The possibility that an aging Roger Clemens was using steroids to remain successful was never discussed by the Yankees, Hal Steinbrenner says in an exclusive interview with GQ.com released today.
The younger Steinbrenner tells the magazine’s Web site, “No, none of us – at least I never thought, nor was it even discussed, that steroids was the reason why.
“You’ll see these guys in different sports throughout the decades, and they’re just a step above the rest, being able to compete at an older age. It’s amazing. That’s just what I accepted it to be.”
Hal, 38, took on a greater role in the organization last February, after brother-in-law Steve Swindal left the team. But even though he and more outspoken older brother, Hank, 50, have stormed to the forefront, Hal assures fans that his father, George, is still the Boss.
“Of course he’s calling the shots,” Hal says. “You don’t think I’m crazy enough to make a decision without him, do you?”
Hal says George was involved in all of the Yankees’ major offseason moves, including the managerial change from Joe Torre to Joe Girardi and the re-sigining of Alex Rodriguez.
“He’s here every day, and we run things by him all the time,” Hal says of his father. “And there’s no doubt in the organization of who still is in charge.”
This despite rumors of George’s failing health that Hal chooses not to address.
“Family matters are family matters. That’s the way I view it, and you bet I’m gonna stick to it,” Hal says. “I’m not getting into the health of my dad, my mom, anybody else. I’m just not going there.”
That privacy is a cornerstone of Hal’s character. He’s described by writer Nate Penn as “cagey and prickly but also affable, modest and disarming” during his “first major interview since his student days at Williams College 20 years ago.” The men spoke in the fall and again this month.
Hal says he (now general partner) and his brother (senior vice president) have no plans to sell the team, and that GM Brian Cashman’s job isn’t in jeopardy.
And Hal won’t admit the World Champion Red Sox now have the upper hand in the teams’ rivalry.
“No, I will never concede,” Hal says. “They’ve got a lot of talent, and [have] done very well the past few years, but let me put it this way: I don’t think [they] wanted to play us in the ALCS. So I will concede nothing. I think we’re better than [them].”