The Yankees are considering including a "non-disparagement clause" in future player and managerial contracts in order to prevent any more tell-all books such as "The Yankee Years," co-written by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a Yankee official said yesterday that some members of the front office staff already are required to sign a confidentiality agreement in order to protect "proprietary knowledge of our business model." The proposed clause is intended to ensure that future books about the Yankees are "positive in tone," and "do not breach the sanctity of our clubhouse.""Up to now, we have always operated our employer-employee relationships on a basis of trust," the official said. "But we never expected what we got from Joe. We may have to get a little tougher on this issue."
I don't like this idea. Sure, it's embarrassing for some of the players and management, but I (even as a Yankee fan) enjoy hearing inside stuff about the Yankee clubhouse, even if it's negative. And if they didn't do it after Ball Four, why now?
- The hits just keep on coming... (this is worth the read).
- If you want to let Joe know how you feel about the book, you can tell him in person at one of his several book signings in the New York area in early February:
- Tuesday, Feb. 3 - 12:30pm - Barnes & Noble, 555 Fifth Avenue, New York City
- Tuesday, Feb. 3 - 7:00 p.m. - Yogi Berra Museum, 8 Quarry Road, Little Falls,
New Jersey (campus of Montclair State University) - Wednesday, Feb. 4 - 1:00pm - Borders, 100 Broadway, New York City
- Wednesday, February 4 - 7:00 p.m. - Bookends, 232 East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey