Strangers in the Bronx

Overview

Rare is the athlete who captures the imagination of a generation. In Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, sports culture had two such figures. Undoubtedly, DiMaggio and Mantle are two of the most revered names in baseball literature. However, there is one particular moment that has been overlooked by baseball historians and writers: the 1951 pennant-winning New York Yankees team—DiMaggio’s last year and Mantle’s rookie season. For that one year, the paths of these two baseball icons converged, the naissance of Mantle’s career poignantly juxtaposed with the slow descent of DiMaggio’s final season. Strangers in the Bronx is more than a chronicle of a pennant-winning team, it is also a study of heroes: the decline of an all-too mortal American icon and the emergence of the newest sensation in sport.

Author Biography

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Press Releases

Strangers in the Bronx: DiMaggio, Mantle, and the Changing of the Yankee Guard

By Andrew O’Toole - Foreword by Marty Appel

Contact: Olivia Aguilar - Triumph Books - 312.676.4238 - o.aguilar@triumphbooks.com

For years, baseball historians and authors have written about the careers of legends Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. The two Yankees both embody their generations and have become household names in baseball literature. However, many historians overlook the 1951 season when the paths of these two icons met on the field of Yankee Stadium. 

For the first time ever, sportswriter Andrew O’Toole has given readers a closer look at the Yankees’ 1951 pennant-winning season in his new book, Strangers of the Bronx: DiMaggio, Mantle, and the Changing of the Yankee Guard (Triumph Books, June 2015). The year marked Joe DiMaggio’s final season and the emergence of the next baseball hero and arguably the best switch hitter of all time, Mickey Mantle. It truly was a “changing of the guard” for this winning team. Talking points include:

• The infamous feud between Yankees manager Casey Stengel and Joe DiMaggio  
• Mickey Mantle’s slow start on the Yankees and his time as an outfielder for the Kansas City Blues 
• The team’s journey to their third straight consecutive American League pennant, as well as their third consecutive World Series championship  
• Andrew O’Toole on the similarities between DiMaggio’s last season and Derek Jeter’s last year as a Yankee 

Strangers in the Bronx: DiMaggio, Mantle, and the Changing of the Yankee Guard is the first book to examine the end of DiMaggio’s career and Mantle’s shaky start as a major league player. After winning the World Series championship, the players went their separate ways, and the rest is history.

About the Author:

 Andrew O'Toole is a freelance writer who has previously authored seven books, including Paul Brown: The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Football's Most Innovative Coach and Sweet William: The Life of Billy Conn. He lives in Maineville, Ohio.

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