Emperors and Idiots: The Hundred Year Rivalry Between the Yankees and Red Sox, From the Very Beginning to the End of the Curse

By Mike Vaccaro

Book Overview

The New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox. For a hundred years, no two teams have locked horns as fiercely or as frequently - and no two seasons frame the colossal battle more perfectly than 2003 and 2004. Now, with incredible energy and access, leading sports columnist Mike Vaccaro chronicles the history of the greatest rivalry in sports, and the two stunning American League Championship Series that define a century of baseball. October 17, 2003: A night no Yankees or Red Sox fan will ever forget. At 12:15 am, bottom of the eleventh inning of game seven of the ALCS, New York third-baseman Aaron Boone launches a ball over Yankee Stadium's left-field fence. The Yankees win their 39th pennant - and send the perennially vexed Boston Red Sox home . . . again . . . suffering another devastating loss to their longtime nemesis. October 20, 2004: A year later, an eerie reprise - but this time things are different. After losing three straight to the Yankees, Boston has charged back to win the next three, forcing a decisive game seven. From the start of the game Boston is in control, and by winning this game they march toward their first World Series victory since 1918. These two explosive years define an extraordinary, epic rivalry - from Mariano Rivera and Roger Clemens to Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling, Derek Jeter and Aaron Boone to David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, from nearly a century of Yankee domination to the undisputed breaking of "The Curse." With the razor-sharp instincts that have made him a top sports journalist, Mike Vaccaro delves into the history of the rollicking rivalry: a vicious collision in 1903 (between the New York Highlanders and Boston Pilgrims) that draws first blood; the era of Babe Ruth and his legendary trade from the Red Sox to the Yankees, ushering in the notorious Curse; the golden age of DiMaggio and Williams; the unstoppable power of Mantle and Maris; the heart and soul of Fisk and Yazstremski versus Pinella and Munson; and the modern era of dueling owners, skyrocketing payrolls, and a renewed rivalry that attracts sell-out crowds even to Yankees-Red Sox spring training games. EMPERORS AND IDIOTS is as lively, fascinating, and raucous as the teams themselves - a must-have volume for any Yankees or Red Sox fan.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767919106
• ISBN13: 9780767919104
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Manages To Keep Yankees/Red Sox Rivalry Fresh

Over the years, there has been enough prose written about the rivalry between baseball's New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to fill volumes upon volumes. However, in "Emperors and Idiots", Mike Vaccaro is able to keep the material fresh and interesting by narrowing his focus to just the Yanks and Sox. For example, most takes of this rivalry include a focus on the Red Sox being "cursed" and the Yankees winning all their titles in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. This book, though, only touches on the games actually played between the two warring clubs (e.g. I don't believe Bill Buckner is discussed at all in the text, besides in a passing reference). Whether it is the beginning of the rivalry in 1904 (with the New York Highlanders playing the Boston Beaneaters), the heated games of the late 1940s and mid-70s, or the jump-start in 2003-2004, Vaccaro's ability to keep his focus on just the two teams led to the unearthing of some information that was new to me (or at least I hadn't remembered in a very long time). Of course, "Emperors and Idiots" spends the requisite time focusing on the '03 and '04 seasons and playoffs, which is a topic that can be read over and over by baseball fans and never really get old or stale. Sure, there is some talk of "ghosts" and "curses" and such things, but they play second-fiddle to what the book really tries to do: Try to understand the New York/Boston rivalry from the perspective of the fans, the front offices, and the players. Until reading this book, the co-authored text "Faithful" (Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan) was what I considered to be the authority on this subject...but that really only told the story from the die-hard Sox fan's perspective. This book gives equal time to each side in its quest to try and understand why the rivalry is perhaps the greatest in the history of sports.

Emperors and Idiots

A must read for diehard followers of The Rivalry--Yankees vs. Red Sox. An entertaining compilation of the observations and emotions from the point-of-view of various fans on both sides of this age-old confrontation, particularly regarding the more recent battles of the last few years. Very enjoyable.

Helped me relive some of the baseball seasons that I personally followed

Enjoyed listening to EMPERORS AND IDIOTS by Mike Vaccaro, the story of the 100 year Yankee-Red Sox rivalry . . . it emphasized the very exciting races in both 2003 and 2004, while also interspersing tales from 1904, 1919, 1941, 1946, 1949, 1977, and 1978 . . . and that leads to my only criticism of the book; i.e., it was a bit choppy . . . personally, I would have preferred a more linear approach. Yet I quibble . . . what a thrill to relive many of the seasons that I personally followed . . . (NOT the ones prior to 1977!) . . . and even then, I enjoyed hearing about DiMaggio and Williams, and the fact that they almost got traded for each other . . . also, it was fun getting to again hear names from my not-so-distant past, including Mantle, Maris, Fisk, Yastremski, Pinella, Munson, Jackson and taking me through the present era of Martinez, Jeter, Damon, and Rivera. The CD version had an added bonus: interviews with Bill "Spaceman" Lee and Yogi Berra, two players who had actually experienced the rivalry . . . to quote Berra, "You really have to go through it to know what it was like to go through it." This book gave me a feel for just that . . . fans of either team--or sports, in general--will like EMPERORS AND IDIOTS.

Very Impressed

Mike Vaccaro brings to sportswriting something most of his statistical, fanatical, factoid spewing brethern forgets...baseball, at it's very core, is about the people behind the numbers. Thats what makes this book so much more interesting than all of the other Red Sox-Yankee history books. This book weaves together such a poetic colorful narrative of quotes, emotions and stories from the all the players involved right down to the dihard fan in the last row of bleacher seats. We all know how the story ends, but Vaccaro takes us on that crazy ride one more time. This time we see it and feel it from all sides.

Absolutely enthralling

I didn't think it was possible to learn more about the last two Red Sox-Yankees playoff series. As a lifelong Red Sox fan, I watched every out of every game, reading every newspaper story and magazine article. But with every page in this book, I learned something new about these two teams -- like Bucky Dent himself falling asleep just before Aaron Boone matched his dramatic home run with one in the 2003 Game 7. But where Vaccaro is at his best is when he mixes in the history of this rivalry. Yes, you will see numerous books on the shelves about the Red Sox and Yankees. But no, you will not see a better one than this.