Chumps to Champs: How the Worst Teams in Yankees History Led to the '90s Dynasty

I’ve read a ton of baseball books over the last 30+ years. This book sits comfortably as one of the best ones of the lot. I was deeply invested in the late 80s early 90s Yankees and this book took me back to that time…I was 18-21 yrs old and always working trades out in my head to help the Yankees reclaim New York from the hated Mets.I’ve always felt that Stick Michael did not get the acclaim he deserved for being the architect behind the 90s dynasty. This book properly gives Stick his due. A great read, buy it!

This is one of my favorite Yankee books. Essential for any Yankee fan. Really tells the story of how the 90s dynasty was built and how Stick and Buck, the unsung hero’s (especially Buck), built this team. And shows, contrary to Yankee haters, how the dynasty teams were built on keeping home grown talent and not spending Yankee money. Quite the contrary.I read Pennington’s George Martin book also. Thus is just as good.The writing is fabulous. His style is just very well organized and easy to read. Not simplistic, but just great.Get this book.

This book fills in all the front office back story and managerial acumen of Gene Michael, Buck Showalter, Stump Merrill among others. Without these people assembling the cast of players and laying the groundwork that would lead to World Championships in1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. The story of how they kept the "core four" together to yield some of the greatest Yankees teams of all time. A must read for all Yankees fans who lived through those years. Great book!

Pennington's reporting duties at the time help him immensely tell the story of the Yanks' rebuild better than anyone before. He also gives tons of props - rightfully so - to Stick Michael for his contributions. There were so many interesting things I learned like the use of the "Yankee Way Manual". If you love the Yankees you have to put yourself through the dark times and read how they got themselves back to being the premier franchise in baseball.

This book details the Yankee teams of the early 90's that weren't particularly good. It tells about how Gene Michael and the Yankees development system were able to thrive with George Steinbrenner being suspended. They were able to draft or sign the core four and allow them to develop while at the same time bringing in solid players for the MLB roster.