I didn’t learn as much as I had hoped. TLR spent substantial time describing his methods for handling player personalities, building morale and creating team chemistry. Like holding a team dinner, inviting players’ families to a picnic, talking with players one-on-one about issues, etc. – common sense and boring. TLR’s musings about his days managing the White Sox and A’s feel like filler to increase page count and less like elaboration on the points he’s making about the 2011 season. He doesn’t shy away from issues like his DUI, his defense of McGwire, his beef with Ozzie – but he doesn’t bring any enlightenment or context to what’s already known. Each section opener begins with a multipage, all italics intro used to convey “this is what Tony was thinking.” Lose the annoying italics. I get it. A final theme running throughout is TLR’s fascination with making decisions based on historical data (metrics), unless it is a situation where Tony thinks it is better to ignore the data. It comes off egotistical and doesn’t explain his managing approach as much as he thinks it does. I did walk away for an appreciation for how he approached his job and I may just respect him more because of the book. I was left wanting more insight into game strategy and the behind-the-scene issues conquered on the way to winning a World Series.