Product Description

Michael Holley, bestselling author of Patriot Reign, provides an inside look at how it all happened. With the exclusive cooperation of Terry Francona and stories from the clubhouse and the conference room, Holley reveals the private sessions and the dugout and front-office strategies that have made the Boston Red Sox a budding dynasty.

When Grady Little's job prospects were dimming during game seven of the Red Sox–Yankees playoffs in 2003, Oakland A's bench coach Terry Francona was puttering around his house, unaware of his fate. General manager Theo Epstein and owner John Henry sat in their Fenway box, praying that Little would pull Pedro Martinez. And fans throughout New England howled when Martinez remained in the game and the Sox lost the series. They wanted Little's head, and they got it.

In Epstein and Henry's search for a manager, they wanted someone from the new school, someone who could manage wealthy and/or sensitive players and rely not only on gut and instinct but also on the cold science of statistics. Francona, the son of a professional baseball player and a major leaguer himself until devastating knee injuries ended his career prematurely, was a dark horse candidate. After all, he'd been a mediocre manager while with the Phillies. But he had a great head for the game, and as the manager for the minor league Birmingham Barons, he had managed none other than Michael Jordan without a glitch.

After Francona's job interview with Epstein, which included a written test and a game simulation, the Red Sox felt they'd found their man. And now, after two championships in four seasons, they have their proof.

With a team of disparate personalities, from the inscrutable Manny Ramirez to the affable David Ortiz, Francona and the Red Sox have overtaken their hated archnemesis, the New York Yankees, as the American League's elite team.

Insightful, fascinating, and surprising, Red Sox Rule is the story of the changing face of baseball and the inner workings of its finest organization.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103823 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Released on: 2008-03-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

About the Author

Michael Holley is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, Patriot Reign and Never Give Up. He was a Boston Globe sportswriter for ten years and currently cohosts the Dale & Holley Show on Boston sports radio station WEEI. He lives in Boston with his wife.

Customer Reviews

You have to be a Red Sox fan to really get into this one
Without question, the Red Sox have been one of the most dominant teams in the past five years, which is coincidentally when Terry Francona took over as manager. Brought to Beantown following the Grady Little incident in the 2003 ALCS, he has managed to step into the fire of Red Sox Nation without burning his feet.

Michael Holley is quick to recognize the apparent connection of Francona's arrival and the success of the Red Sox, and offers 202 pages on the man who has been at the healm of the club since 2004.

This is a good read for Red Sox fans looking to learn a bit more about Francona, both on and off the field. Like many, he's taken an interesting route to get where he is, and like most, it hasn't been a straight or easy path to the manager's chair. Having met Francona on several occasions, I wouldn't say he's the most dynamic fellow I've ever come across, and the book didn't do anything to change my opinion of him. It provides quite a bit of information on him that I didn't know before, but given that he's 3,000 miles away from me, its immediate relevance is a bit tougher to discern.

For non-Red Sox fans, such as myself, the insight into Francona may be a bit more than most folks would like to spend 200 pages on. He's a darn good manager, but it's more of a biopic as opposed to a strategy book, although there are some nuggets scattered throughout about how he approaches the game from a strategic sense. You might read this and end up really liking Francona...or you might get to the end and say to yourself, "ok, nice story - now what?"

By no means is Red Sox Rule a bad read - I'd just want to know your interest in the subject matter before giving it a whole-hearted recommendation. If you cheer for the Red Sox, read it - you'll enjoy it. If you're not a Red Sox fan, proceed at your own risk -- I can't guarantee you'll get that into it.

Interesting but...
First off I love Michael Holley's work. He is one of the best sports journalists in Boston. I was really hoping that this was going to be like Patriot Reign but unfortunately its not. Red Sox Rule is a rich profile of what makes Terry Francona tick. I never knew that Francona managed Michael Jordan or how good of a player he was before he got hurt. I was disappointed that it is all about Francona and there are few if any insights about the people around him. There are occasional antidotes about Papelbon and Pedroia but I would have been really interested to know more about these guys or players before them (i.e., Kevin Millar). Aside from this and the minimal discussion about Manny which is understandable given that he still works with most of these guys the part that stood out most for me was the lack of any discussion about 2004. Red Sox Rule is a good light read about Terry Francona but don't expect any deep insights about the Sox.

For Insights and Brilliance, Holley Rules
I've read countless books on baseball, covering everything from the 1919 Black Sox scandal to right this minute - and this book makes my top five. I found myself canceling plans to read it - and I put it away in two days and was sad to be done.

Baseball makes great fodder for writers because the sport is so inherently nuanced - and yet too often writers try too hard and overdo it, lapsing into cliche and clumsily zapping all the magic.

Not Holley. His writing is brilliantly, poetically restrained, letting the rich and riveting facts and analysis shine through. What results is a truly shaded portrayal of a truly compelling man. A digestible read that is not forgotten once the final page is turned. A book that is eminently informative - but also subtly moving.

I learned things I never knew about my favorite team, about Terry Francona, and about managing in baseball generally. But this provocative work also left me thinking about life, love, the passage of time. Just like the sport itself.

Kudos to Michael Holley, whose work I have long admired, for this satisfying addition to the canon of great sports writing.