There have been a lot of factors that have gotten us to where we are today in the game of baseball, but not many factors have been bigger than the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Sure, he’s been the butt-end of many jokes and may have had the most distinctive and nefarious firing style since Darth Vader, but no one can deny his impact on the game of baseball. Now that he has passed at the age of 80, there’s no denying that Steinbrenner was one most intriguing, captivating and polarizing figures in baseball history.

In the 1970s, Steinbrenner bought the Yankees for $8.8 million, which equates to somewhere around $40 million when adjusted for inflation. In business terms, this is tip money. The Yankees, at the time, were far past their glory days of Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. They were second-rate, a former boxing champ without the feared right hook. They needed someone like George Steinbrenner, a bold and demanding businessman with the foresight and attitude to get the franchise back on target.

With his ultra-aggressive style of team management, or micro-management, Steinbrenner had the Yankees back on top of the baseball world by 1977, when the Yanks won their first World Series in 15 years. The Yanks followed it up by winning again in 1978, though they wouldn’t do it again until the Derek Jeter-led team did it in 1996. As the team’s main operator, Steinbrenner was part of seven championships, giving the Yankees 27 total World Series rings.

But the highlights of Steinbrenner’s tenure in baseball also didn’t overshadow some of the lowlights that gained him unwanted recognition. Steinbrenner was notoriously quick to fire managers and team personnel over the years and gained a shadowy reputation. In the early ’90s, Steinbrenner was also banned for the game briefly after an incident with his star outfielder Dave Winfield, who had a contentious relationship with Steinbrenner throughout his career. So animated and outspoken was Steinbrenner that he even encouraged hit sitcom “Seinfeld” to create a caricature of him.

Even though Steinbrenner was definitely a difficult person to get along with (just ask Billy Martin), fans could never question his commitment to the team. While many owners are simply happy turning a profit each year, Steinbrenner breathed the game of baseball and demanded that his players were equally as committed. Fans that purchased New York Yankees tickets always knew they would be paying to watch a team worth watching. Though he may not have worked in other cities in the country, Steinbrenner’s attitude embodies the stereotypes typically associated with New York City. Steinbrenner wasn’t just happy with winning once in a while; he expected to win every single year.

Ironically enough, Steinbrenner also was tremendous for the game of baseball as a whole, particularly for the Boston Red Sox. Though the Red Sox are the hated nemesis of the Yankees, the rivalry has helped create Red Sox Nation. As the Red Sox continue to become a nationally and internationally known business brand, the Yankees guarantee that the Red Sox will be relevant. Because Steinbrenner demanded so much out of his teams, the Red Sox were forced to match that level of commitment, which has paid off over and over again not only for the franchise but for Red Sox fans and the entire city of Boston. Without Steinbrenner raising the stakes, the rivalry would have never been reborn in the fashion that it has and the Red Sox would likely still be a mediocre baseball franchise.

For baseball fans in general, Steinbrenner has had an obvious impact on them as well. As many people disliked Steinbrenner as liked him, and that’s a brand the Yankees have been selling for years. Whether prescription cialis generic they root for or against the Yankees, baseball fans want to watch them play. Steinbrenner demanded excellence from his team because he demanded the same from himself. To be successful in sports, the same as in life, you don’t have to always win, but you do have to be interesting. Steinbrenner was that and then some, making him one of the most intriguing figures in the history of sports.

Author Bio: This article was sponsored by StubHub, one of the finest places in the entire world wide web to get New York Yankees tickets, concert tickets, theatre tickets, special events tickets, or almost any kind of sports ticket out there.

Category: Recreation and Leisure/Sports/Baseball
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