George Steinbrenner "looks dreadful," his "body is bloated" and "his skin looks as if a dry-cleaner bag has been stretched over it," according to a lengthy article about The Boss coming out in the September issue of the magazine Conde Nast Portfolio. "He doesn't look all right. In fact, he looks dreadful," Franz Lidz, the author of the piece, writes in the story, which hits newsstands Aug.15. "Steinbrenner's face, pale and swollen, has a curiously undefined look." http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2007/08/03/2007-08-03_report_george_fading-2.html Love him or hate him there has probably never been as good an owner to the fans that support their team. Not in any sport. Pretty sure this is why Clemens came back too. When he had his introductory news conference he said he came to NY because of something George said to him in spring training. He wouldn't go into it but said he would discuss it sometime in the future. I would think he may have said "If we don't win it this year I may not be around next year".
I wouldn't go so far as to say there's never been another owner as good to the fans that support the team as him. I'd credit a guy like Kraft like that too. It's good to see an owner prepared to do whatever it takes to win. However, Steinbrenner today (or at least the past 10 years or so,) is not the Steinbrenner I grew up with. The Boss was an a$$hole back then. If you recall, he was determined to take the Yankees out of NY, possibly moving them out of the area altogether. Let's also not forget how he treated Billy Martin, Yogi Berra, and Lou Pinella. I still remember the feeling of general outrage, tempered by an overwhelming sense of relief when he was banned many years ago. It was during that period that the foundation of what was to become a new Yankees dynasty was laid. All that said, I feel bad hearing this. Over the past decade, I've grown to like George, and no longer refer to him as The Boss. I'd love for him to see another title before he goes to that big yacht club in the sky.
Yeah, he treated his employees like crap. He treated the fans like gold. He has always spent whatever it takes to try and put the best team on the field and he has done it since the beginning. Kraft isn't even close to Steinbrenner. And the foundation of the Yankee dynasty was laid the day Boston traded Ruth to NY. I never considered 4 championships a dynasty anyway. I think what the Yankees did between 1936 and 1956 was, UCLA under Wooden was, Montreal Candianiens definitly was and the Celtics under Auerbach was. I may be forgetting some others but I don't thinks so. At least not in North America.
How did he treat the fans like gold? He wanted to take the team, not just out of the city limits, but to a whole different area of the country! Kraft did what he needed to do to bring titles to his team, and in effect, the fans. That's all a great owner needs to do. 4 titles over the course of a decade is a dynasty. Unless it was one every 2 years with missed playoffs every other year. Otherwise, the Pats wouldn't be a dynasty. I understand where you're coming from, but this is the modern era of sports. Free Agency affects all teams' ability to compete year to year. You may be on top of the world now, but next year fighting for your life. For a team to consistently not only make the playoffs, but win it all multiple times in a short span is as close to a dynasty as you will ever see anymore.
Well, you can't deny he wasn't afraid to open his checkbook to help the team. Unfortunately, he often did more harm than good. Don't forget that in the time he's owned the team, both times they've been really outstanding (during the late 70s and late 90s/early 00's) they got that way only after he had been removed by the commissioner from running the team just prior, allowing the team to build without his meddling. So, I'm favorable to him in general, but the team has always been better off when he's been in the deep background.
The best thing the boss did for the Yankee fans was get himself suspended so Stick Michaels and Buck Showalter could build the team into the perennial contenders they have been over the last 12 or so years..
Agreed. The next best thing is that he was able to find a manager that even he couldnt fire. - Torre. The fact that Torre hasnt been fired yet shows how he has changed since his last suspension.
Not even close. The best thing George did was buy the team and get it away from CBS. The second best thing he did was spend the money to put the players on the field that won 6 championships. They wouldn't have won anything in the 70s without Jackson and Hunter and they wouldn't have won anything since without Boggs, Clemens, Wells, Martinez, Knoblauch and Strawberry. Period. And George was responsible for all of them.
