Steinbrenner leaves as one of a kind 
There has never been another owner like him. Not in the past, present or future.
Many have tried to imitate him, but have never duplicated his success.
He came into this game purchasing the Yankees for roughly ten million dollars back in 1972.
Today, the value of that franchise is over a billion, some estimates have valued it at over three billion dollars, printing money daily. It is arguably the greatest purchase and model of success in all of business and sports.
Not a bad investment.
Now, arguably the most recognizable owner in sports leaves us.
George M. Steinbrenner III died on Tuesday morning after suffering a massive heart attack near his home in Tampa. He was 80.
For the last several years, Steinbrenner was no longer the visible face of a franchise that he was able to turn into an empire. Failing health and a series of strokes eliminated him from controlling the day-to-day operations of the club that he now transferred to his sons, Hank and Hal.
In his time, he brought 11 American League pennants and seven World Series championships and, restoring a franchise that was in peril before he purchased it back in 1972 from CBS.
He saw something in his purchase that no one else saw. The thought in his mind being if he efficiently and effectively built the Yankees into a success, he would have a license to print money.
The man who grew up as a child in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio came to the big city of New York trying to make it big. He came in with his bombastic nature, determined to make the Yankees a winner again.
It was his belief that if you spent money, not only will your team improve, but you will win. From there, the money follows.
The Yankees indeed made money, millions of it.
He then took the profits and put the money back into his product. It was his spending at the beginning of free agency, helping the Yankees improve quickly shortly after taking over.
Four years into his reign, they won their first pennant. The next two seasons, the Yankees were world champions.
Between that time and 1996, many people came and went. Steinbrenner’s personality clashed with many in and outside the organization. No one will ever forget his run-ins with Billy Martin, hiring and firing him on an almost comical basis. He would have his general manager trade young players and signing players who were great in name, but either past their prime or not good fits with the club in haste to win, only to be unsuccessful in his quest in regaining former glory.
By the end of the 1980’s, the Yankees were down again. All of Steinbrenner’s moves after 1981 (their last World Series appearance in that time before 1996) netted zero playoff appearances, many empty seats and a franchise needing resuscitation.
It was not until Major League Baseball suspended Steinbrenner in 1991 did the Yankees restore order. Five years later, they began a run of four world championships.
Steinbrenner, toned down much more in his 60’s than he used to in his 40’s and 50’s, went along for the ride, turning into a loving figure amongst fans that originally found him to be a nuisance, infringing upon their team with bad personnel decisions.
Sure, there would be the occasional outburst. In 1999, he would call pitcher Hideki Irabu a “fat, pussy toad” after struggling for most of a season. There was the time in 2003 when he criticized Derek Jeter in a magazine for staying out to late, causing a media firestorm that ended with the two doing a VISA commercial comically making fun of it. There was another after a Division Series loss in 2002 to the Angels that he was going to “trim the fat” in the organization, with one-way being to cut the dental plans of his employees.
He did not speak much in his later years, but his presence was always around.
When things on the field with the Yankees did not go well, Steinbrenner would usually call General Manager Brian Cashman from his home in Tampa to ask what was wrong. In other times of crisis, he would summon his officials to fly down to their training facility to sit around a conference table to discuss what is ailing the club and if there was anything he can do about it.
It was a product that he wanted the best for and would anything to keep it strong. He grew up with a football mentality and played baseball out as if it were that. By saying things and putting out missive statements, he felt that when things were not going well, a mere pep talk would rally the troops and get them to play better.
Otherwise, he would find others who would.
He was demanding. It made losing uncomfortable for everyone. It was exactly how he wanted it.
In his mind, there was no substitute for winning. Anything less was unacceptable. Second place was the equivalent of losing the game.
That is why he treated exhibitions as more than just training for the season. If his team lost three games in a row, he would consider that a crisis. Any worse and you waited for him to explode.
In turn, the fans adopted this mentality for better or worse.
Win or else was the mantra.
Losing to the Red Sox or Mets was intolerable. A sweep by any of those teams and the team was bound to hear it.
Winning was an expectation. He expected a championship every season. The New York fan he felt deserved a winner and he saw fit to make that happen.
At the same time, the winning and the eventual championships reestablished the Yankee brand, and in turn, made him a whole lot of money.
When Madison Square Garden paid him $500 million to air Yankees games on the MSG Network, it opened the avenue to regional sports networks as a means to make money. Later, a lucrative radio deal followed and he was on his way to making the franchise the richest in all of sports.
Seeing how he could profit, he had the vision to create the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, a channel owned by the team to show its games and take in all of the profits.
It was a revolutionary idea that other teams have since tried to duplicate, all in their chase to close a financial gap about as wide of Secretariat in the Kentucky Derby.
His last piece of business was to build a new Yankee Stadium that became a reality when ground broke in 2006 and finally opened for business last season.
Constant illness kept him away, serving now as only a face drifted far in the background. He made a memorable appearance in 2008 at the All Star Game in the final season at the old Stadium.
Last season, the Yankees finally delivered a world championship that he had sought for nine seasons after winning his last in 2000 against the Mets, paying over one billion in salaries before finally accomplishing what he wanted all along.
Several years ago, he had a saying: “Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.”
This serves as the modus operandi of the Yankee organization.
It was his imprint on a franchise he brought up from the ashes. Today it is the standards that all others are measured.
He made it the greatest in all of sports.
Today he leaves us. There will never be another like him.
There has never been another owner like him. Not in the past, present or future.
Many have tried to imitate him, but have never duplicated his success.
He came into this game purchasing the Yankees for roughly ten million dollars back in 1972.
Today, the value of that franchise is over a billion, some estimates have valued it at over three billion dollars, printing money daily. It is arguably the greatest purchase and model of success in all of business and sports.
Not a bad investment.
Now, arguably the most recognizable owner in sports leaves us.
George M. Steinbrenner III died on Tuesday morning after suffering a massive heart attack near his home in Tampa. He was 80.
For the last several years, Steinbrenner was no longer the visible face of a franchise that he was able to turn into an empire. Failing health and a series of strokes eliminated him from controlling the day-to-day operations of the club that he now transferred to his sons, Hank and Hal.
In his time, he brought 11 American League pennants and seven World Series championships and, restoring a franchise that was in peril before he purchased it back in 1972 from CBS.
He saw something in his purchase that no one else saw. The thought in his mind being if he efficiently and effectively built the Yankees into a success, he would have a license to print money.
The man who grew up as a child in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio came to the big city of New York trying to make it big. He came in with his bombastic nature, determined to make the Yankees a winner again.
It was his belief that if you spent money, not only will your team improve, but you will win. From there, the money follows.
The Yankees indeed made money, millions of it.
He then took the profits and put the money back into his product. It was his spending at the beginning of free agency, helping the Yankees improve quickly shortly after taking over.
Four years into his reign, they won their first pennant. The next two seasons, the Yankees were world champions.
Between that time and 1996, many people came and went. Steinbrenner’s personality clashed with many in and outside the organization. No one will ever forget his run-ins with Billy Martin, hiring and firing him on an almost comical basis. He would have his general manager trade young players and signing players who were great in name, but either past their prime or not good fits with the club in haste to win, only to be unsuccessful in his quest in regaining former glory.
By the end of the 1980’s, the Yankees were down again. All of Steinbrenner’s moves after 1981 (their last World Series appearance in that time before 1996) netted zero playoff appearances, many empty seats and a franchise needing resuscitation.
It was not until Major League Baseball suspended Steinbrenner in 1991 did the Yankees restore order. Five years later, they began a run of four world championships.
Steinbrenner, toned down much more in his 60’s than he used to in his 40’s and 50’s, went along for the ride, turning into a loving figure amongst fans that originally found him to be a nuisance, infringing upon their team with bad personnel decisions.
Sure, there would be the occasional outburst. In 1999, he would call pitcher Hideki Irabu a “fat, pussy toad” after struggling for most of a season. There was the time in 2003 when he criticized Derek Jeter in a magazine for staying out to late, causing a media firestorm that ended with the two doing a VISA commercial comically making fun of it. There was another after a Division Series loss in 2002 to the Angels that he was going to “trim the fat” in the organization, with one-way being to cut the dental plans of his employees.
He did not speak much in his later years, but his presence was always around.
When things on the field with the Yankees did not go well, Steinbrenner would usually call General Manager Brian Cashman from his home in Tampa to ask what was wrong. In other times of crisis, he would summon his officials to fly down to their training facility to sit around a conference table to discuss what is ailing the club and if there was anything he can do about it.
It was a product that he wanted the best for and would anything to keep it strong. He grew up with a football mentality and played baseball out as if it were that. By saying things and putting out missive statements, he felt that when things were not going well, a mere pep talk would rally the troops and get them to play better.
Otherwise, he would find others who would.
He was demanding. It made losing uncomfortable for everyone. It was exactly how he wanted it.
In his mind, there was no substitute for winning. Anything less was unacceptable. Second place was the equivalent of losing the game.
That is why he treated exhibitions as more than just training for the season. If his team lost three games in a row, he would consider that a crisis. Any worse and you waited for him to explode.
In turn, the fans adopted this mentality for better or worse.
Win or else was the mantra.
Losing to the Red Sox or Mets was intolerable. A sweep by any of those teams and the team was bound to hear it.
Winning was an expectation. He expected a championship every season. The New York fan he felt deserved a winner and he saw fit to make that happen.
At the same time, the winning and the eventual championships reestablished the Yankee brand, and in turn, made him a whole lot of money.
When Madison Square Garden paid him $500 million to air Yankees games on the MSG Network, it opened the avenue to regional sports networks as a means to make money. Later, a lucrative radio deal followed and he was on his way to making the franchise the richest in all of sports.
Seeing how he could profit, he had the vision to create the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, a channel owned by the team to show its games and take in all of the profits.
It was a revolutionary idea that other teams have since tried to duplicate, all in their chase to close a financial gap about as wide of Secretariat in the Kentucky Derby.
His last piece of business was to build a new Yankee Stadium that became a reality when ground broke in 2006 and finally opened for business last season.
Constant illness kept him away, serving now as only a face drifted far in the background. He made a memorable appearance in 2008 at the All Star Game in the final season at the old Stadium.
Last season, the Yankees finally delivered a world championship that he had sought for nine seasons after winning his last in 2000 against the Mets, paying over one billion in salaries before finally accomplishing what he wanted all along.
Several years ago, he had a saying: “Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.”
This serves as the modus operandi of the Yankee organization.
It was his imprint on a franchise he brought up from the ashes. Today it is the standards that all others are measured.
He made it the greatest in all of sports.
Today he leaves us. There will never be another like him.
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