First off, happy fourth of July everyone! Thanks for the comments so far on bandwagon fans, keep 'em coming, I'll respond to them next week. And certainly read Doug's post this week with his "Scenes from the Yankee Front Office"--something he'll be doing in good humor throughout the season.
Well, today is George Steinbrenner's birthday and he turns 77. There's a nice piece in ESPN about what is going on with the man, his plans for the future, and who will be the next Yankee owner. And I must remind you to watch The Bronx Is Burning an ESPN film about the 1977 Yankees starting on July 9th, 10PM EST--this is the season of Mr. October, Billy Martin losing his cool, and the Boss being well...the Boss, just 30 years younger. Hope I didn't give too much of it away.
Things have certainly changed in the 30 years since that season and as the article points out, we are entering the final years of George Steinbrenner's Yankee ownership (so most people think). There have been six Yankee World Series titles under Steinbrenner, but that was never enough. The Boss always wanted it all--top free agents, top talent, and to always be on top. Anything else was out of the question.
For all the overspending, mistreatment of managers and players in public, paranoia (ie Winfield), and statements to his team in good times and bad, the Boss has continued the tradition of making the Yankees a winning team. But success hasn't come without its other costs such as a 16 year drought after the 1979 WS win or being banned by baseball in the late 1980s, or being deemed the "Evil Empire" as one of the most hated teams in sports.
He's also made the Yankees a very valuable team, being estimated at $1.2 billion by Forbes Magazine. And having a payroll around the $200 million in recent years has made it the most costly to run.
For all he's done, and much of it focuses on his win-it-all philosophy and negativity to go with that, he's been truly dedicated to his baseball team as an owner. There are some owners who dabbled in having a baseball team for years but treat it like a second rate business. Or there are others who own for years on end, but show no sign of wanting to compete. But the Boss did whatever he could for the good of the team, the good of the fans, the city of New York--all to win another championship--even when it seemed it was all for him.
When people chant "Yankees suck" or complain that the Yankees spend too much money to buy a champioship or whatever negative comment they will make, what I believe most people dislike or hate in the end is Steinbrenner and his philosophy in running the team. Doug has said this to me for years, but he notes during the Yankees dynasty years of 1996 to 2001, "who was there to hate on the team?" No one player had a huge ego or was the center of attention brought on by himself. It was the Boss that did that to himself.
What lay ahead for the organization? Now that Steve Swindel (soon-t0-be ex-husband of Steinbrenner's daughter) is no longer the successor, the entire transition is up in the air. It doesn't look like there will be quite another type of personality like his in baseball for a while if ever again.
So while baseball fans complain about payroll, huge contracts, undeserved ones (coughPavanocough), and how much flexibility the Yankees have remember of a few things. He fills Yankee Stadium every night, he wants to go to the World Series every year above any other statistic you can count in baseball, he's brought in some of the best players to play the game the last 30+ years, and he'll probably still be involved in some way after his passing with the Yankees (I'm serious though, that's how huge his impact has been).
Oh yeah, and in 2009 he'll have built the Yankees a new stadium. Call it "The Stadium that the Boss Built" (pictured above).
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