The Yankees’ third-place status and their 9-8 record heading into last night’s game against the Devil Rays were no concern for George Steinbrenner.
“I’m not worried about my team,” Steinbrenner told a few reporters as he arrived at Yankee Stadium hours before the game.
The Bombers entered the day in a third-place tie with Toronto in the AL East, and were two games off first-place Boston’s 12-7 pace. Wearing a Yankees blue jacket and his trademark dark sunglasses, Steinbrenner stopped for a few moments to chat with reporters. He was in New York for organizational board meetings.
Steinbrenner also attended the team’s first homestand, although he lives in Florida virtually year-round. He seemed upbeat, although the untimely deaths of organization personnel Oscar Acosta and Humberto Trejo in an auto accident last week have weighed on the owner.
Yankees officials attended Acosta’s service Monday, and Trejo’s funeral reportedly was scheduled for today in Venezuela.