George Steinbrenner
Posted by Andy on July 13, 2010
I just heard that George Steinbrenner is in "extremely critical condition" in a Tampa hospital. I hope this is not the end for him.
Love or hate the Yankees, you cannot deny the massive impact this guy has had on baseball. For better or worse, he is one of the biggest contributors to the shape of the game today.
July 13th, 2010 at 8:54 am
Word has just come that Steinbrenner has passed away.
He bought the team 37 years ago and won 7 championships in that time. They made it to the playoffs and amazing 19 times in those 37 years--very few owners can say they did the same.
July 13th, 2010 at 8:56 am
Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner both dying in the same week...amazing. For me, this really closes the book on the old Yankee Stadium.
July 13th, 2010 at 9:09 am
As a Red Sox fan, I always disliked the guy. However, you have to hand it to him with what he did to that franchise, basically reviving it in the mid 90's after winning those 2 championships in the 70's.
July 13th, 2010 at 9:10 am
R.I.P Georgie.
July 13th, 2010 at 9:15 am
The one word that describes Big Stein the best is "passionate". He made a lot of mistakes but also made a lot of great decisions. He could have pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars but instead he put the majority of that money into the team and the stadium. I can't excuse his mistakes, but I do feel they were motivated by passion--by the desire to be the best and not to settle for being a mediocre team. He raised the bar for all owners in sports--challenged them all to spend the available money, push his team and its management to perform as well as possible. He went too far on quite a number of occasions and some of his mistakes are unforgivable. But I cannot deny his passion, and the things he did well he did spectacularly.
July 13th, 2010 at 9:47 am
I have never -- since following realy following baseball, during World War II -- liked the Yankees; and other "flamboyant" managers {Bill Veeck, Marge Schott and Charlie Finley specifically} baseball irritate the fire out of me; but there was something in Steinbrenner's basic nature that somehow fascinated me. As politically incorrect as this may be, I am praying for both him and his family; and I encourage everyone else to do the same.
July 13th, 2010 at 10:00 am
You should do a HOF poll on Steinbrenner (seriously).
July 13th, 2010 at 10:20 am
My co-blogger lives in Tampa; he says that Steinbrenner donated money so often that you would sometimes see in the paper: "anonymous donation, but not George Steinbrenner." Otherwise people would simply assume it had been George.
This does raise an interesting question. Steinbrenner had been interested in acquiring his hometown Cleveland Indians before the Yankees came onto the market. Had he gone through with that instead, how differently would the city of Cleveland look today? What if all that donating was out there? What if Jacobs Field had been Steinbrenner Field? Picture the Straw that Stirred the Lake, Winfield and Mattingly and Randolph... think of Thurman Munson not having to fly home to Ohio because he already played there. Maybe Modell gets his stadium because the Indians are a success, and the Browns erase Red Right, the Fumble, and all the rest in 2000. Think of LeBron growing up and rooting for Cleveland instead of the Yankees. Maybe it all changes.
July 13th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Steinbrenner could be and sometimes was a jerk. But he belongs in the Hall Of Fame.
July 13th, 2010 at 10:39 am
I remember being at a game in 1989 where the entire stadium began chanting "Steinbrenner Stinks!"
What a difference winning makes.
That said, this is an extremely sad day for the Yankees and baseball as a whole. My condolences to his family.
I also do agree you should have a HOF pool for Steinbrenner. He should be in the Hall of Fame. At the same time, other owners like Jacob Ruppert and Sam Breadon aren't in the HOF, either, which is really sad, and Barney Dreyfuss and Walter O'Malley were only elected a few years ago, so it might be some time for Steinbrenner to be elected. The way owners are elected to the HOF now, especially with the makeup of the committee, may also prevent Big Stein's election.
July 13th, 2010 at 10:55 am
Frank, there's nothing politically incorrect about respecting Steinbrenner. Everything the guy did was business. Yes, sometimes it crossed over into personal attacks, but I have to assume that Steinbrenner resolved those at the interpersonal level (or, at the very least, his personal attacks weren't directed against me.)
I guess maybe you are referring to the idea of encouraging others to pray as being politically incorrect. I see nothing wrong with encouraging people to do something like that...we're all free to take or ignore your suggestion as we wish.
July 13th, 2010 at 11:03 am
RIP Boss. He belongs in the Hall. If you are going to allow owners in the Hall, he is right up there with Dreyfuss, and O'Malley. Put him in, along with Jacob Ruppert.
July 13th, 2010 at 11:16 am
I sad moment for sure. He was a man of great strengths and great weaknesses --often the same quality was both a strength and weakness depending on how he was applying that quality at a given time. He was a business man for sure, but, as Andy mentions above, a man of passion, and a tremendous philanthropist that was always giving and never, and I mean never wanted his name attached to the giving. He also had a tremendous heart for people, particularly people with weaknesses and vices. He loved to help imperfect people like the Strawberry's, the Gooden's, the Steve Howe's and the Billy Martin's --maybe because he saw imperfections in himself? He was both ruthless and compassionate, which made him both loved and hated. He was infuriating and yet at times you couldn't help but admire him. He did much for the game, both good and bad...and yes, he crossed many lines. He is a HoFer for sure.
Rest in peace Mr. Steinbrenner, rest in peace............
July 13th, 2010 at 11:25 am
I am the epitome of a Yankee hater -- I have yet to forgive them for taking the Reds in '61 -- but I always thought of Steinbrenner as the top executive of the last forty years. Perhaps your next "...and the Hall of Fame" should deal with Steinbrenner as a Pioneer/executive.
July 13th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Thanks for nothing to the guy who ruined baseball for 20 of the 30 teams who have no realistic chance of contending every year because Steinbrenner just decided to buy all the best players.
July 13th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
I'm kind of amazed at the "revisionist" nature in the way Steinbrenner is remembered. For the first 20 years of his Yankee Tenure he was routinely reviled as a petty, narcissistic, tempestuous man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. It's like we live in a bizarro world where George Steinbrenner is a revered as an honorable man.
He threated to move the Yankees to New Jersey unless the city of New York refurbished Yankee Stadium. I think the final bill came out to something like $200 million in 1974 dollars.
He was indicted on 14 criminal counts of making illegal campaign contribution to Richard Nixon. Then he convicted of a felony charge for Obstruction of Justice.
He fired/hired Billy Martin 5 times.
He fired Dick Howser after he won 103 games.
He broke his hand punching a wall and then came up with a ridiculous story of getting into a fight with some Dodger fans to defend Yankee honor.
He publicly derided players whether justified or not in the media.
He fired countless employees whether justified or not.
He emphatically stated that Yogi Berra would be the manager for the entire 1985 season and then fired him after a month.
After failing to pay the Dave Winfield foundation $300,000 he looked to discredit Winfield so he paid Howard Spira $40,000 to dig up any dirt he could find on the man. Because of this action, Fay Vincent banned him for life 1990.
July 13th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Thanks for nothing to the guy who ruined post #14 for readers by repeating cliches with no basis in fact.
July 13th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Seriously. Steinbrenner increased the popularity of baseball and revenue for all teams. The guy spent, spent, and spent--didn't pocket the money like Polhad in Minnesota or a whole bunch of other owners.
July 13th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
#15: Yes, there's a whole lotta "revisionism" going on - as several people said when Nixon died and writers were falling over themselves to say complimentary things about him, "Are we talking about the same person??". I know he made many generous charitable contributions, but he always struck me as a wealthy bully, who spent most of his adult life intimidating people when he didn't get his way. And no - "he just wanted to win" does NOT excuse his bahavior. Many other team owners had great success without his obnoxious act.
Despite that, I do feel bad bad for all his relatives and true friends, RIP the Boss.