Yankees: Q&A with Bryan Hoch, Yankees Beat Writer for MLB.com

Marcus:
You have a new book coming out on June 4th that you wrote with Mark Feinsand titled “Mission 27“. What can you tell me about it, and what makes it such a must read? I’ve seen amazing reviews about it.

Bryan:
Thank you. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a few years now as the core four is phased out, and we said goodbye to Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Petitte, and a lot of these other guys who were all linked together from this 2009 Yankees’ team, which we didn’t know it at the time, but it would be the last World Series championship to date.

Just a really special year for me covering the team, being around, watching them tear down the old Yankee Stadium, move across the street to the new one, and then bring in these guys like CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Texeira, and Nick Swisher, who really formed this fun, exciting team to be around. That was one of my most special years covering the team. I’m sure for fans it was one of the most special years to watch. They wound up on top by beating the Philadelphia Phillies in that World Series.

The thought process when Mark and I talked about doing a book together, it was obvious, “Let’s see how many of these guys from 2009 we can track down and sit down with. Some of them are still around the game. Obviously, you see A-Rod and Mark Texeira, and they’re in the media world. Some are still playing for the Yankees – two of them are. Where are these other guys? Can we track them down? And let’s get the stories that we would have liked to have known in 2009 and tell them in 2019.

So, that was basically our goal and, man, it was so much fun. It was kind of like going to your high school reunion and seeing all your old friends again and just catching up with them, telling these stories. We’ve got some fun ones, and I’m not going to give too much away for you, but you’re definitely going to smile. You’re going to laugh when you read this book. You’re going to hear stuff that you definitely did not hear in 2009. But I think you’re going to be glad you picked it up in 2019.

Marcus:
I’m sure I will. I loved your “Baby Bombers” book. I thought it was tremendous – the content, the writing. Everything about it was amazing.

Bryan:
Thank you.

Marcus:
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions.

Bryan:
I’m happy to help. I’m glad it worked out for you. Thanks for scheduling me in.