Curtis Granderson awoke to an unusually high number of text messages on his iPhone last Tuesday. They were sent by friends and family members, each one reading nearly identical: “George Steinbrenner passed away.”
“That’s where the emphasis hit with how big he was outside of the game,” Granderson said. “These were people that the furthest of their baseball knowledge or playing has gone is little league or high school. Male or female, old or young were just consistently informing me.”
Those who Granderson didn’t trade texts with, however, were his teammates.
“I hadn’t talked to any of them about it,” he said. “I think everyone thought once we got here it would be discussed, or everyone knew the news at that point.”
Granderson, who is in his first year as the Yankees center fielder, had never met Steinbrenner; only saw him from a distance on several occasions. Yet, he is still well aware of the legacy being left behind by someone touted as the most powerful owner in the history of professional sports.
Steinbrenner was 80 years old when he passed away at his home in Tampa, Fla on July 13. The man known for his fiery attitude bought the Yankees in 1973 for $10 million. Seven World Series championships later, including one last season, the franchise is now valued at $1.6 billion by Forbes.
Many current Yankees have had the opportunity to spend time with and get to know Steinbrenner, who made his last public appearance at the new Yankee Stadium at the 2010 home opener. Veterans Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte not only considered Steinbrenner their boss, but also a friend.
“The first time I saw him was in Tampa for Rookie Ball,” Rivera said. “I didn’t know much English. Seeing him there, I was like ‘wow.’ I was in front of The Boss, and I liked it. I didn’t know much about him at the time though.”
Posada spent five seasons in the Yankees’ minor league system before slipping into pinstripes. He describes their first meeting at Spring Training in 1997 as casual, nothing more than a quick hello.
“Being in the minor leagues since ‘91, you’d seen him, but he doesn’t really approach a player until later,” said the Yankees catcher, referring to an “I-made-it” moment. “He did in ‘97,”
The Yankees honored Steinbrenner, as well as longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard, on Friday night before taking on the Tampa Bay Rays. Sheppard passed away last Sunday at the age of 99. Following a 10-minute video tribute to The Boss, Rivera laid a bouquet of flowers, including two red roses, on home plate. Jeter then spoke about both men before asking for two minutes of silence. Later, Jeter said that was the first time he ever had to speak at a memorial for someone. The Yankees closed out the occasion with the playing of taps.
Starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia had the honor of taking the mound following the short service. The Yankees ace said he watched the tribute instead of continuing his warm-up routine.
“It was tough, but the best thing was that it was a baseball game,” Sabathia said.
“He’s been the horse. That’s what they paid him to do,” Swisher said of Sabathia. “They paid him to be our number one and go eight innings every time to give us our best chance to win.”
In the game, New York trailed 3-1 before back-to-back seventh-inning home runs by Robinson Cano and Posada tied it up. After the Rays pulled ahead by one in the top of the next frame, Swisher knotted the game again with a home run of his own.
Both teams went into the bottom of the ninth with the score tied at four. With Yankee baserunners on first and second and one out, Jeter struck out swinging. Swisher followed with a single to right field, scoring Granderson, for the 5-4 win. It was a fitting way to pay tribute to Steinbrenner, who preached hard work and perseverance.
“They’re a tough team,” Sabathia said. “They’re in our division. To be able to get a win to start the series is a big thing. They would have wanted us to win”
Jeter was slightly more modest about the victory over the Rays, who are three games back of the Yankees in the A.L. East.
“We want to play well regardless who we’re playing against. I guess because they’re right behind us people will make more importance of this game,” Jeter said. “We’re trying to win the series and play well. We did that pretty good in the first half and we’ll try to improve in the second half. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but we’re happy to get the first one.”
If anything, Friday night’s game proved that baseball will go on, even without the voice of their once outspoken leader or the man who announced their names so eloquently. The fitting way to pay tribute to both is through wins, and Steinbrenner and Sheppard wouldn’t want it any other way.
Curtis Granderson awoke to an unusually high number of text messages on his iPhone last Tuesday. They were sent by friends and family members, each one reading nearly identical: “George Steinbrenner passed away.”
“That’s where the emphasis hit with how big he was outside of the game,” Granderson said. “These were people that the furthest of their baseball knowledge or playing has gone is little league or high school. Male or female, old or young were just consistently informing me.”
Those who Granderson didn’t trade texts with, however, were his teammates.
“I hadn’t talked to any of them about it,” he said. “I think everyone thought once we got here it would be discussed, or everyone knew the news at that point.”
Granderson, who is in his first year as the Yankees centerfielder, had never met Steinbrenner; only saw him from a distance on several occasions. Yet, he is still well aware of the legacy being left behind by someone touted as the most powerful owner in the history of professional sports.
Steinbrenner was 80 years old when he passed away at his home in Tampa, Fla on July 13. The man known for his fiery attitude bought the Yankees in 1973 for $10 million. Seven World Series championships later, including one last season, the franchise is now valued at $1.6 billion by Forbes.
Many current Yankees have had the opportunity to spend time with and get to know Steinbrenner, who made his last appearance at the new Yankee Stadium for the 2010 home opener. Veterans Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte not only considered Steinbrenner their boss, but also a friend.
“The first time I saw him was in Tampa for Rookie Ball,” Rivera said. “I didn’t know much English. Seeing him there, I was like ‘wow.’ I was in front of The Boss, and I liked it. I didn’t know much about him at the time though.”
Posada spent five seasons in the Yankees’ minor league system before slipping into pinstripes. He describes their first meeting at Spring Training in 1997 as casual, nothing more than a quick hello.
“Being in the minor leagues since ‘91, you’d seen him, but he doesn’t really approach a player until later,” said the Yankees catcher, referring to an “I-made-it” moment. “He did in ‘97,”
The Yankees honored Steinbrenner, as well as longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard, on Friday night before taking on the Tampa Bay Rays. Sheppard passed away last Sunday at the age of 99. Following a 10-minute video tribute to The Boss, Rivera laid a bouquet of flowers, including two red roses, on home plate. Jeter then spoke about both men before asking for two minutes of silence. Later, Jeter said that was the first time he ever had to speak at a memorial for someone. The Yankees closed out the occasion with the playing of taps.
Starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia had the honor of taking the mound following the short service. The Yankees ace said he watched the tribute instead of continuing his warm-up routine.
“It was tough, but the best thing was that it was a baseball game,” Sabathia said.
“He’s been the horse. That’s what they paid him to do,” Swisher said of Sabathia. “They paid him to be our number one and go eight innings every time to give us our best chance to win.”
In the game, New York trailed 3-1 before back-to-back seventh-inning home runs by Robinson Cano and Posada tied it up. After the Rays pulled ahead by one in the top of the next frame, Swisher knotted the game again with a home run of his own.
Both teams went into the bottom of the ninth with the score tied at four. With Yankee baserunners on first and second and one out, Jeter struck out swinging. Swisher followed with a single to right field, scoring Granderson. It was a fitting way to pay tribute to Steinbrenner, who preached hard work and perseverance.
“They’re a tough team,” Sabathia said. “They’re in our division. To be able to get a win to start the series is a big thing. They would have wanted us to win”
Jeter was slightly more modest about the victory over the Rays, who are three games back of the Yankees in the A.L. East.
“We want to play well regardless who we’re playing against. I guess because they’re right behind us people will make more importance of this game,” Jeter said. “We’re trying to win the series and play well. We did that pretty good in the first half and we’ll try to improve in the second half. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but we’re happy to get the first one.”
If anything, Friday night’s game proved that baseball will go on, even without the voice of their once outspoken leader or the man who announced their names so eloquently. The fitting way to pay tribute to both is through wins, and Steinbrenner and Sheppard wouldn’t want it any other way.