Wow, that George Steinbrenner introduction was a dud
Surprisingly little crowd buzz when they brought out The Boss on a golf cart. It just didn't work. They obviously were trying to dupliate the Ted Williams lovefest from the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park, yet the crowd wasn't buying what they were selling. And the Hall of Famers and current players didn't embrace Steinbrenner the same way everyone did Williams nine years ago.
I mean, Alfonso Soriano received a bigger applause than Steinbrenner. It wasn't even close.
Could it be that the fans were rebelling against the Steinbrenner love, mindful of all the abuses he has heaped upon his employees over the years? I'd like to think so, but probably not.
Maybe there should have been more of a build-up? Perhaps a reel of clips from George's more boisterous days? Him holding a World Series trophy? In his Miller Lite commercial with Billy Martin?
I don't know, but certainly, that will not go down in history as the baseball powers envisioned it. Yeesh.
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Comments (12)
I have never seen that shade of skin color before.....George can't be long for this world! I wish him and his family good luck...
I watch it on TV, and it seems to me that the crowd was caught by surprise to see George on the field on a golf cart. And if you notice, Hal was with George on the cart, not Hank. Where was Hank? Did he disappear all of a sudden?
Hank isn't here, Dennis.
Good job by Papelbon - he puts his foot in his mouth on national TV by giving up a run in the eighth.....only to be bailed out by Billy Wagner, who now may officially be the last pitcher you want in a close game - Ken, he has truly morphed into Benitez!
I hate to bring it up, but will George Steinbrenner be barred from the Hall of Fame for his indictment on 14 counts of illegal campaign contributions and obstruction of justice (he pled guilty. paid a $ 15K fine and was suspended by MLB for 15 months - Reagan gave him a pardon in 1989 before leaving office) , his use of Howie Spira to spy on Dave Winfield and his lifetime ban by Fay Vincent (shortened to 3 years) ?
Damn, at least Bowie was right in banning George in the first instance!
Papelbon made a statement about wanting to pitch the 9th inning instead of Rivera. Yankees fans took it as a diss, and so they boo him like heck from the red carpet, to the introdictions, to when he came into and out of the game.
If Bowie can get into the HOF, then I can see George and/or Selig will get in also.
While I agree that attaching home field advantage to the All-Star Game has added juice to the contest, I still don't think the two should be connected. Therefore, and in light of Selig's flawed explanation for doing it, I find myself rooting for another tie game.
This year's All-Star Game is better than the 2007 World Series.
Why don't we use drug testing to determine the game location? The league with the least positive tests in spring training gets Game 7 at home!
If you think George treats his employees bad, just wait till Dolan owns your newspaper.
To be fair, as a commentor (who was at the game) to the subsequent post noted, the PA announcer completely botched the game and most fans had no idea Steinbrenner was even in the golf cart.
According to this article, Steinbrenner got the loudes cheer. So who knows.
http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080716/SPORTS01/807160381/-1/SPORTS
I'm a Yankees fan and I don't particularly like George. He refused to appear on the field for several years because he was afraid of getting booed out of the park. I beleive most Yankees fans feel the same way i do about him. I feel sorry that he is near death, but I don't feel all that bad that he is out of the loop, although Hank seems to want to continue that bad tradition.
Hey Ken.
I too, couldn't help speculate what skin hue Steinbrenner was favoring last night. As they drove him around the field, I found myself wondering 'why was Fox showing a scene to the upcoming Weekend At Bernie's V?'
~H