New Boss in New York

New Boss in New York

The Boss is still named Steinbrenner but it is now Hank Steinbrenner, not George who is calling the shots for the New York Yankees. Over the years George Steinbrenner has said many times that he is ready to slow down and delegate some of the day to day duties of running the Yankees but this has never happened, until now.
As Steinbrenner has made fewer public appearances and granted very few interview request over the last few years many in baseball have questioned his health and who is actually running the Yankees. Through spokesman Howard Rubenstein the Yankees have released many statements from George to show that he was still in charge. Many baseball people have questioned whether it is even George who is writing the statements. During the 2007ALDS Ian O'Connor of USA Today tracked down George Steinbrenner and got him to give a statement saying that if the Yankees did not win the division series Joe Torre was going to be fired. As we later learned this was not the case since the Yankees lost and although it was an offer he deemed insulting, Joe Torre was given an offer to return as Yankee manager. This is not the first time in recent years that George has said something off the cuff and his words were proven to be untrue. Many in baseball saw this as the final straw, showing that George was not really in charge of the Yankees anymore. That's where Hank comes in.
As the oldest Steinbrenner son, it makes sense that Hank is the one to take over for George, but that was not always the plan. Over the years George Steinbrenner has announced a couple of other successors. The first was Joe Molloy who was married to his daughter Jessica but that plan ended when Molloy and Jessica Steinbrenner divorced. The second planned successor was Steve Swindal, the husband of George's other daughter Jennifer. In recent years Swindal had become one of the most influential voices in the Yankee organization. It was him who negotiated Joe Torre's last contract and it is also said to have been him who talked George out of firing Torre after the 2006 season ended in Detroit. Last year Swindal was arrested on DWI charges and soon after Jennifer Steinbrenner filed for divorce.
Hank Steinbrenner had not been with the Yankees for many years until he returned recently to help his father. The main reason for his absence was that he felt he could not work for his father. He has stated how demanding he was and he felt that it was best if he got involved in one of the family's other businesses. Hank had always had a love of horses and after leaving the Yankees he became heavily involved with the family's Thoroughbred business. He returned because he realized that his father needed his help and that this time he would be working with his dad, not for him.
Since he returned Hank has become a major face of the Yankees. It has been Hank, not GM Brian Cashman, who has been making most of the Yankees' public statements. Hank has changed the way that the Yankees have gone about doing business. In recent years there was a better chance of getting getting information out of Bill Belichick than the Yankees. This has been a policy of Brian Cashman. Cashman is known to dislike negotiating in the press and showing his cards. Hank has been the complete opposite, making threats and setting deadlines to complete negotiations. Cashman only returned a couple of years ago after he was promised full control by George Steinbrenner. Now with Hank in charge one has to wonder how Brian Cashman feels about this.