by The conclusion of the three-part series on the 1990 Yankees was a bit rushed, and also anticlimactic at times. They tried to make it seem as though the 1990 meltdown somehow led to the dynasty later in the decade. I don’t quite subscribe to that theory quite frankly. Part 3 had little to do with 1990, but then quickly skipped past it and spent the bulk of the episode rushing through the rest of the decade.
The episode starts with Fay Vincent suspending George Steinbrenner from the Yankees, for a sentence that lasted nearly two years. Meanwhile fans in New York cheer the decision while Stick Michael takes over the team to much acclaim.
Kevin Maas hysteria took over as the young man’s tendency to hit home runs, caused men to cheer and women to show their breasts. Yes, that is a real thing. He finished the season with 21 homeruns in 79 games, with the bulk of them coming in the beginning of that stretch before petering completely out. Maas would be gone from the Yankees by the end of 1993, and out of baseball by 1995.
The New York Yankees finished 67-95 in 90, and then 71-91 in 91. Following the 91 season, Michael fired Manager Bucky Dent and brought in Buck Showalter as things began to turn around. Buck, had control 92-95, before getting fired by the returning Steinbrenner who then brought in Joe Torre and the rest is history!
As for the documentaries main villain, Mel Hall, he flamed out badly as he refused to mentor future Yankees legend Bernie Williams. As for his lust of 15-year-old Chaz Easterly, Donald Trump of all people rescued her from that mess after Hall moved her into Trump Towers and began to torment her. Trump found out about it, and got her out of there, into safety. Incredible!
All that was covered in the first 10 minutes, as the producers spent the next 50 minutes making Buck Showalter seem like he was Gods gift to baseball, and really butchered the actual rise of the Yankees in the late 90’s. It was a terrible ending to a tremendous documentary.
