.

In the preface the author, a psychologist by profession and a "self-taught baseball historian" states that his previous writing has been "chronologies, calendars and biographies." That's what this book is ­ an attempt, perhaps to combine all three. The book isn't a reading book. It has no heart or soul. Nothing from the author other than the work produced from an enormous amount of research. Why did he write this as a book rather than as a research project (which it obviously is) or the type of work he apparently enjoys? A comment from the author in the Preface provides a clue:

"Last year I produced a page-per-day desk calendar relating to Pittsburgh sports. To reach a larger market, I began researching New York City sports and began compiling information. I found too much data to include all New York sports and soon realized that choosing one specific team would be a more manageable and focused task. Because of their long-term success, recent championships, personalities and fan base, I chose the Yankees. As it turned out, this team provided a great wealth of research possibilities..."

He calls them, "This team..."?! These are the Yankees! What did he expect? It came as a surprise to him that there would "a great wealth of research possibilities"? What's this about "...recent championships..."? Where has the author been all these years? Sorry, but he lost credibility when I read that.

Some examples of information I found interesting and worth noting:

January 30th - The Yankees acquired future HOF'er Herb Pennock from the Red Sox in 1923.

February 2nd - George Halas briefly tried pro ball with the Yankees in 1919, batting .091.

February 15th - The Yankees purchased the contract of Frank "Home Run" Baker, who hit 48 of his career 93 home runs as a Yankee.

March 1st ­ The Yankees traded spring training sites with the NY Giants, opening the 1951 campaign Phoenix with rookie Mickey Mantle in camp; and 18 years later

March 1st ­ Mickey Mantle announced his retirement in 1969.

But do we really need to know:

January 4th ­ The Yankees purchased shortstop Lyn Lary and infielder Jimmy Reese from the Pacific Coast League in 1928.

January 6th ­ The Yankees acquired outfielder Terry Jones from the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named in 2000.

January 12th ­ Former Yankee utility infielder Andy Fox was born in Sacramento, CA in 1971.

January 14th ­ Pitcher Hidecki Irabu was married to Kim Kyong in Chiba, Japan in 1997.

February 24th ­ "Stormy" Weatherly was born in 1915.

March 2nd ­ Richard Starr, born in 1921, pitched for the Yankees in 1947-48, with a 1-0 record.

The author offers no illustrations, no opinions, no insight, puts no spin on any of the facts presented. No attempt was made to pull it all together. This book is not my cup of tea, but it might be yours. If you enjoy reading the type of material the author has compiled, or if you are a trivia freak, I encourage you to purchase the book. As for me, I'll watch Yankee-ography and other Yankee historical programming on the Yankees YES network to feed my fix for Yankee nostalgia.