George Steinbrenner dead

[jaxvid]

I always had mixed feelings about this bozo. On the one hand he was an insufferable dictator, firing and hiring like an idiot. On the other hand he was a kind of throwback to the old time American can-do type of guy. He was a real aggressive capitalist and once said winning is second to breathing as the most important thing in his life.

Also he was a big Ohio State fan and Yankee owner so I guess you have to hate him.

I thought the Seinfield chararcterization of him was hilarious.

He did a lot for charity. I'm sure he was a big supporter of affirmative action and minorities.

 

[Don Wassall]

He was an insufferable clown, and yes a successful one as baseball has been held hostage to the Yankees during the Steinbrenner era, just as it has pretty much for the past century. The economics of the business, which pretty much eliminate all but a few teams from serious contending, are due to Steinbrenner's caring only about his team and his bottom line rather than what was best for the sport (though I'll neverunderstand why the other owners, or most of them, didn't gang up on him; it seems as though backup infielders making $8 million a season is whatMLB wants).

Steinbrenner was the John McEnroe of his lengthy era -- an obnoxious a-hole who, much like Terrell Owens, wanted constant attention and was givenit by the media. He hired and fired people on whims and carried on like a spoiled rotten child. I don't care if he was self-made or not, I couldn't stand him and was happy when age and health problems finally took him out of the media spotlight.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

I'm not a big fan of George myself, but appreciate that he did a lot for charity (unfortunately I've heard he did more for blacks then he did whites- instead of trying his best to equally help people of both races who need the help). Both you guys make some great points. I know George was obsessed with hard work, had a temper and fired people he thought were being lazy at the drop of a hat, but his charity work showed he had a kind side as well- and he was appreciative of players who put in big efforts for him. It bothers me that the Yankees can buy the best players and teams like my Blue Jays have trouble competing nowadays, which is why I don't watch baseball anymore. Steinbrenner was egotistical, but is not as bad as Jerry Jones, who not only seems to have the same faults as George, but I hear is NOT charitable.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Jaxvid, nice reference to the Seinfeld characterization of George. I used to laugh so hard I'd nearly fall off my coach watching Seinfeld. Seinfeld and Faulty Towers are the best sitcoms ever IMO.

 

[sport historian]

During the late 70s and early 80s, Steinbrenner was at his worst. He actually seemed to be competing with the players on the field for press attention. You have to remember that period to understand.

 

[Don Wassall]

One thing I'll give Steinbrenner for is he was an equal opportunity insulter. He signed Dave Winfield away from San Diego after the 1980 season for what was at the time huge money. After Winfield hit. 045 (1 for 22) in the 1981 World Series, Steinbrenner dubbed him "Mr. May," a great sneering takeoff on Reggie Jackson's nickname of "Mr. October."

 

[sport historian]

One thing I'll give Steinbrenner for is he was an equal opportunity insulter.  He signed Dave Winfield away from San Diego after the 1980 season for what was at the time huge money.  After Winfield hit. 045 (1 for 22) in the 1981 World Series, Steinbrenner dubbed him "Mr. May," a great sneering takeoff on Reggie Jackson's nickname of "Mr. October."

After he got the one meaningless hit, Winfield called time out and asked for the ball.

 

[whiteCB]

Also he was a big Ohio State fan

That's enough in my book to like him. lol. Though you have to understand Jaxvid that George is a Buckeye State native having been born and raised in Cleveland! It was before my time on this planet but I heard that before he bought the Yankees he tried to buy his hometown Indians but a deal could never get done. Can anybody elaborate on this interesting tidbit..?

 

[pistol pete]

Don't know much about him, but it sounds like he was tough as hell, wanted to win, and put his money where his mouth was. All very good traits. So you learn that from his legacy.

Great ownership is very important in pro sports. He spent money and tried to instill a winning attitude. And, well, he showed people who was boss.

Now if the Cavs owner had spent money like it was going out of style, instilled a winning attitude and culture, and had gotten in Lebron's face then perhaps Lebron would be an NBA champion and still a hometown hero instead of a guy who signed up to be a part of the Three Afroteers, and who could very well kill the league with his giant ego and midget mentality.

 

[white is right]

During the late 70s and early 80s, Steinbrenner was at his worst. He actually seemed to be competing with the players on the field for press attention. You have to remember that period to understand.

I was a young kid but I remember those late 70's Yankees teams won in spite of deep racial,regional and socio-economic differences on the team. Jackson was as much of an ass-clown as Steinbrenner was. It seemed like Jackson was the Charles Barkley of his era as he got into bar fights once a season with patrons in Manhattan bars or on the road. Also Jackson and Munson hated each other and fought for control of leadership of the team. Billy Martin was just as bad as his players I remember one instance where Martin the known bar fighter got the best of Ed Whitson and Whitson allegedly bit and kicked at Martin in a bar fight which led to a firing of Martin by Steinbrenner. Edited by: white is right

 

[white is right]

One thing I'll give Steinbrenner for is he was an equal opportunity insulter.  He signed Dave Winfield away from San Diego after the 1980 season for what was at the time huge money.  After Winfield hit. 045 (1 for 22) in the 1981 World Series, Steinbrenner dubbed him "Mr. May," a great sneering takeoff on Reggie Jackson's nickname of "Mr. October."

After he got the one meaningless hit, Winfield called time out and asked for the ball.

Yes I remember that it was the 81 series and Winfield went 1 for about 26 and his drought was probably the main contributing reason why the Yankees lost 4 straight to the Dodgers in that series (after being up the series). Edited by: white is right

 

[white is right]

George for all his big spending was also pretty conservative when it came to attire and haircuts. He fined Mattingly for having a mullet and Johnny Damon had big ceremony for cutting his locks at center field and his hair was donated to charity. I still haven't figured out how Oscar Gamble, Reggie and Chris Chambliss collected any pay cheques on those championships with the afros they kept back then....

 

[whiteathlete33]

I never really like baseball. It's about as interesting to me as watching paint dry. Steinbrenner is all the more reason for me to dislike it. The guy was as arrogant as they come. Of course his Yankees were going to win every year or have very good seasons when they spend several times more than other teams on players.

 

[bigunreal]

I didn't care for Steinbrenner at all. What is really odious, though, is the media's wild overreaction to his death. ESPN practically reported nothing else for two days. It reminded me of the way the national press dealt with the death of Tim Russert.

Steinbrenner was simply not that important of a figure.

 

[Don Wassall]

During the late 70s and early 80s, Steinbrenner was at his worst. He actually seemed to be competing with the players on the field for press attention. You have to remember that period to understand.

I was a young kid but I remember those late 70's Yankees teams won in spite of deep racial,regional and socio-economic differences on the team. Jackson was as much of an ass-clown as Steinbrenner was. It seemed like Jackson was the Charles Barkley of his era as he got into bar fights once a season with patrons in Manhattan bars or on the road. Also Jackson and Munson hated each other and fought for control of leadership of the team. Billy Martin was just as bad as his players I remember one instance where Martin the known bar fighter got the best of Ed Whitson and Whitson allegedly bit and kicked at Martin in a bar fight which led to a firing of Martin by Steinbrenner.

Yankees 3B Graig Nettles (pretty much forgotten now but finished his career with 390 homers) punched out Reggie Jackson at a party, into unconsciousness. I remember being very impressed by that, as it was during an era that was worse than now as far as White athletes being constantly aggressed against by black ones and rarely defending themselves, and also during the long dark era of black domination of the heavyweight boxing division.

 

[whiteathlete33]

The sports section in my local paper was all Steinbrenner articles for several days after he died. They just kept rewriting the same crap about what a great owner he was. Of course his Yankees won many championships with their payroll. The Yankees have the highest payroll in baseball for 10 years now though I thought it was longer than that.

Here is a list of all the payrolls for the 2010 season. The Yankees payroll is 6 times what the Pittsburgh Pirates is. Seriously baseball needs some kind of salary cap so clowns like Steinbrenner can't do what they want.

<t></t><table width="390" align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><t><tr><td>Team</td><td>2009</td><td>2010</td><td>Average</td></tr>
<tr><td>Yankees</td><td>$201,449,189</td><td>$206,333,389</td><td>$8,253,336</td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="http://baseball.about.com/od/bostonredsox/a/2010bostonredsoxsalaries2.htm" target="_blank">Red
Sox</a></td><td>$121,745,999</td><td>$162,747,333</td><td>$5,611,977</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cubs</td>
<td>$134,809,000</td><td>$146,859,000</td><td>$5,439,222</td></tr>
<tr><td>Phillies</td><td>$113,004,046</td><td>$141,927,381</td><td>$5,068,835</td></tr>
<tr><td>Mets</td><td>$149,373,987</td><td>$132,701,445</td><td>$5,103,902</td></tr>
<tr><td>Tigers</td>
<td>$115,085,145</td><td>$122,864,929</td><td>$4,550,553</td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="http://baseball.about.com/od/chicagowhitesox/a/2010chicagowhitesoxsalaries.htm" target="_blank">White
Sox</a></td><td>$96,068,500</td><td>$108,273,197</td><td>$4,164,354</td></tr>
<tr><td>Angels</td><td>$113,709,000</td><td>$105,013,667</td><td>$3,621,161</td></tr>
<tr><td>Mariners</td><td>$98,904,166</td><td>$98,376,667</td><td>$3,513,452</td></tr>
<tr><td>Giants</td><td>$82,616,450</td><td>$97,828,833</td><td>$3,493,887</td></tr>
<tr><td>Twins</td><td>$65,299,266</td>
<td>$97,559,167</td><td>$3,484,256</td></tr>
<tr><td>Dodgers</td><td>$100,414,592</td><td>$94.945,517</td><td>$3,651,751</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cardinals</td><td>$77,605,109</td><td>$93,540,753</td><td>$3,741,630</td></tr>
<tr><td>Astros</td><td>$102,996,414</td><td>$92,355,500</td><td>$3,298,411</td></tr>
<tr><td>Braves</td><td>$96,726,166</td><td>$84,423,667</td><td>$3,126,802</td></tr>
<tr><td>Rockies</td><td>$75,201,000</td><td>$84,227,000</td><td>$2,904,379</td></tr>
<tr><td>Orioles</td><td>$67,101,666</td><td>$81,612,500</td><td>$3,138,942</td></tr>
<tr><td>Brewers</td><td>$80,182,502</td><td>$81,108,279</td><td>$2,796,837</td></tr>
<tr><td>Reds</td>
<td>$73,558,500</td><td>$72,386,544</td><td>$2,784,098</td></tr>
<tr><td>Royals</td><td>$70,519,333</td><td>$72,267,710</td><td>$2,491,990</td></tr>
<tr><td>Rays</td>
<td>$63,313,034</td><td>$71,923,471</td><td>$2,663,832</td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="http://baseball.about.com/od/torontobluejays/a/2010torontobluejayssalaries.htm" target="_blank">Blue
Jays</a></td><td>$80,538,300</td><td>$62,689,357</td><td>$2,089,645</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nationals</td><td>$60,328,000</td><td>$61,425,000</td><td>$2,047,500</td></tr>
<tr><td>Indians</td><td>$81,579,166</td><td>$61,203,967</td><td>$2,110,482</td></tr>
<tr><td>Diamondbacks</td><td>$73,516,666</td><td>$60,718,167</td><td>$2,335,314</td></tr>
<tr><td>Marlins</td><td>$36,834,000</td><td>$55,641,500</td><td>$2,060,796</td></tr>
<tr><td>Rangers</td><td>$68,178,798</td><td>$55,250,545</td><td>$1,905,191</td></tr>
<tr><td>Athletics</td><td>$62,310,000</td><td>$51,654,900</td><td>$1,666,287</td></tr>
<tr><td>Padres</td><td>$43,734,200</td><td>$37,799,300</td><td>$1,453,819</td></tr>
<tr><td>Pirates</td><td>$48,693,000</td><td>$34,943,000</td><td>$1,294,185</td></tr></t></table>

Edited by: whiteathlete33

 

[jaxvid]

Steinbrenner is a hero to the NY sports media. He made them relevant again. No other NY team wins much, Jets/Mets/Giants once in a while, Knicks/Rangers-never. So the NY sports media which controls all of the media can thank Steinbrenner for bringing the Yankees back to respectability and giving the country a reason to pay attention to them. Because of that they love him. That is the reason for any positive publicity he gets. If he had been an owner anywhere else he would have been long forgotten.

 

[whiteathlete33]

Steinbrenner is a hero to the NY sports media. He made them relevant again. No other NY team wins much, Jets/Mets/Giants once in a while, Knicks/Rangers-never. So the NY sports media which controls all of the media can thank Steinbrenner for bringing the Yankees back to respectability and giving the country a reason to pay attention to them. Because of that they love him. That is the reason for any positive publicity he gets. If he had been an owner anywhere else he would have been long forgotten.

Everyone loves a team that wins. Also the fact that he was an owner in the biggest US market gives him even more attention. He was a prick and of course the Yankees are going to win with that payroll. Even the Red Sox are at around 40 million less.