Time has posted a chapter of the Torre book: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1881350-2,00.html?iid=perma_share
I encourage you to read it. You’ll see how much of a Verducci book it really is, and the steroids stuff is enlightening. I’m back on my “don’t act like you didn’t know” kick.
Here’s a taste:
It was a freak show and baseball loved it. It was the first season in history in which four players hit 50 home runs. Greg Vaughn and Ken Griffey Jr., half of the 50-plus bombers that year, were dwarfed in size, production and attention by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Both McGwire, with 70 home runs, and Sosa, with 66, blew away the record 61 home runs of Roger Maris that had stood as the standard for 37 years. America was captivated by the two huge men and the great home-run race. Senator Edward Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, praised McGwire and Sosa as the “home-run kings for working families in America.” McGwire, with forearms the size of a grown man’s neck, 17 inches around, was a gate attraction unto himself, a modern wonder of the world. Ballparks opened their gates early and called in concession staffs to clock in early just to accommodate the thousands of fans who wanted to see him take batting practice. On September 9, Fox scrapped the season premieres of its prime-time Tuesday night shows to televise the game in which McGwire would hit his record-breaking 62nd home run. More than 43 million people watched.
