Fay Vincent never met his fellow Williams College graduate Hal Steinbrenner. The former baseball commissioner did often meet with another Williams man, George Steinbrenner, whom he once banished for paying a gambler to provide unflattering intel on Dave Winfield.
As an 84-year-old fan from Connecticut who first watched the Yankees in The Bronx in 1947 — a doubleheader between Joe DiMaggio and Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s — Vincent is a sound voice on matters involving the Yanks over the last three quarters of a century, including their ownership. Especially their ownership.
Especially the difference between one Steinbrenner generation and the next.
“George had some very strong, good attributes, and among them is he was bright enough to recognize the Yankees were a bargain at $8-10 million when he bought them from CBS in 1973,” Vincent told The Post. “It has to be one of the best investments of anybody’s lifetime. If they were put up for sale now, they might get $8-9 billion.
“Hal is sitting on an empire that his father created, and living under the shadow of a great man. It’s often very hard to even name the son of a great man.”
As it turns out, Yankees fans have had no trouble identifying the Boss’ flesh and blood. They booed him when he appeared at the Paul O’Neill ceremony in August, and booed him when he appeared at the Derek Jeter ceremony in September, all while Mets fans were still honeymooning with Steve Cohen. And if the detached Yankees billionaire had allowed Aaron Judge to sign with the Giants or Padres, the team’s fans would’ve booed him from here to eternity.
So Hal became George between the Astros’ ALCS sweep and the signing of Judge to a record nine-year, $360 million deal, more than four decades after the Boss set a record by signing Winfield to a 10-year, $23 million deal. Hal said he wanted Judge, and he said he’d do everything in his power to keep Judge.
And then he delivered on the promise. Hal met face-to-face with the slugger who, by breaking Roger Maris’ single-season American League record of 61 homers, mocked the team’s decision to offer him $213.5 million in the spring and then to publicly disclose that rejected number, a move authorized by Hal. Understanding he had no choice but to re-sign Judge, Steinbrenner heeded general manager Brian Cashman’s advice to personally lead the franchise’s efforts, remained in constant touch with his franchise player (even while vacationing in Italy) and gave Judge the ninth year he needed to stay.
Would Steinbrenner have been that engaged and that inspired to fight off San Francisco and San Diego if the fans hadn’t let him know what they thought of his leadership, or lack thereof? If I had to put twenty bucks on it, I’d say The Bronx would be in crisis mode today while a big bash was being thrown somewhere in California.
Yankees fans should take a bow for that, really. Just like all other fans in all other sports, they get taken for granted. They get fleeced for a good seat at the Stadium, and get charged $55 to park for a playoff game, and get neglected during an endless rain delay, among other things. The payoff, for Yankees fans, is supposed to be consistent title contention fueled by an ownership too hungry for parades to fret over fiscal restraint.
But the Yanks have failed to reach the World Series for 13 consecutive years, and Hal Steinbrenner has failed to convince his customers that he has his father’s stomach for the fight. “That’s my job every year, to make sure we’re financially responsible,” he said before the season. “We’ve got a lot of partners and banks and bond holders and things that I answer to.”
The fans read those remarks and have a hard time buying Steinbrenner’s claims that he’s truly driven every year to win the ring.
“The fans want to win the World Series, and they don’t care and shouldn’t care about how much money Hal makes,” Fay Vincent said. “The big winner in the Judge deal is the Yankees, because there’s no way to recover if they lose him. Hal made a business decision that happens to coincide with what the fans want.”
Only this time, it doesn’t look coincidental. From a distance, Vincent said he’s admired the way Hal Steinbrenner has conducted himself. Though he reminded that the same Boss he threw out of the sport was capable of profound acts of generosity, the former commissioner said Hal “seems to me to be, excuse the phrase, a lot classier than his father. His father was a very complicated man.”
But for all of his flaws, George Steinbrenner imposed his considerable will on every aspect of the operation, every single day, winning six championships and making 10 trips to the World Series. The fans wanted to see some of that urgency from his son. They weren’t asking Hal to be more like the Bad Boss. They were merely demanding that he be more like the Good Boss.
He listened. The common man and woman reached out and forced a reluctant baseball baron to act. So if Aaron Judge helps the Yankees book a ticker-tape parade, a full contingent of fans will belong on that lead float.
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