King George

Where would the rebellion be without Darth Vader?

Where would Sherlock Holmes be without Moriarty?

Where would we be without the New York Yankees?

If I asked any of my friends, who support either the Red Sox (Hi Ana), and Mets (Hi Andrew), they would say we would all be holding hands in a circle under the bright sunshine and rainbow celebrating world peace and comradery. As for me I would look at where baseball, or where I would be, without the late George Steinbrenner, who passed away this morning at the age of 80 years young.

I would write up a synopsis of his accomplishments, but many more talented writers did that already. I remember him for the role he did not play in numerous Seinfeld episodes...one scene in particular.

Steinbrenner was driven to make the Yankees successful on the field and off. From fielding clean-cut players, to hiring and firing twenty different managers in his first twenty-three seasons in charge as owner; "King George" believed more about being right at the moment than being consistent. Eventually, he did that, too.

His influence on the game made the memories of '92 and '93 sweeter, because those were the days when the Toronto Blue Jays got it together, and before the New York Yankees got into gear. Since then, the Yankees won in '96, '98, '99, 2000 and last year in 2009; always competitive and always winning. The Yankees are the team Ana, Andrew, and I love to hate, because the Yankees are the team we should want playing for us. Perhaps, this keeps us going to the ballpark, calling the phone-in sports radio shows, drafting all but Yankee players in the fantasy drafts at work, and watching the game on television. It also keeps a smile on the faces of two of my friends, who love the Yankees to no end (Hi Geoff and Jon).

I imagine "King George" is somewhere making another team out of some the game's greatest ever stars, making them get haircuts, trading some of them, and then hiring and firing the same manager fifteen thousand times (he almost came close to that number with former manager Billy Martin). His golden legacy will not go undiminished.