After 19 seasons in the major leagues, Al Leiter traded his pitcher’s glove for a microphone. That was back in 2006: He’d just finished spring training with the Yankees when he walked into Joe Torre’s office, told him he was retiring and strode into the broadcasting booth. Leiter’s been talking up a storm ever since. Doesn’t he miss the mound? “You know what? I don’t,” says Leiter, who also pitched for the Mets, Blue Jays and Marlins before joining the YES Network. “My arm kills me, I got a bad left hip and a bum right knee. I sound like an old fart!” Some of the Yankees’ star players are in even worse shape. What will it do to the team’s chances? “Who the heck knows?” Leiter replies. “There’s no rhyme or reason to baseball!” Here’s what’s in his library.
Long Shot
by Mike Piazza and Lonnie Wheeler
He was my teammate for seven years and I told him, “I’m not gonna buy the book, you better send it to me!” I thought he was very honest about steroid use . . . and getting martial-arts training so he could defend himself the next time someone hit him with a baseball. And I love the story of him, as a young boy, sitting down with Ted Williams to talk hitting.
Talent is Never Enough
by John C. Maxwell
I like self-help books. This one was recommended to me by a CEO of a payroll company, and it’s advice that can be given to anyone about what you need to do to achieve success. I could relate to the psychology behind having to perform and how it’s not always about your God-given talent, but having the courage to go for it.
The Master of Disguise
by Antonio J. Mendez
I’m intrigued by the masterminds of espionage. Antonio Mendez is the guy behind “Argo.” This guy’s a lifer in the CIA. This takes you into the beginning of how he got there, as a techie guy who was in Korea and Vietnam before he coming to Langley.
Outliers
by Malcolm Gladwell
Basically, this is a look at the scenarios that help people get where they are. Gladwell, who’s a Canadian, goes into depth about hockey players and how it’s no accident many are born in January and February, making them bigger and stronger than their [younger] classmates . . . He also talks about Bill Gates, whose school had an early computer program. Of course, Gates is also a genius!