The Steinbrenner Moment

I'm sure this was discussed on the running thread, which is now too long to wade through.

How many people were aware his condition had deteriorated so badly, and, as Boom mentioned on the other thread, why why why did they send him out in that golf cart??

The Yankees don't usually whiff on the Big Moments, but that was not a good decision.

 

Frankly, I was shocked at his deterioration. Just a few years ago, when he did that credit-card commercial with Jeter, he looked like the same old Boss.

 

It reminded me of Ted Williams at the AS Game at Fenway, which I was lucky enough to cover.

I look at it as a Final Tribute. It is sad though.

 

I have a lot of mixed emotions about George but I'd be hard-pressed to name a better sports owner from a fan's perspective.

 

Agreed.

 

The Yankees and MLB whiffed on this one. Clearly it did not achieve the intended result. The Ted Williams moment it was not.

 

The man was willing to spend money, yes.

And, yet.

And, yet.

If (a) he didn't go to the wall and ride high on the first big wave of free-agent spending, which got him his '70s championships, (b) he wasn't literally forced to the sidelines, thus permitting
Stick Michael to make personnel decisions no one else there was capable of making, and (c) he hadn't latched onto Mariano . . .

Where are they?

Really?

 

I was hit with a range of emotions watching the Boss being shuttled around like that. Made me realize how long he's been at the helm for the Yanks, and seeing him shuttled around reminded me of seeing an aging relative stuggling to say hello to you while they're in the winter season of their life.

Then I got caught up a bit emotionally thinking back about how he put ME, the fan and my wants for the Yanks to win, FIRST.


Thank you George......

 

He was an owner/fan committed to winning and restoring the Yankee "brand" if you will. You can disagree with his methods: the free spending; the circus around Jackson and Martin and the manager of the week. But he owned from a fan's perspective and recognized that winning generated fans and revenue and interest in the New York Yankees.
I think Illitch is like that with the Red Wings, minus the "Bronx Zoo" era.

 

I can't stand what I've seen of him as a person. I respect what he's done in terms of his ability to bring championships to New York.

Unfortunately, the number of owners who focus more on championships and less on the bottom line is too small. Of course, the same can be said about the number of newspaper owners who care less about the quality of their product and care more about their profit margins.

 

Because he's George Steinbrenner and he wanted to go and nobody wanted to tell him he couldn't?

I thought it was kind of odd too but, at the same time, this was probably his last public appearance. I'll be shocked if he's on hand for Opening Day at the new Stadium next year even if he's still alive. As odd as the moment felt, I bet if you ask the die-hard Yankee fans in New York the majority would tell you they thought it was great.

Love him or hate him, he's been the face of that franchise for a long time.