Felger & Mazz On: The Life Of George Steinbrenner
Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner passed away this morning after suffering a massive heart attack. (Story) Felger wishes that one of the ownership groups in this city was more like Steinbrenner. Can you guess which one?
Felger: "Steinbrenner, for the balance of his career, was that guy who went too far and he got in the way of winning. Still, do you take that extreme over, I don't know, the Pohlad's? The guy's like in Minnesota. Or, other owners who, I don't know, not naming names, but live in other cities, haven't won a championship in 38 years, consistently spend less than everyone else, spend more of their energy on collective bargaining agreements than Stanley Cups. Again I'm not naming names just saying in general. Guys who are really more concerned about concession revenue than championships and things of that nature. Guys who don't have a presence in town. Guys who go months after a once in a generation kind of loss and don't show their face. There's that extreme...which one would you rather have? We want our owners to have a lot of George Steinbrenner in them, but we don't want them to be him."
Massarotti: "It's never nice to speak ill of the dead, or so my parents taught me. Here's one thing I respect most about George Steinbrenner, and I was thinking about this today because he was such a compelling figure in American history, sports history, and obviously baseball history: I admire his competitiveness. I've always admired his competitiveness. He wanted to win. But, his behavior and his methods were borderline psychotic for the better part of his 38 years with the Yankees. He was the megalomaniacal, obsessed, meddling, control freak, unbearable, overbearing owner. That's what he was."
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