A Tale of Two Cities

Publisher's Press Release
When the Boston Red Sox faced the New York Yankees in the historic 2003 American League Championship Series, the meeting seemed to serve as the climax to perhaps the greatest rivalry in professional sports.

Yet, following New York’s comeback victory in nail-biting Game 7, both the Red Sox and Yankees entered the off-season without a world title — and with renewed conviction to finish the job in 2004.

In A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry and the War for the Pennant respected baseball writers John Harper (New York Daily News) and Tony Massarotti (Boston Herald) chronicle the Yankees and Red Sox in parallel story lines through the summer of 2004. The authors take you behind the scenes with the teams, cities, and media during one of the most intense baseball seasons in history.

This book is unique and specific in that it focuses ONLY on the 2004 season and is written from both the Boston and New York perspectives.

Beyond the hows and whys of the wins and losses, these two well-respected reporters capture not only the passion the rivalry generates in the two cities, but give readers a look from the inside — what it’s like to cover these teams and deal behind the scenes with a temperamental superstar such as Pedro Martinez or an outrageous owner such as George Steinbrenner.

While the 2004 season ended in glorious fashion for the Red Sox, we all know that in New York and Boston, a baseball season never really ends so much a new season begins.

276 pages, Lyons Press (March 2005)
Available for purchase at Amazon.com

A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry and the War for the Pennant

About the Authors
Tony Massarotti a Boston-area native and a cum laude graduate of Tufts University, has worked at the Boston Herald for 15 years. He is in his fifth season as a baseball columnist and his eleventh year covering the Red Sox. Massarotti appears regularly on WEEI-AM (850) sports radio, Sports Final with Bob Lobel on Channel 4 (CBS), and New England Sports Tonight on the FOX Sports Network.

John Harper has been covering baseball in New York as a beat writer or columnist for 21 years, the last twelve for the New York Daily News. A former college baseball player at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, Harper has authored three books, including an acclaimed account of the Yankees’ 1996 championship season.