Call the Yankees My Daddy: Reflections on Baseball, Race, and Family

In his position as the first black beat reporter to cover the New York Yankees, Cecil Harris had an up-close perspective of the team that he'd followed as a fan ever since the 1960s. Raised in a family that rooted against both the Yankees and Red Sox because of both teams' seeming reluctance to buy into integration, Harris nevertheless carried a passion for pinstripes into his professional life. Here, we get priceless insight on the Yankees' ascendancy in the late 1990s--as well as their struggles to stave off a crumbling dynasty in the twenty first century. Along the way, we meet Joe Torre, Don Zimmer, Derek Jeter, Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio, and many other players. Harris considers the complexities of Mr. October, Reggie Jackson--a player who led Harris's team to two late-1970s championships but who, Harris argues, was bad for baseball in popularizing a "me-first" attitude in the sport. Harris also offers keen insight into the role of race within baseball and the media, as some American League stars seek to exploit Harris's race for their benefit. This is a well-written insider's look at the most storied franchise in Major League Baseball.