George Steinbrenner Deserves HOF Election (Tonight!)
George Steinbrenner is one of the finalists for the Hall of Fame. When the Veteran’s Committee announces their selections, Steinbrenner should be inducted.
George Steinbrenner , the late principal owner of the New York Yankees , or as he is best known “The Boss”, is one of ten finalists for election to the Baseball Hall Of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Their selection(s) will be announced tonight at 6:00 pm (EST) live on the MLB-TV network. And if the Hall is supposed to honor those who dominated baseball in their era, no one dominated the game more than George Steinbrenner did during his career……….no one.
George Steinbrenner was one of those larger than life characters who dominated any room he entered just by his mere presence and personality.
And like most who are driven by a passion to achieve a self imposed goal in life, George Steinbrenner was a complex mixture of character traits and behavior that could be offensive and generous simultaneously. But above all else, he stood up for winning. And more than that, he made sure that everyone around him carried that drive to win as well.
George Steinbrenner Paves The Way
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The Yankees that he bought in 1973 were a shell of their time-honored tradition. Their last pennant traced back almost a decade to 1965 when they were humiliated by the Dodgers suffering a four-game sweep in the World Series.
Almost immediately, he put his stamp on the Yankees brand, and as it would quickly become apparent all of baseball, by signing Jim “Catfish” Hunter to a $3 million deal that included a $1 million signing bonus making him baseball’ first instant millionaire. Then, he stunned the baseball world again when he doubled down with the signing of Reggie “Mr. October” Jackson to a (then) unheard of five-year deal for more than $3 million.
The George Steinbrenner Era
Love him or hate him, the one thing no one in baseball could do was ignore him. Because with those few strokes of a pen, George Steinbrenner changed baseball forever. And although he was defiled by baseball purists who shuddered at the thought that Championships could be bought, George Steinbrenner didn’t seem to care and he wouldn’t let the naysayers stand in his way. The back to back titles in 1977 and 1978 did all the talking for him.
But from there it would not be a story that continued to be exclusively filled with Championships and champagne celebrations. A long drought would intervene until the mid 1990’s. From 1996 to 2001, the Yankees ruled baseball. Once again, The Boss was there to bask in the glory of “The Run”. He was also lauded for his genius in the hiring of Joe Torre , who often took the brunt of Steinbrenner’s infamous tirades deflecting them from his players to himself. Torre was also integral in molding the Core Four and nursing them along as they adapted to the Big Apple. To this day, Derek Jeter still refers to him as “Mr. Torre” and he means it.
The complexity of his character often stunned those who encountered him. A raging tirade after a critical Yankees loss would often be followed by an arm around the losing pitcher’s shoulder. He would also try to resurrect the careers of two fallen New York heroes in Dwight “Doc” Gooden and Daryl Strawberry. Donations (usually anonymous) to charities increased exponentially with the Yankees success. And Steinbrenner himself seemed more relaxed and at ease. He could be even be seen crying along with Torre during a clubhouse World Series victory celebration.
The Veterans Committee, which is actually now known as the Eras Committee , is the one last safety valve that baseball has in place to insure that no one is overlooked for selection into the HOF.
And if this selection is about “Eras” in baseball, at least it must be said that George Steinbrenner created his own era in baseball. Succeeding as much as he failed, Steinbrenner proved that indeed money can’t buy Championships. But he also proved that it’s a lot more fun and the victories are sweeter when you will settle for nothing less than winning.
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Put him in the Hall tonight!
Footnote: A portion of the content in this story was culled from a piece I wrote in August 2016 for Empire Writes Back.