Picture courtesy of gfcny.com
Of course, July 4th was set to remember the birth of the United States of America. Among others, July 4th was also the birth of longtime New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Sadly, only nine days from today, on July 13th, will be the 2nd anniversary of his death.
George had his detractors but was loved by many in the baseball world, particularly by fans of the New York Yankees. He had a no nonsense approach to his leadership of the Yankees. He defined what a fan wants to see from its team and its leadership. Money was never an obsticle for Steinbrenner, as he felt his team's fans deserved the best players, no matter what the cost was. Among his early signings were Oakland Athletics RHP Catfish Hunter, Orioles RF Reggie Jackson and Pirates RHP Rich Gossage. This led the return of the Yankees to the World Series in 1976 (losing to the Cincinnati Reds) and World Series Championships in 1977 and 1978.
The Yankees had hit a rare dry spell in their successful history prior to Steinbrenner purchasing the Yankees in 1973. The Yankees had not made the World Series since 1964 when they lost to the St Louis Cardinals. They had last won two years earlier against the San Francisco Giants. He had them back in the World Series in just three years, a testament to his fearless attitude and expectations that he not only held his team to, but himself. Of course, he got himself into a little bit of trouble on two notable occasions (in 1974 and 1990). While he struggled to put together a winning team for the better part of the 1980s, (the Yankees made the WS in the strike-shortened 1981 season) he continued to make the effort to spend the appropriate money to support his team. It has been known that Gene Michael deserves credit for developing the farm system and not trading the younger players Steinbrenner would have wanted to move while he was suspended. But afterwards, George invested close to 100 % of the team's revenue into maintaining a winning product on the field. Towards the end of the 2000s decade, the Yankees were worth about $1.2 billion. A Yankees fan would always know the team was doing anything it could to win.
Despite being a New York Mets fan my entire life, I respect the hell out of what Steinbrenner did in his ownership of the Yankees. It is a baseball fans' dream to have an owner hold his team and management to the levels that George did. Most owners give a certain time frame to win. It was not the case with Steinbrenner. He expected his teams to win immediately. It was obvious by the amount of changes he made with managers, general managers and coaches. You would never see an owner issuing an apology to its fans for only making it to the World Series. In my opinion, I think George Steinbrenner belongs in Baseball's Hall of Fame. Hopefully, the Veteran's Committee puts him where he belongs in a couple of years.
The Yankees had hit a rare dry spell in their successful history prior to Steinbrenner purchasing the Yankees in 1973. The Yankees had not made the World Series since 1964 when they lost to the St Louis Cardinals. They had last won two years earlier against the San Francisco Giants. He had them back in the World Series in just three years, a testament to his fearless attitude and expectations that he not only held his team to, but himself. Of course, he got himself into a little bit of trouble on two notable occasions (in 1974 and 1990). While he struggled to put together a winning team for the better part of the 1980s, (the Yankees made the WS in the strike-shortened 1981 season) he continued to make the effort to spend the appropriate money to support his team. It has been known that Gene Michael deserves credit for developing the farm system and not trading the younger players Steinbrenner would have wanted to move while he was suspended. But afterwards, George invested close to 100 % of the team's revenue into maintaining a winning product on the field. Towards the end of the 2000s decade, the Yankees were worth about $1.2 billion. A Yankees fan would always know the team was doing anything it could to win.
Despite being a New York Mets fan my entire life, I respect the hell out of what Steinbrenner did in his ownership of the Yankees. It is a baseball fans' dream to have an owner hold his team and management to the levels that George did. Most owners give a certain time frame to win. It was not the case with Steinbrenner. He expected his teams to win immediately. It was obvious by the amount of changes he made with managers, general managers and coaches. You would never see an owner issuing an apology to its fans for only making it to the World Series. In my opinion, I think George Steinbrenner belongs in Baseball's Hall of Fame. Hopefully, the Veteran's Committee puts him where he belongs in a couple of years.
RSS Feed
