New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has been called many things since his purchase of the team in 1973, but hardworking and caring may be the most fitting.
As of this week, however, you can add another adjective to the list – retired.
The New York Post reported Sunday that Steinbrenner has handed the day-to-day team operations over to his two sons, Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, although he will still maintain ownership of the team.
The decision to step aside is thought to be because of his ailing health, although his well-being is ambiguous at best.
Steinbrenner bought the storied franchise in ’73 amidst an eight-year playoff hiatus that began after the team had appeared in 15 out of 18 World Series.
In just three seasons, Steinbrenner’s hard-nose ownership style turned the team around and returned it to the postseason.
The Yankees have since appeared in 10 World Series, winning six of them.
"Winning is the most important thing in my life after breathing," Steinbrenner once said. "Breathing first, winning next."
Steinbrenner has become an icon both in New York and throughout the world of sports.
His willingness to pay unprecedented salaries to players, fire managers and staff members with ease and earn suspensions from some of baseball’s highest brass have made him notorious as well.
He fired manager Billy Martin five times, publicly chastised the team when it didn’t meet his high expectations and, during the 1981 World Series, told the media that he had gotten into a fistfight with two Los Angeles Dodgers fans in a hotel elevator.
The Boss, as he is often called, has always done anything that he thought would help the team. His fiery presence became the centerpiece of the Yankees and brought a swagger to the franchise that was apparent in the players he obtained.
Reggie Jackson became "Mr. October" after Steinbrenner signed him in 1976 and thrust him into the national spotlight. The Boss did everything in his power to acquire Jackson, whose arrogance, Steinbrenner thought, would be the perfect fit for New York.
Rickey Henderson, Paul O’Neill and Gary Sheffield have also carried the passion that burned inside of Steinbrenner.
With the Yankees, however, it’s never just about baseball. They are the most successful franchise in all of professional sports with 26 world championships, and Steinbrenner has always held the team to the highest standards, ensuring that the team maintains an elite status.
Every player who dons the famous pinstripes knows what’s expected of him; from the initial haircut and shave, they will carry a team-first mentality and be expected to win championships every year.
Anything less is inexcusable.
Steinbrenner has also made generous contributions to the Big Apple.
In 1982, he founded the Silver Shield Foundation, which supports the children of New York City police officers and firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
He also donates generously to many other charities, most notably the Jimmy Fund, which is closely associated with Yankees rival Boston Red Sox.
Though it usually goes unseen, Steinbrenner has shown that he does have a lighter side. He hosted Saturday Night Live in 1990, where his fierce personality was the punch line of many skits. Steinbrenner’s persona also appeared on NBC’s hit show Seinfeld numerous times.
The younger Steinbrenners will have their hands full from day one. Not only do they have to follow in their father’s enormous footsteps, the Yankees have some serious decisions to make this offseason.
The question of whether or not to bring back manager Joe Torre has been looming since the Yankees’ season ended.
If the Yankees decide to go a different direction, that could also determine the future of free agents Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada and if Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez will return to the club.
These key issues will play a pivotal role in how Yankees fans receive the new change of command.
The 2008 season will also be the last season in the old Yankee Stadium, marking the end of another baseball era.
There have been many arguments on whether Steinbrenner has been good or bad for baseball, but Yankees fans will always argue on his behalf.
Every team starts off with the desire to win a world championship, but nobody in the last three decades has done more for his team to make that happen than Steinbrenner.
