Fantastic Steve Jacobson column on George Steinbrenner.

I'm not sure, though I think there have been executives go into the HOF.

 

Gammons is not in the Hall. He was given an award that recognizes writers. I'm trying to discern any logic in that argument.

Your point was that Cobb was a psychotic and he's in the Hall. My point is he got in because he's one of the best players in the game.

The case for Steinbrenner, such as it is, is he exploited the new rules of free agency with a bigger bankroll than anyone else. And the case can be made that the Yankees' greatest run of success came when he was least involved in operations.

 

Marvin Miller changed baseball and should be recognized. Steinbrener was a guy who was in the right place at the right time as his $10 million investment turned into a billion dollar operation because of those changes.

 

Perhaps Cobb was a poor example, just pointing out that personality has nothing to do with whether someone belongs in the HOF or not.

 

Right place at the right time? Bullshit.

There are plenty of owners as rich as Steinbrenner, I don't remember any of them having a $200 million payroll and reinvesting everything he makes into the team.

He's fucking crazy and I'm perfectly happy as a Yankees fan that he is no longer in charge, but I think he changed baseball significantly and he should be recognized in the HOF.

 

I don't have an answer to this (buckdub?), but from the HOF web site:

 

It got tiresome watching the continual recycling of asshole Billy Martin, too. It got to be like pro wrestling.

 

How do you know he invests "everything" he makes into the team?

Please list all those other owners whose local broadcast rights generate as much as revenue as the Yankees do in New York.

 

Walter O'Malley went in three months ago.

 

Well, it's been written about extensively how most owners pocket the luxury tax money they get from the Yankees. So, maybe they don't make as much money in local broadcasting, but they are still getting paid millions of dollars just for having a low payroll.

And maybe he doesn't reinvest everything, but you are crazy if you think he doesn't invest more than the average owner.

Also, it isn't Steinbrenner's fault the Yankees make so much money. He just took advantage of the situation, created the Yes network and built a new stadium.

 

If it's not his "fault," it's also not his accomplishment that he makes more money than anyone else. It's a product of the market and the franchise.

Therefore, no, he doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame.

They didn't win shit from 1981-93 when he was reinvesting everything in the franchise. They had three consecutive years where they finished at least 20 games out of first.

(BTW, isn't a George HOF thread better suited for "Sports and News?" This should be about Jacobson's column).

 

As did Barney Dreyfuss. Both of them made far-reaching contributions to the game other than being successful owners, though. (O'Malley began the game's westward expansion; Dreyfuss helped start the World Series and ushered in a new era of modern ballparks.)

That said, Tom Yawkey didn't make any far-reaching contributions as Red Sox owner -- other than, you know, not hiring any black players -- but he's in the Hall. George Weiss built a Yankees dynasty and Lee MacPhail spent his life in baseball, but neither did anything that transcended the game. They're both in the Hall as executives.

Not really sure what the standards are, so if six championships and 10 pennants in a 35-year reign as owner don't get Steinbrenner into the Hall, I don't know what would.

Smasher's right, though: It's Marvin Miller who changed the game with free agency, not Steinbrenner. Miller's the one with the "accomplishment," with a big assist from Curt Flood; Steinbrenner just took advantage of it.