Call the Yankees My Daddy

A New York Yankees fan since the age of five, Cecil Harris became the first African-American to cover the Yankees as a full-time newspaper beat writer in the 1990s. But far from becoming a Yankees cheerleader, he incurred the wrath of some Yankees officials, including tempestuous owner George Steinbrenner himself, because of his clear-eyed, objective and award-winning reporting on the team. Hariis recounts those stories in Call the Yankees My Daddy. Despite his constant battles for respect, Harris was thrilled to witness the building of what became Major League Baseball's last dynasty -- the Yankees won four World Series from 1996-2000. Although Harris's father was a National League fan who resented the Yankees for being among the last clubs to integrate (not until 1955, eight years after Jackie Robinson's debut), he encouraged his son's love of baseball and language, and intellectual curiosity, while tolerating his son's team of choice. Baseball provides a strong link between parents and children, particularly fathers and sons, and Harris pays homage to that tradition in Call the Yankees My Daddy. And he concludes the book with a cogent analysis of how the Yankees' organizational instability has led to the club's decline in this decade.

Cecil Harris is a beat writer for a Westchester County NY paper who recollects about his journalistic days covering the Yankees in the mid 90s, including the '96 season, as well as his past in living in a household filled with Met and Brooklyn Dodger fans. He describes about the time he became interested in the Yankees and shares his beliefs as to who are the 'true' Yankees today and in the past, as well as his favorite of all-time: Horace Clarke, a second baseman from the 60s-70s. Harris also offers a clear picture of how race plays a role in the game even today and what effect players have used the race card in interviews with Harris. Overall, I could not put this book down and I recommend it to anyone whose a true baseball fan, not even a Yankee fan per-say (but it does help if you are a Yankee fan!) Not only is the book a fun read, but your emotions will get the best of you when he recalls his immediate family and the memories he has of them through the sport of baseball. An excellent book overall - thanks Cecil Harris for your thoughts and wisdom.