One (Not-So-Clear) Winner In The Derek Jeter Negotiations

A few weeks back I asked NYaT's readers and Twitter followers to guess what Derek Jeter's next contract would be. The guesses were all pretty good and I thank everyone again for participating. But now that Derek Jeter has officially inked his new contract, we need a winner. Like the actual negotiations between Jeter and the Yankees, this was not as easy as I thought. I was OK with the Yankees and Jeter working out the contract, but I was interested to see who would win our last book .But before we get to a winner, let's talk a little about the end of these negotiations.

Jeter and the Yankees' brass heading to the presser (NYT)

All it took to finalize these dealings, it seems, was for the Yankees to meet face-to-face with Jeter and hammer out what SI's Jon Heyman correctly calls "a creative and complex deal." Jack Curry via Twitter seemed to be the one to break the contract details out first and it includes a bit of everything: a large amount of guaranteed money, deferred money, an option with a buyout, and incentive clauses. Despite the fact that most announcements during the Winter Meetings are actually made where the Winter Meetings occur, the New York Post's Joel Sherman says that Jeter made the Yankees go to Tampa for the announcement, certainly the first sign that something wasn't quite right in Jeter's head.

In the end, the discussion is over and Derek Jeter is a Yankee though it didn't take long for people to start pushing loads of blame on the Yankees or on Jeter--and, honestly, both are loads of crap. This is a business negotiation not a Disney movie and, honestly, if George Steinbrenner was alive, there's no guarantee this wouldn't have gone worse for Jeter and the Yankees considering the path of his first negotiations. I don't think anyone "won" here but I think in the end, that's the sign of a fair negotiation. The Yankees got their man and Jeter got paid.

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NYAT’s Official Review of Jane Leavy’s Mickey Mantle: The Last Boy

I recently had the pleasure of reading Jane Leavy’s latest work, Mickey Mantle: The Last Boy.  Although this is certainly not the first book written about or by Mickey Mantle, I found Leavy’s work to be rather insightful, particularly for someone like me, who is several generations removed from the days in which The Mick roamed centerfield for the Yankees.

Mind you, Leavy’s work is not a traditional biography or biopic of Mantle. Her work is an attempt to not simply understand who the really Mickey Mantle was, but how he came to become the Mickey Mantle that we remember.  More importantly, she attempts to ascertain what it was that may have contributed to this distinction.

As you might be able to deduce from the title, Mantle was the last of his generation, a boy in a man’s world, playing a boy’s game yet also being asked to be a man at the same time.  Like many of his teammates, be it Billy Martin or Whitey Ford, it was easy to remain a boy in a man’s world, but even easier when you were Mickey Mantle and your potential for baseball greatness outweighed your need to mature into an adult.  At his core, Mickey Mantle was really just ballplayer who felt most secure on the baseball field and most vulnerable when he was not there.  Tormented by several factors, including the young death of his father, instances of child molestation from a former babysitter, and his consistent bouts with injuries, he turned to the psychologically numbing effects of alcohol.  His affection for liquor became his greatest and most public vice, as it stuck with him for almost his entire adult life.

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Last Chance to Win a Great Prize

As we told you on Monday, we're giving out TWO copies of Jane Leavy's New York Times bestselling book, "The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood." For those of you who missed it, all you have to do to win is to tell us what you think Derek Jeter's next contract will be. Simple as that. We'll extend the guessing to the end of the day to give everyone a chance to win. Then we'll announce the first winner on the book on Monday here at NYaT. Here are the rest of the rules:

Go on to Twitter and reply to us at @NoYoureaTowel and let us know what you think Derek Jeter's next contract will look like (years and dollar amount) with the hashtag #NextJeterContract. So a sample tweet would look something like this "@NoYoureaTowel I think that Derek Jeter will get a 3 year, $50 million contract #NextJeterContract".

If you don't have Twitter, you can let us know in the comments below as well. You have until Friday to get your guesses in. If you retweet this blog post (you can do so just by clicking that button below the post), you will double your chances to win.

Remember, you must be following us on Twitter at NoYoureaTowel to win (but you really should be already). Good luck and make sure to get your guesses in! Don't miss out on this great opportunity to win a fabulous book.

Trivia Tuesday: Derek Jeter and Mickey Mantle Edition (with a prize!)

Well it's not exactly our regular trivia, but we're continuing our contest from yesterday: guess Derek Jeter's next contract and win a prize. Click on that link and check out the rules but it's really as simple as that. You don't even have to be right as one random guesser will win a book too. Don't miss out on this great and easy opportunity to take home a copy of the New York Times' Bestseller by Jane Leavy for free. For all those Mickey Mantle, Yankees and baseball buffs out there, this is an opportunity not to be missed. So go on Twitter and let us know your thoughts!

What Will Derek Jeter's Next Contract Look Like? (with a prize!)

Last week we gave out a copy of Jane Leavy's new book that everyone is talking about, the New York Times bestseller, "The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood." The Tuesday Trivia winner was Richard Iurilli and we want to congratulate him on winning the first book (it will be in the mail very shortly). While Ben W is diligently reading through the book to write a review on the blog and Richard will be starting to read his shortly, we have two more books to give away.

Here's how we're going to do it: go on to Twitter and reply to us at @NoYoureaTowel and let us know what you think Derek Jeter's next contract will look like (years and dollar amount) with the hashtag #NextJeterContract. So a sample tweet would look something like this "@NoYoureaTowel I think that Derek Jeter will get a 3 year, $50 million contract #NextJeterContract".

If you don't have Twitter, you can let us know in the comments below as well. You have until Friday to get your guesses in. If you retweet this blog post (you can do so just by clicking that button below the post), you will double your chances to win.

On Friday I'll select one random Twitter guesser to get a book (you must be following NoYoureaTowel to be eligible--and remember, retweeting gets you 2x the chances!). The last book will go to the person who comes the closest to the actual Derek Jeter contract when that is signed (and can be on Twitter or here in the comments). The crowdsourcing answers will be compiled into a blog post so make sure to send good guesses. You don't know when he'll actually sign that contract, so make sure to get your guesses in quickly just in case he signs this week!  Good luck!

Trivia Tuesday: Mickey Mantle Edition (with a prize!)

Like many out there, we're very excited about the new book by Jane Leavy "The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood". Ben W is diligently reading it and taking notes for a review on the blog but in the meantime, we'll be giving out three copies at three separate times to make sure everyone gets a chance to win. But to know when we're giving it out, you're going to have to be visiting the blog quite a bit in the next week so you don't miss out on any opportunities.

Here is the first chance: Mickey Mantle is the all-time leader in home runs by a switch hitter. Behind him on the all-time switch-hitting home run list there are 7 other players in the top 13 who played for the Yankees. To win the first copy of the book, name any 5 out of those 7.

Put your answer in the comments below. One guess per person. The person with the first correct guess wins the book  I will announce the first winner later. You have to put down 5 guesses to be win the prize. Good luck and make sure to come back here all this week for more chances to win this great book.

The Best of New York Baseball Bracket Challenge: Narrowing Down The Candidates

Last night the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament ended but we're still finishing up with our New York Baseball Bracket Challenge. We're going to pit the best against each other so you can declare the best in New York. We'll list all the candidates this round, have you pick three and then we'll list arguments for those three players and have you vote for the top baseball player in New York (Mets or Yankees) history.

I decided to cheat a little and forgo the outfield vote. The Yankees own the three best outfielders in Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Joe DiMaggio. Just missed includes: Charlie Keller, Roger Maris, Dave Winfield, Tommy Henrich, Bobby Murcer, Earle Combs, and Darryl Strawberry. But we're just going to go ahead and put the Yankees top three into the finals.

So here's the list (click on the link to find their original argument):

• Catcher: Yogi Berra
• First Base: Lou Gehrig
• Middle Infielder: Derek Jeter
• Third Base (results below): Alex Rodriguez
• Outfield: Babe Ruth (picture from Babe Ruth.com)
• Outfield: Joe DiMaggio
• Outfield: Mickey Mantle
• Righthanded Starter: Tom Seaver
• Lefthanded Starter: Whitey Ford
• Closer: Mariano Rivera

Remember, on the right side, pick your top 3 New York baseball players and we'll pit the top 3 all together head-to-head, to see who is the best baseball player in New York history. And let us know why you chose the way you did in the comments below!

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A Story That Needs To Be Retold

This is hysterical. From Peter Abraham:

Mickey [Mantle] took Billy Martin hunting one day in Oklahoma and told him to wait in the car while he went and asked a friend of his who was a farmer for permission to hunt on his land.

The farmer agreed, but asked Mickey for a favor. He had an old cow that needed putting down and asked Mickey to do it for him because he didn’t have the heart to. So Mickey decided to play a trick on Billy.

Mickey came back to the car, pretended he was mad and got his rifle. “That son of a gun won’t let us hunt,” he said. “I’m going to shoot his cow.”

So Mantle when into the barn with Billy trailing behind. Bang! He shot the cow dead.

Suddenly he heard two more shots. Bang! Bang!

He turned around and there was Billy with a smoking rifle. “I got two of his horses, Mick,” he said. “That’ll show him.”

We'll probably never know if it's true...but if it is, wow. Just hilarious.