As he cedes control of the team to his son Hal, I figure George deserves his own thread where Yankee fans and haters can comment on what he meant to the team and baseball. From my perspective, he brought home championships to the Yankees. He did it in a destructive manner, but his success cannot be questioned. As we wait for the Jets to someday deliver, Mr. Steinbrenner gets my thanks for making the Yankees winners.
The greatest owner to ever owned a sports franchise and an automatic entry into the hall of fame. He could be worth billions more now but elected to put it all back into the team instead.
Wow Don. Did you even live through the 80s? The guy was an asshole, and was only "successful" when his hands were taken away from the pot. I appreciate what his money did for the ballclub, but as an owner, the guy wasn't very good. It's amazing that you laud Steinbrenner but villify Cashman, it really is.
I appreciate that George spent his money to put the best he could on the field. I appreciate he took a break for a few years.
He pioneered paying mafia related gamblers to dig up dirt on his star player. Where would baseball be without him bringing that to the game.
Thank you for buying the Yanks from CBS and making them a respectable franchise again. Thank you for your willingness to spend insane amounts of money on the team. Screw you for meddling in how that money was spent. Thank you for getting suspended from baseball, though... that turned out nicely for the club.
I've grown to like George very much - even though I enjoy poking fun. For years, I passionately hated George Steinbrenner, as any Sox fan should and did. To make matters worse, for my daily commute, I drove by Steinbrenner Stadium all the time. If you've never seen it, there's just this big-ass "Steinbrenner Stadium" sign facing the public roadway rubbing it right in my nose five days a week. I later found out that the stadium was named after George's dad, and was his gift to M.I.T. in Henry Steinbrenner's honor. That was enlightening for me. Then I found out that George was a regular and big-time donor to the Jimmy Fund, which is the Red Sox charity of choice. Then I grew to appreciate his (and Hank's) contributions to horse racing through Kinsman Stables. Rivalry stuff aside, I admired those things about George. In recent years, I loved him even more for his occasional two-sentence statements released to the press when anything big happened - a Yankee playoff loss, a slump, a hot streak. Great stuff. Hank looked to turn that up a notch, so I was saddened that Hal was given the reigns. Anyway, I'll miss the guy. Hal looks so straight-laced and businessy, and that doesn't fit my Yankee-hating goals.
Nothing has came out because I don't think anyone really wants to talk about it, but I definitely think his health is declining steadily right now. He was always batshit and insane, but this guy was one of the major influences that shaped the game into what it is today. His teams set the precedent for some of the lucrative contracts we see everyone today, and without him the Yankees probably don't win all of the W.S victories in the '90s. It's harder to hate him now that the Yankees have lost their aura of invincibility, but I've always enjoyed his bizarre behaviors.
