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Yankees owner Steinbrenner passes away


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George Steinbrenner, a towering and intimidating figure who dominated the New York sports scene for 35 years, winning 11 American League pennants and seven world championships as owner of the Yankees, in and around two suspensions from baseball and multiple feuds and firings, died Tuesday morning in Tampa after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 80.

 

"The Boss" - as he was so aptly named by his longtime antagonist, Daily News columnist Mike Lupica – died at around 6:30 a.m. according to a high placed Yankee source. He had been suffering from failing health, the result of a series of strokes, for the past few years.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2010/07/13/2010-07-13_yankees_owner_george_steinbrenner_suffers_a_massive_heart_reports.html

 

Whoa...massive heart attack.

 

RIP.

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One of the most controversial, but I can't argue with that as well.

His controversy made him the best imo. I don't like the Yankees at all, but Steinbrenner is a man you wanted to have own your favorite team. I don't think any pro sports owner is as enthusiastic about their team, or ever will be, anywhere near the level Steinbrenner was. You could argue he was crazy and over the top, but he did it all to win, and was really a diehard fan in the body of an owner.

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His controversy made him the best imo. I don't like the Yankees at all, but Steinbrenner is a man you wanted to have own your favorite team. I don't think any pro sports owner is as enthusiastic about their team, or ever will be, anywhere near the level Steinbrenner was. You could argue he was crazy and over the top, but he did it all to win, and was really a diehard fan in the body of an owner.

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His controversy made him the best imo. I don't like the Yankees at all, but Steinbrenner is a man you wanted to have own your favorite team. I don't think any pro sports owner is as enthusiastic about their team, or ever will be, anywhere near the level Steinbrenner was. You could argue he was crazy and over the top, but he did it all to win, and was really a diehard fan in the body of an owner.

Yeah, Steinbrenner was more involved with the team than ever in those first two decades. People were comparing him to Al Davis (pfft).

 

Crazy thing was, those people that he treated badly in the FO...he ended up calling them when they retired, gave them weird positions on the team (assistant scouts, for example), and paid them for the rest of their lives for what they did while they were actually working for him. Basically, it seemed like he took care of those people for putting up with him.

 

So yeah, the controversy was good at the end of the day. Being banned from baseball twice (lol) was funny, firing Martin five times...just some of the things he did, you had to question. However, it influenced others (both players and executives) and encouraged winning, and how success was more important than anything else in professional sports.

 

Also heard on SC that he would meet high school students, and young college kids, just during his time out in the city...and the next day, they would get phone calls, told that they had a full scholarship to the college of their choice (whatever college they were able to get into).

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So yeah, the controversy was good at the end of the day. Being banned from baseball twice (lol) was funny, firing Martin five times...just some of the things he did, you had to question. However, it influenced others (both players and executives) and encouraged winning, and how success was more important than anything else in professional sports.

 

I wouldn't say it was all good. He was banned the first time after giving illegal contributions to the Richard Nixon campaign, which he pleaded guilty to. He was also banned for paying a gambler to "dig up dirt" on Dave Winfield after Winfield sued him. Those, amongst some other less famous incidents, were serious issues. Not trying to start anything, just filling in the missing pieces that ESPN and MLB Network are not mentioning today.

 

But, his contributions to baseball were mostly positive I'd say. Certainly revolutionized many aspects of free agency.

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Well, it was funny, to me, because it was Steinbrenner, and you couldn't expect anything less from him. Those bans were serious and warranted, sure.

 

The controversy when it came to how much involvement he had with the team, things like that...in-house, not off the field (the Nixon and Winfield incidents), that's mainly what I was talking about. I probably should've worded my post better.

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My favorite George Steinbrenner moments were the SNL skit with Chris Farley, and of course the character on Seinfeld.

 

Does George Costanza inherit the Yankees now??? :lol:

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Being from the NY area, it's really, really sad to see him go. He's been the soul of this Yankees team for decades, even if in the last few years he was more hands-off. Glad to see the new stadium was built and the Yankees won a championship the last year he was alive.

 

R.I.P

 

PS- I went to a Yankees-Mets game a few weeks ago at the Stadium, and in the concession stands they have Yankee shirts with the back reading, "Costanza" :lol:

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How fitting that after growing impatient with eight ring-less seasons, the last full season George Steinbrenner lived to see had the Yankees as champions.

 

The timeline of not only his ownership, but his whole life, is incredible. His toughness as someone who did not accept losing in any way or form overshadowed his great personality. As the owner of a baseball team, there aren't many others out there that could make as many controversial decisions as him and still be recognized as a great leader simply because of all the changes he made to our team that were for the better. It wasn't only the signings of players. He established a new home for the franchise. He had a presence that was sure to be felt whenever he visited the clubhouse. He introduced a new tradition that spread over to the rest of the team and the whole fanbase and that is well alive today.

 

Many fans have to wonder whether they would even be apart of this fanbase were it not for Steinbrenner.

 

Rest in peace, George M. Steinbrenner III.

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