Q and A with YES Network Analyst Jack Curry
I recently chatted with YES Network analyst Jack Curry about his new book, The 1998 Yankees: The Inside Story of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever. 
Those 1990’s Yankee teams, as we move on in time, become more and more remarkable. Four World Series wins in five years. The legends like Joe Torre and Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. The overall strategy and coaching and team concepts. The way they always picked each other up. The smarts of the front office. How they steamrolled teams. The quality of the people. The depth and teamwork and versatility and bench play. And the moments and memories. Oh, yes, those moments and memories. Remember, that dynasty is the last one in MLB to repeat as champs (2000 Yanks), but everyone talks about parity in the NFL? The Patriots won six Super Bowls and went to nine in two decades. Those Yankee teams were special, but none dominated the game like the 1998 Yanks. Jack Curry brings you inside the walls and baselines with brilliant writing and storytelling to highlight the greatest team in baseball history, the 1998 Yankees. If you lived it like me, you still think about it 25 years later. A lot. Here is Jack Curry. Enjoy.
ML: Why do you consider the 1998 Yanks the best team ever?
JC: To be the best team ever, you need to be dominant. That 1998 team dominated. No team has ever won 125 games. Those Yankees had the fourth-highest winning percentage ever, they had the highest run differential since the 1939 Yankees, they led the majors in runs scored and defensive efficiency and they led the A.L. in fewest runs allowed and they were 120-1 when they led after eight innings. They also won three rounds of playoffs and that’s significant.
ML: Who was the unsung hero on that team?
JC: David Cone. In addition to what Cone did in winning 20 games during the regular season, he was the liaison between Joe Torre and David Wells and made sure their contentious relationship didn’t disturb the clubhouse chemistry.
ML: With the game today, is it harder or easier to construct a team like this?
JC: I consider them the best team ever so, whether we’re taking 2003, 2013 or 2023, it’s always going to be difficult to replicate. At times, the Yankees had Tim Raines, Darryl Strawberry, Chili Davis and Joe Girardi as “backups.” I’m not sure we’ll ever see that kind of talent on the bench again.
ML: Describe the 1998 NY Yankees in one word and why.
JC: Relentless. They were talented, but they also considered themselves grinders. Derek Jeter told me they wanted to beat teams EVERY INNING, not just every game. And that’s the way they played.
ML: Thanks Jack. Congrats on the book. You’re the best.
JC: Thanks, Mike.
Here is a link to buy the book: Amazon.com: The 1998 Yankees: The Inside Story of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever: 9781538722978: Curry, Jack: Books
Mike Lindsley has been in sports media for 25 years. He is the host of the ML Sports Platter Podcast and has hosted radio in Syracuse and Albany and for SB Nation and Yahoo! He runs www.pinstripepassion.com. Follow him on YouTube @MLSportsPlatter1979 and on Twitter @MikeLSports.
Jack Curry is a studio analyst on the YES Network and a 3-time New York Times bestselling author. Prior to YES, he covered the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball at The New York Times for nearly 20 years as its Yankees beat writer and as a national baseball writer. Follow him on Twitter @JackCurryYES.
