Like Yankees fans everywhere, Ira Riklis today is reflecting on the legacy of George Steinbrenner, the team’s passionate principle owner for the past 37 years. Steinbrenner, who turned 80 just over a week ago, died of a heart attack early yesterday morning. He purchased the team back in 1973 when the Yankees were struggling after many years of success. At turns bold, brash, demanding and sometimes meddlesome, Steinbrenner cared deeply for his team and demanded excellence from it.
And it was excellence he got: the Bronx Bombers won 7 World Championships in his years as owner. As Andy Pettitte put it: “He expected a lot; he demanded a lot. He raised, I believe, the level of not only the Yankees’ organization and what they want to do — as far as winning championships — but he’s raised the bar around baseball for other teams to try to keep up and compete.” It was that drive towards success that made things exciting for Ira Riklis and other fans. When Steinbrenner first came on the scene, the Yankees were a fading empire. At last night’s All-Star game, the reigning World Series champion Yankees had more stars than another other team, the best record in baseball and a new, state-of-the-art stadium. George truly went out on top.