When George Steinbrenner told MLB he wanted to shift control of the Yankees to his sons, Hal and Hank, after 35 years running the most famous sports franchise, MLB instructed The Boss the rules stipulated only one general partner.
So the Steinbrenner family put the issue to a vote, and Hank voted for his younger brother to officially follow their father, who stepped away from the table in the fall of 2007 due to faltering health.
That decision became official yesterday, with Hal taking over the reins from his now-frail father.
“Hank supported this move because Hal works with the finances,” a Yankee source said when asked if the shift meant Hank was being brushed aside or requested a lesser role. “He is fine with it.”
Since Hal, 40 next month, was more visible around the Yankees this year – meeting often with GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi – than was Hank, the mantle being passed to Hal makes sense.
According to team spokesman Howard Rubenstein, the 51-year-old Hank will remain in charge of baseball operations.
When asked in October about a reduced role, Hank refuted that and said, “Unless you hear it from me or my brother, it doesn’t mean anything.”
Hank wasn’t available for comment yesterday.
Hank didn’t attend the July All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, the last time his father was seen in public, when George delivered game balls to the mound in a golf cart. Hank opted to watch October’s final game at the Stadium with his father in Tampa.
“He’s been slowing down the last couple years,” Hal told the AP of his father. “Really, for the last two years, I have been intimately involved with all aspects and all departments of the company. It’s what I’ve been doing day to day.
“My duties aren’t really going to change, and my workload isn’t going to change much. So, I mean, it’s as much a procedural thing within the family, I think, as anything.”
The 78-year-old patriarch of the Steinbrenner family will be impossible to replace. Hank likes to talk, but nobody roared like The Boss. Hal is very thorough and is serious and tough, but The Boss was ultra intense and ruthless.
“I realize it’s a great responsibility,” Hal admitted. “My dad is, needless to say, a tough act to follow.”
With The Boss in control, the Yankees won six World Series and 10 AL pennants. And when the Yankees move into the new $1.3 billion Stadium next season, it will be known as “The House The Boss Built.”
Lately, Hal has been acting like his free-spending father, who believed New York needed stars and wasn’t shy about spending the money to make sure the biggest names in the game – Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez – landed in The Bronx, and that Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera remained there.
The Yankees, who lopped $90 million off last year’s payroll, have offered free-agent pitcher CC Sabathia a whopping six-year deal worth $140 million. And the Yanks aren’t finished.
They are poised to make a four-year offer in the area of $15 million to $16 million per to A.J. Burnett.