The New York Yankees are one of baseball's most iconic franchises and as much a part of New York as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. From Joe DiMaggio and Derek Jeter to Babe Ruth and Masahiro Tanaka, from Hall of Famers to rookie busts, the Yankees are baseball's most beloved franchise. Jim Kaat, who has the unique experience of playing for the Yankees as well as calling games for them in the booth, had a prime seat to watch it all unfold. In this book, Kaat and Greg Jennnings provide a closer look at the great moments and the lowlights that have made the Yankees one of baseball's keystone teams. Through the words of the players, via multiple interviews conducted with current and past Yankees, readers will meet the players, coaches, and management and share in their moments of greatness and defeat. Readers will find access to the clubhouse as Kaat recounts moments such as Jeter's last contest at Yankee Stadium; David Wells' perfect game; and the elation of the 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000 World Series championships. It is a book that New York baseball fans will not want to be without.  Jim Kaat pitched 25 seasons in the major leagues and is entering his 59th season in professional baseball. He has been awarded seven Emmys for his work broadcasting the Yankees from 1995 to 2006 and has been nominated for three national Emmys since joining the MLB Network in 2009. Jim and his wife, Margie, spend their summers in Manchester Center, Vermont, and their winters in Stuart, Florida. Greg Jennings has been a freelance writer in sports television since 1998. He has won six Emmys for his work on Monday Night Football, the Olympics, as well as the Indianapolis 500, and is a two-time nominee for the Dick Schaap Outstanding Writing Award. He has worked with MLB Network since 2010. Greg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.  If These Walls Could Talk : New York Yankees Stories from the New York Yankees Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box By Jim Kaat, Greg Jennings Triumph Books Copyright © 2015 Jim Kaat and Greg Jennings All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-62937-024-8 Contents Foreword by David Cone, Introduction, 1. The Battery, 2. The Corners, 3. Up the Middle, 4. The Outfield, 5. The House(s) That Ruth Built, 6. Getting There, 7. In the Booth, 8. Company Men, 9. A Season for the City, Epilogue, Acknowledgments, Sources, CHAPTER 1 The Battery I've always considered myself fortunate to have had a major league career that spanned four different decades. I got to play for six different teams across both leagues and won 283 games during my 25 seasons. But even with all that mileage, I'll never forget my first victory. It came at Yankee Stadium. And I watched it happen ... from the stands. It was April 27, 1960. I had been called up by the Washington Senators at the end of the previous season and made the team out of spring training. It was my second start of the year. (I had left my first start with a one-run lead over Boston in the eighth inning, but the Red Sox came back to win.) So here I was, all of 21 years old, still wet behind the ears, taking the mound at perhaps the most famous sporting venue in the world. And I was going up against legendary Yankees lefty Whitey Ford. By this point in his career, Whitey had made five of his eventual 10 All-Star Game appearances and collected four of his six World Series rings. His Cy Young Award and World Series MVP performance were still a year away. And though he stood only 5'10", to my 6'4" frame, I couldn't help but feel I was taking on a giant. Back then, pitchers warmed up at Yankee Stadium in the area adjacent to home plate. As a lefty, when I went into my "stretch" position, I would be looking straight into the Yankees dugout, where I could see Mantle, Berra, Howard, Skowron, all these famous players, and I couldn't help thinking, It's like looking at the greats from my bubble gum trading card collection — only this time they are staring back at me! It was rather intimidating, to say the least. In seven innings I gave up four runs — three of them unearned. Moose Skowron got me for a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh. But in the top of the eighth, the Senators' Jim Lemon hit one out to give us a 5–4 lead. By then I was out of the game but still the pitcher of record. Back in those days, they didn't have us sit in the dugout and ice our arms after pitching. We were just sent off to the showers so we wouldn't stiffen up. I showered and got dressed, but I couldn't sit back there in the clubhouse not knowing what was going on out on the field. So I snuck out into the stands and watched the rest of the game with the fans (all 3,745 of them). Pedro Ramos pitched two innings of relief to get the save. But it was the skinny kid from Zeeland, Michigan, who got the W, his first in the big leagues. And my victory came in the House That Ruth Built. While that spring day was more than 50 years ago n