Writer highlights Yanks that played in city

The history of minor league baseball in West Haven now has its own place on the bookshelves. 

Local author, sports journalist and New York Sports Show creator Dominic Konareski has released Pinstripes In West Haven, a 146-page paperback that chronicles the history of the West Haven Yankees. 

The book, available exclusively with Barnes & Noble, takes readers back to the 1970s when the New York Yankees organization shifted their Double-AA affiliate from Manchester, New Hampshire, to West Haven, Connecticut. The West Haven Yankees had their inaugural season in 1972 and won the Eastern League title in that first season – overall, it would just be one of four-total E.L. championships during their stay in West Haven, which spanned from 1972-79. 

The West Haven Yankees played their home games at Quigley Stadium, which carries its own chapter in the book along with a chapter for the creator of the ballpark in Mo Quigley. 

For Konareski, the book comes as his second publication following his Gloves, Engines & Glory book he released earlier this year in January. Just like Gloves, Engines & Glory Konareski made sure that Pinstripes In West Haven highlighted the city’s deep-rooted athletic history. 

“It’s incredible to me just how much of West Haven’s history its own residents don’t know about,” said the 22-year-old author. “The West Haven Yankees helped propel New York into its Bronx Zoo era and accounted for numerous mainstays in the major leagues.”  

Pinstripes In West Haven carries the subtitle of How a Shoreline Town Became Home to a Minor League Baseball Powerhouse, as the book focuses heavily on the players of West Haven and the direct effect the team had on minor league baseball. 

Among notable names connected to the West Haven Yankees franchise are the likes of Ron Guidry, Dave Righetti, Buck Showalter and Jerry Narron. Along with those names, the book showcases all 151 players to ever play with West Haven. 

“I’ve had several former West Haven Yankees players reach out to me,” said Konareski, who stated how much they loved the book and praised it for its accuracy. 

Overall, the creation of Pinstripes In West Haven required some 300 hours of work according to Konareski, who said he worked on the book nearly every day from late April to a week prior to its release in early October.