A double-header like no other…

OK, any jackass that knows me knows that I’m a die-hard New York Yankee fan.  Today, George M. Steinbrenner, principal owner of the Yankees passed away at 80.  Two days prior, long time public address announcer of the Yanks and the New York football Giants, Bob Sheppard, also died at 99.  We all knew both were in poor health, but even still, it’s the unexpected announcement of hearing the news that can catch you off-guard.

Let’s go in sequential order. 

Bob Sheppard was known as the voice of God. Even as a little kid, listening to the Yanks on my Sony transistor radio under my pillow on WABC with Phil Rizzuto and Bill White doing the play-by-play, you could always hear the announcements at the home games. 

“Now batting…number 23…Don…Mattingly…number 23…” 

Bob Sheppard was as much a part of Yankee Stadium lore as the legends on the field, and the dead ones watching overhead.  Even as a kid, it sounded like my grandfather was making the announcements…a nice, soothing, voice.  Dignified and proper.  I never met Bob Sheppard, but I can tell that he stood and walked as straight as an arrow.

It’s absolutely amazing that Bob Sheppard was the public address anouncer for so long, that he announced Joe DiMaggio as a player.  There’s all those stats that real journalists will spout off…the number of games he worked, the number of post-season games and World Series games…a whole lot of victories, and a whole lot of history.  He saw the good times, and the bad.  And he was the one constant.

When I was a kid, my first favorite station was 66 WNNNBC.  And back in the 80s, they had a jingle package called Nothing But Class.  And I can’t think of a better term for Bob Sheppard.  

—–

George Steinbrenner bought the Yanks from CBS the year I was born.  The team was on hard times, and was run into the ground.  His number one priority was to restore the winning tradition to a once-great franchise, no matter the cost.  He didn’t do this for himself; he did it for the fans.  Because without the fans, there’s be nobody to watch his team.  But it’s not about profit, because Steinbrenner did something that most owners didn’t do: he put the money back into the team.  It’s not that he was living like a pauper.  He did extremely well, turning a $10 million investment into a billion-dollar empire. 

And who can criticize Steinbrenner for doing what he did?  His desire to amass rings wasn’t so he could brag to the other owners.  (OK, maybe a little bit.)  It wasn’t to see if he could get more than Yogi. (He didn’t).  But it was his generosity to give back to the fans, his fans, the greatest fans in the world.  Steinbrenner made moves and trades and deals to constantly improve his team.  Granted some worked and others didn’t.  And while no manager or team could ever win all 162 regular season games, they all had the same goal.  Win the last game of the World Series.  And that they did seven times during his tenure as owner. 

Now there are the anecdotes of hastily made decisions like the love-hate relationship with Billy Martin as manager.  Or one of the infamous Seinfeld quotes, “How do you trade Jay Buhner???”  But the further away we got from that 1978 champion season, and even more, that World Series loss in 1981 to the Dodgers, the more desperate Steinbrenner got to find that silver bullet…that proverbial home run, that could hit home runs.  He wasn’t soley responsible for building that dynasty in the late 1990’s; Stick Michael was perhpas the most influential.  But the journey from the slim times in the late 80’s/early 90’s (anybody remember the first game of the doble-header where 12 people showed up?) to the Torre era took a long time, but it happened.  Which is why I can’t stand how other teams criticize the Yankees for their success.  They were drawing twelve fucking people at a game, and built it slowly but surely.  Hell, if the Rays can do it, I don’t want to hear any shit from Pittsburgh or Kansas City. It should be every team’s goal to win the World Series.  But if you’re not going to realistically field a World Series-caliber team, then what’s you plan to improve???  And why do fans support teams that aren’t committed to winning?  Profit and championships are not directly related.  But winning teams will bring in more money than you and I will ever see, so isn’t that enough?

Yet, I digress.  By the time I got out of college and sstarted buying partial season ticket plans, tickets were still easy to come by.  And from my vantage point in the upper deck, you could see the wings get filled up year after year.  And even after winning four World Series in five years, and then a little lull of not winning it all, the fans still drew.  Over four million in the last four years at the old Stadium.  It was those fans, those patrons, those customers, and those watching on TV at home, or listening to the radio while painting the house, or streaming video online…it’s those fans that Steinbrenner was serving.  He wanted to put out the best experience for his customers.  It’s basic business.

They talked about replacing the old Yankee Stadium back in the 80’s.  I remember feeling distraught…how can I root for a team that plays in Jersey?  (Can you tell I didn’t follow football as a kid?)  And while I originally thought they could renovate the old Stadium and add all the luxuries and conveniences of a modern ballpark, I realize that it would have been damn near impossible.  But the monument that was built across the street, the Stadium that George Steinbrenner built for his fans, is how he has shown his gratitude.  And for that I thank him for the House that George Built.  How fitting that it replaced the House that (George Herman) Ruth built.

—–

I can’t recall a time where two Yankee greats fell so close to one another.  It’s a sad day in the Yankee Universe.  And I’m sure there’s going to be new monuments in Monument Park shortly.  Two of the greatest forces in Yankee history have been silenced, but their legacy will live on for generations to come.