Steinbrenner died lastweek after almost four decades of running the Yankees—minus a few years in twosuspensions, in the ’70s for illegal campaign donations to Richard Nixon andthe ’90s for hiring a private eye to dig up dirt on Dave Winfield. In the ’90s“Big Stein” was depicted on “Seinfeld” as more daffy than domineering, and inrecent years he faded into poor health as two sons took over the team. But hisdeath returned him to his favorite place—the center of attention—and revivedthe essential Steinbrenner debate: Villain, hero, or what proportions of each?The Observers, with Frank getting a firsthand view in New York, chime in.
Frank: Shades of CharlesFoster Kane! This was the tabloids’ version of Orson Welles’ fictional newsreelthat solemnly intoned the passing of a giant.
Artie: Except that instead of“Rosebud,” Steinbrenner’s last word evoking a painful loss might have been“Buhner.”
Frank: That would befictionally fitting, since the trading of future All-Star Jay Buhner in 1998spurred Frank Costanza to browbeat Steinbrenner on “Seinfeld.”
Artie: These days a lot ofpeople hate the Yankees and their money, but I can honestly say I liked theirteams from 1982 through ’94.
Frank: Gee, the 13 straightseasons when the Yankees couldn’t even reach the playoffs. I view that era abit differently, but you raise an interesting point. A Newsday headline proclaimed, “Boss’ Legacy: He Won,” but by his ownstandard he didn’t win all that much.
Artie: Buying… um, winningseven World Series ain’t chopped liver; the next-closest team during his reignwas Oaklandwith three.
Frank: Yeah, but that’s over37 years. By The Boss’ blustery credo that the Yanks’ only goal was totalsupremacy, he batted under .200. He bought the team in ’73 and the winning camein two spurts—four World Series (two wins) from ’76 through ’81 and sevenSeries (five wins) since ’95. But in between he presided over those 13 years ofnothing—the longest Yankee drought since before Babe Ruth arrived in 1920.
Artie: Maybe if The Bosshadn’t been such an egotistical knob, if he’d shown some common sense andpeople skills toward managers, he’d have gotten above the Mendoza line.
Frank: It’s often said herethat a “new” Steinbrenner came back from his second suspension in ’93. He waswilling to give his “baseball people” more leeway to build the team fromwithin. The “Core Four” who are still playing—Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte,Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada—began to rise through the minors duringSteinbrenner’s penance.
Artie: The “old” Steinbrennermight have traded a couple of those guys for one of his high-priced “names,”ain’a?
Frank: Not that there weren’tboondoggles all along—like signing pitchers Kevin Brown, Jaret Wright and CarlPavano. But the Yankees’ piles of money—which really grew in this decade whenSteinbrenner created YES, his own cable network—financed 13 straight playoffappearances from ’95 through ’07.
Artie: The key for any club ismaking good moves. But if you’ve got the dough you can make more moves andfigure that enough will work...
Frank: Besides that, throughluck or shrewdness, Steinbrenner found in Joe Torre a manager who’d stand up tohim while keeping the clubhouse steady. Torre had nice things to say last week,but also this: “He had no regard for anyone else's life. But those were theground rules."
Artie: Sounds like bosseswe’ve all had.
Frank: Here’s anotherquestion. A New York Times businesscolumn had the headline, “Was Steinbrenner Just Lucky?” Might anyone be able towin with the same pile of money?
Artie: It’s possible to win inpro sports without being a blowhard. Take the Rooneys in the NFL or our ownformer Packers president, Bob Harlan.
Frank: Here’s anotherSteinbrenner issue. Around here everyone’s been saying, “Well, George justwanted to win so much” to explain why he acted like a jerk. But did Bud Seligwant to win any less, or does Mark Attanasio now? Does the desire to win covera multitude of sins? In other words, does the end justify the means, no matterhow mean?
Artie: To a team’s fans,absolutely. To quote another world-class jerk, Al Davis, “Just win, baby.”
Frank: I held my nose aboutSteinbrenner’s bullying, sore-loser antics, but I didn’t stop smiling wheneverthe Yankees won.
Artie: And I didn’t noticeanyone booing the noted steroid user and liar Alex Rodriguez last fall when hehelped the Yankees go all the way.
Frank: In the World Cup soccerfinal, most analysts ripped Holland’steam for super-aggressive tactics to disrupt the favored Spaniards. But if Holland had won, wouldthe title have been tainted?
Artie: Not to Dutch fans!
Frank: The tabloids paintedSteinbrenner as a lovable rogue. But he wasn’t so lovable, to the press or thefans, when the team was lousy. If he’d died two years ago, when the Yankeesmissed the playoffs, the tone might have differed. As it was, he had the greattiming to depart as a defending champ.
Artie: Here’s another case.Red Auerbach was an arrogant jerk, but he coached the Celtics to nine NBAtitles in 10 years. But several of those finals in the ’50s and ’60s came downto a seventh game against the Lakers. If a few shots go the other way, maybeAuerbach isn’t quite the legend we think of.
Frank: How about VinceLombardi? Remember the famous quote: “He treated us all the same—like dogs.” IfBart Starr doesn’t make it to the end zone in the Ice Bowl and something goeswrong in another title game, does Vince become less of a legend?
Artie: Now you’re on dangerousground! I think Lombardi wasn’t out to aggrandize himself the way Steinbrenneror Auerbach was. With Lombardi the team was everything...
Frank: I thought the bestSteinbrenner summary came from Timescolumnist Jim Dwyer: "He raged. He wept. He won. … He broke laws,promises, lives. He did charity. He grafted his ego onto the back pages ofnewspapers. He championed ordinary New Yorkers, then took them for every lastpenny."
Artie: A big shot sticking itto the little guy. Shocking!
Frank: Now the Yankees have aterrific new stadium, heavily subsidized by public financing. How did Steinbrennerget it? He trashed the Bronx as too dangerous and tried to move to Manhattan, even threatening to go to New Jersey otherwise. But Yankee fans calledhis bluff, packing the old Yankee Stadium. So how did The Boss repay Joe Fan?The new ballpark has far fewer seats in the upper deck, affordable for theaverage guy.
Artie: Some friend of theordinary New Yorker.
Frank: To me, the far deeperloss was Bob Sheppard, the classy voice of Yankee Stadium for almost 60 years,who died two days before Steinbrenner. Remembering him announce the startinglineups—“And for the Yankees…”—evokes sunny days at the Stadium with my dad andbrother, in good times and bad. Steinbrenner only evokes New York pomposity. Or as another Times headline said, “A Windbag, But HeWas Our Windbag.”
Artie: Now there’s a legacy!
Frank: The odes last weekemphasized that The Boss did a lot of charitable giving and mended many of hisbroken relationships. We all carry a balance sheet of good and bad when we makeour exit, but Steinbrenner’s real legacy might be to remind us that in sports,good behavior isn’t what matters. Winning is.
