It's his money. Leave him alone.

Cocky S.O.B. I admire him for trying to win. But he just is such a jerk (like everyone else in NY).He doesn't care about team chemistry. He throws all that money at players and gets a bunch of overpaid ego-maniacs.

I met him in Cooppertown, NY in 1984. Very affable, very accommodating. He patiently autographed baseballs (and anything anyone put in front of him for about 15 minutes spontaneously (he was in a limo & I walked up to his closed window with the ball, he rolled down the window, signed my ball and got mobbed). He is the perfect owner of the NY Yankees, short-sightedly impatient, focused on his team winning consistently, and willing to pay a heavy price for it. He has surrounded himself with the best baseball organization in either league and set a new standard for assembling a successful baseball franchise. Without his ownership of the Yankees, the Red Sox probably would never have broken the curse. You, avid baseball fans (with the exception of those in Boston), tell me you would be sorry to hear he had sold the Yankees and was buying your favorite team to restore them to the top of baseball's elite. Tell me he couldn't do it.

Being a pretty nasty human being is pretty much a requisite condition to be owner of the Yankees. From everything I've heard Steinbrenner isn't any worse Del Webb or some of the other Yankee owners. Nasty to his players and has no sense of loyalty but that's not exactly unheard of in baseball. So what if he buys his players, isn't that what you're supposed to do if you have the money, buy a winning team? Unlike the Red Sox who spend and spend and never have a thing to show for it.

A brilliant man who continually produces a winning franchise. I am not a Yankee fan but I have always appreciated the attitude upper management has. Steinbrenner demands perfection and will settle for nothing less. His loyalty lies only with the ballplayers who consistently perform year in and year out. He has the What have you done for me lately? attitude that you need to have in pro sports.

who likes this (Mr. Burns) maybe only Yanks fans....

Worst person in baseball. No one else is close.

anyone who can alienate both joe torre and dave winfield has got to be an a hole.

irishgit doesn't have any clams in his chowda. First, Steinbrenner wants to win and is willing to spend money to do it. If there were several other owners like him, baseball would be a whole lot better. Realizing that, the Red Sox ownership have now started imitating him, and competing on his level. Guess what, the Red Sox are finally really competitive and poised to break the curse (if the curse decides not to strike first that is). That said, he certainly could use a dale carnegie class or 2. He's too hands on. Let Torre do his job. As for the revenue sharing thing, on a macro level, I see the point. But there's nothing worse than a buch of rich guys arguing about how to split their millions/billions. I don't see Microsoft sharing its revenue with Sun and IBM. Why the should the teams willing to invest in success share with the mediocre. If there is not enough revenue to support all the franchises, close some.

I used to think he was jerk, but not anymore. He does something that few other owners with his money and some who have even more don't do: he pays to field a winner on the field for the fans. He wants to win, and he backs it up with his wallet. Name other owners who do that. Some, yes, but not many.

I suppose I can't blame him for buying every single free agent that comes along in MLB. But I do believe that he and his ilk are going to ruin that game for good. The LEAGUE is at stake. Individual teams do have the right to improve themselves, but without the league itself, you're nothing. The Devil Rays can only afford a max of $30 million in total salary. That's less than the combined salary of Clemons and Jeter; MUCH less. Revenue sharing is the only solution to MLBs problems, and George is the biggest obstacle to that. (For those of you waiting to call me out for turing Communist on this issue, you are wrong. Sports leagues are essential above and beyond the individual teams. Without a LEAGUE of teams, there would be no MBL, NFL, NHL, or NBA as we know it. Look how well the revenue sharing has worked for the NFL. There are plenty of piss poor teams, true; but most teams who are adamant about winning have the means to do so. the playing field is level, but they STILL are allowed to perform to the best of their ability.)