George Steinbrenner

George Steinbrenner has passed away. As a Red Sox fan I've always found it easy to hate the New York Yankees and I've mocked them whenever possible. However, any jokes made about George Steinbrenner were made out of admiration. Any honest Red Sox fan would tell you that they would have loved to have had George Steinbrenner as the owner of the Red Sox. Having George as an owner would have made all the difference in the world. As it made the difference to New York to the tune of seven (7) World Championships during his reign.

DiMaggio vs. Williams, Fisk vs. Munson, Boggs vs. Mattingly, Nomar vs. Jeter. At their respective peaks these comparisons were always close. The arguments could be fierce. But George Steinbrenner vs. whoever owned the Red Sox? That comparison was never close. And that has made all the difference for the Yankees.

I hope Yankee fans appreciate what they have lost. As small consolation - at least Bob Sheppard was in heaven to announce George's arrival.