05/18/2015
Over the 17 seasons Posada caught behind the plate for the Yankees (1995–2012), the team climbed to the pinnacle of success, winning four World Series in five years. In this often inspiring, occasionally dry memoir, Posada calls the innings of his life play-by-play from his childhood in Puerto Rico and his days playing junior-college ball in Alabama, to his early days with the Yankees' farm club, the Columbus Clippers, and his career with the Yankees. From the time Posada was born, his father—a Major League scout himself—wanted nothing more than for his son to be a ballplayer. During the summer that he turned 12, while his friends were out playing ball, young Posada spent his days shoveling the mound of dirt his father has had dumped in the driveway , carting it by wheelbarrow to the backyard; this was his father's way of making him physically and emotionally stronger. His father soon had Posada running sprints up the hills near his home to develop more strength and speed, as well as learning to switch hit so Jorge can add value to any team with his batting skills. Posada affectionately chronicles his relationships with his manager, Joe Torre, and teammates such as Derek Jeter and David Cone, as well as the difficult days following the birth of his son, Jorge Luis, who had craniosynostosis, a birth defect requiring multiple surgeries. Posada emerges as a dedicated and hardworking player, a loyal friend, a committed father and husband, and, always and forever, a Yankee. (May)
Sports stories both exemplify great feats of physicality and transcend them. They encompass the whole spectrum of human emotion, from devastation to joy. Here are six intense sports books that will take you behind the scenes of your favorite games and into the heads of the best athletes in the world.