Steinbrenner Dies

[hoyainspirit]

Heart attack at 80. bit.ly/c12pcl

[theexorcist]

My condolences to his family and those who know him.

The Yankees are perpetually one of the most hated franchises in American sports in large part due to their significant success. Mr. Steinbrenner had a large part in that.

[Boz]

I didn't know, until reading that article, that Bob Sheppard just died too.

Truly a sad week for Yankee fans.

[RDF]

RIP to the BOSS! As a person with several family/friends in military--I'd have to say George Steinbrenner's biggest contributions were outside the sports world and big thank you to him/his family for that.

As for his ownership of the Yankees--going to miss him and just glad it's in hands of his family--because they represent all that a fan could want for their team.

[hifigator]

I was always between a rock and a hard place. I don't like the Yankees, and the fact that they are always among the good teams, only made it worse. But for all his flamboyance and prominence, Steinbrenner also gave a lot of money to my favorite institution. He was a Bull Gator -- the highest level of booster. Back in the 80's, he used to bring his Yankees for a scrimmage against the Gators every year. So I did always have a bit of a soft spot for him. RIP.

[hoyarooter]

I've always hated Steinbrenner and the Yankees, admittedly in part due to their success, but also because the Boss was just so damn obnoxious. However, since I am now living through the Frank McCourt era in LA, I can say without the least hesitancy that I would take the Boss over McCourt in a heartbeat.

[SirSaxa]

The boss had a LOT of faults. Anytime anything at all went wrong, he'd run around the stadium firing people. He Fired Billy Matin 3 or 4 times. He did a lot of lowlife stuff like hiring a private investigator to try to get some dirt on Dave Winfield after he realized Winfield's team had gained a cost of living clause in his then-exorbitant contract.

He took Don Zimmer's rental car away during Spring Training because of some minor non-event. Lots of petty stuff. one of Joe Torre's greatest accomplishments was to keep the impact of the Boss' constant rants away from his Yankee team.... which allowed them to finally reach their potential and start winning again.. like crazy.

But, for all the negatives, one thing that can never be said about the Boss is that he ever scrimped on his team, on salaries, on free agents and on doing everything possible to bring more WS Titles to NYC.

CBS bought the team as its dynasty was finally ending in 1964... rumor was they wanted to keep it out of the hands of the then fledgling Cable industry -- which became VERY big in NYC very fast because all the tall buildings made reception via antennae untenable.

George bought the team in 1973 (or so) and shortly thereafter they started to win. 1976 American League Title. 1977 & 1978 World Series Titles.

Some people say the Yankees spent too much for players, but would you rather have your team owner pay too little?

His son Hank is like him -- flamboyant, speaks before he thinks, etc -- but the other son Hal is more reasonable and effective.

Yanks look like they will continue to have success for the foreseeable future.

RIP George. For all your foibles, you made the Yankees relevant again and renewed the tradition that dates back to the early 1920's. Probably the best known owner in Sports.

[hifigator]

Well said, Sir. I know there's always the human tendancy to mention the positives of someone after they pass, but in George's case, I think such comments are all the more justified. The Boss ruffled plenty of feathers and fell well short of making too many friends. But even though I don't like his product, I must admit that he did give quite a lot to all of "us." He was very generous to the community as well as to his players. By all accounts, he was a tough SOB, but a fair SOB. From my limited experience, most successful business owners are.

[DanMcQ]

bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1267809&srvc=sports&position=4

[DanMcQ]

I've got it! Jack is really Ron Borges:

www.bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1268054&srvc=home&position=comment

My mother always told me not to speak ill of the dead. In George Steinbrenner’s case, we’ll make an exception. It’s funny how a mean, blustery bully passes away and becomes a loveable guy who just wanted to win. The Boss did charitable things for which he never sought credit. He was a hell of a businessman even if he was born on third base. He could be charming, funny and good copy but wait a minute. All this hail fellow stuff forgets a few things.

He’s the only owner in history to be suspended twice for shady dealings. He made illegal campaign contributions to the only president to resign before completing a term (Richard Nixon), and got caught paying a gambler to gather dirt on Dave Winfield, with whom he was engaged in a petty, personal war.

He terrorized and disrespected many of his employees, including but not limited to Billy Martin, who he fired five times.

He fired Yogi Berra without facing him after promising Berra he’d have the whole season on the job and waited 14 years to apologize, to which Yogi rightly said, “You’re late.”

He dumped all over Dick Howser after the manager took the Yankees to 103 wins, forcing Howser to attend his own execution and listen to the Boss claim he’d decided to go into real estate. When it was over, the Boss was put out because the media didn’t eat the sandwiches he’d laid out. Who had an appetite after that?

My Herald colleague Gerry Callahan insists all the Boss wanted to do was win. True, but he didn’t care if the dice were loaded. How you win should count, although these days it doesn’t. Steinbrenner won by buying other people’s talent. When he tried to do it straight, the Yankees didn’t win from 1979-1995.

Taking all that into account I’d say this: The bad didn’t outweigh the good, but he had a hell of a ring collection. . . .

Say one thing for Steinbrenner, he had timing. He died six months after the federal estate tax expired, saving his family a half billion. Who said he didn’t know when to leave the stage?

[hifigator]

ouch

[RDF]

You shouldn't be spared of criticism when you pass--but be consistent about it--don't just do it for people you personally dislike. It's like the joke of coverage about Wooden's passing and how he's perceived and what actually happened.

[hoya95]

While we're on the subjects of ripping someone after they die and Steinbrenner's Yankees, I found Tony Kornheiser's obit of Billy Martin. I'd heard him talk about it, but I hadn't seen it before. It's not pretty.

"My mother tried to teach me that if I didn`t have anything nice to say about somebody, I shouldn`t say anything at all.

Sorry, Mom."

articles.sun-sentinel.com/1989-12-28/news/8902170299_1_billy-shot-enemy-fights

[DFW HOYA]

Jul 15, 2010 19:08:31 GMT -5 hoya95 said:

While we're on the subjects of ripping someone after they die and Steinbrenner's Yankees, I found Tony Kornheiser's obit of Billy Martin. I'd heard him talk about it, but I hadn't seen it before. It's not pretty.

Yes, Martin could hold a grudge with the best of them. Apparently, so can Kornheiser.

[Jack]

Jul 15, 2010 12:46:55 GMT -5 DanMcQ said:

I've got it! Jack is really Ron Borges:

That's pretty low, Mister. And according to this: iwl.me/ I am really David Foster Wallace reincarnate.

[SirSaxa]

Jul 14, 2010 13:37:09 GMT -5 hifigator said:

By all accounts, he was a tough SOB, but a fair SOB. From my limited experience, most successful business owners are.

Tough - yes.
Fair - absolutely not. No one ever "accused" George Steinbrenner of being "fair".

Ornery, mean, egotistical, dissembling, all kinds of adjectives have been applied and are justified.

His primary saving grace, however, was his total desire to win and not to scrimp, save, or shortchange when it came to buildng a hugely winning franchise. The Yankees had the hghest winning percentage during his tenure, won the most Pennants (11) and the most World Series (7).

[SirSaxa]

Jul 15, 2010 12:46:55 GMT -5 DanMcQ said:

How you win should count, although these days it doesn’t. Steinbrenner won by buying other people’s talent. When he tried to do it straight, the Yankees didn’t win from 1979-1995.

That is COMPLETELY inaccurate!
Clearly written by a Bostonian who didn't like George or the Yankees and didn't think it necessary to get his facts straight.

The Yankees didn't win a World Series from '79 to '95 -- although they were the winningest team in baseball during the '80s.

However, it wasn't because Steinbrenner was trying to do it "straight". During those years, he was completely out of control, traded away young talent for "stars" nearing the end of the line. Paying huge amounts for Free Agents who weren't that good or didn't fit the Yankee game plan. It was 1980 when George signed Dave Winfield.

No, the difference was Gene Michael finally persuaded George to allow Michael to run player development. They stopped getting rid of their best young guys and kept kids like Bernie WIlliams, Posada, Pettitte, River, and... Derek Jeter. They also developed Roberto Kelly enough to trade him (after several years of success at the MLB level) for Paul O'Neill.

They, and a few others, were the core of the hugely successful Yankee teams of the mid-nineties on.

Key free agent additions were made -- players selected wisely to fill specific roles --especially pitching.

Of course, we always hear a lot of whining -- especially from Boston - -about how the Yankees spent more money than anyone else.

Well, Boston spent the second most so I never felt sorry for them. What they were really saying was, "Gee, this isn't fair because we spend more than all the other teams in baseball, but the Yankees outspend us!"

And, what fan of any team in the country would complain if HIS team's owner was spending the most money -- and spending it wisely -- to build the best team? No one.

MLB made the rules about free agency and the luxury tax (targeted almost exclusively at the Yanks), NY played within those rules. And they won. And plenty of other teams got rich from their shares of the luxury tax, and from their gates when the Yankees came to town.

[DanMcQ]

SirSaxa - just for clarification: I did not write the quote you attribute to me in the post above, Ron Borges did in the Boston Globe. To be fair, please note that the article I linked immediately prior was one that was positive about him.

One thing you cannot deny about Mr. Steinbrenner is that his unchecked spending on players led to the end of affordable baseball for all but the most well-off families in all major MLB markets. The average family of 4 or 5 cannot afford to go to a game in Boston or New York any more. We have Steinbrenner's win at all costs philosophy to thank for that. If you don't believe me, I'd be happy to introduce you to a few people I work with who are rabid Red Sox fans but have not been as a family to games in years due to the cost.

Jimmy Breslin's take:

[RDF]

Steinbrenner's "philosophy" worked 11 times in 38 years--so obviously different philosophies have worked in MLB---and it's funny how the one sport that gets criticized for no salary cap actually has had more teams participate in postseason and win championships then the sports that "protect" their league by having salary cap. Both which are heading for work stoppage after this year in all likelihood.

If you build your system through strong drafting/player development--you can compete--Tampa and Minnesota are prime examples--as are the Braves.

That doesn't even mention the $ Yankees give to other teams with Luxury Tax that so many owners were slimy bastards and pocketed instead of investing in their product--while still charging prices that resembled Yankees/Red Sox who spend/invest in their teams.

[hoya95]

The luxury tax and the new revenue sharing through things like the MLB network and mlb.com are fairly recent. We still have a system of haves and have nots, and the Yankees still spend twice as much as the other "haves". (They also make a jaw-dropping amount of money). But now Florida can re-sign Hanley Ramirez and Tampa can re-sign Evan Longoria. So the competitive balance is better than it used to be. But don't forget that in the '90s the Expos had the best farm system by miles and miles, and they couldn't keep anyone. The Steinbrenner era covered the beginning of free agency until now. Things haven't been the same all the way through.