Hal Steinbrenner takes over as Boss of Yankees

November 21, 12:36 PMNew York Yankees ExaminerPete Sabatini

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I had toyed with the headline "Hal is the new Boss, not the same as the old Boss," but thought better of it.

On Thursday, George Steinbrenner officially turned control of the New York Yankees over to his youngest son Hal. 

It has become increasingly clear that Hal, not older brother Hank, is the real Boss of the Yankees. 

While Hank seems to have the ear of the Associated Press and certainly is the more outspoken, Hal has been attending the organizational meetings, making official statements, and has been playing the voice of reason. 

This change doesn’t really affect how things have been working for the Yankee organization, and any changes will likely be imperceptible to us on the outside.  It’s more of a formality so there’s no question who is the single head of the organization when it really comes down to it. 

The baseball owners voted unanimously in a meeting Thursday to approve the symbolic changing of the guard.

The more interesting story line here will be how or if it will affect Hank and his love of media attention.  By virtue of his being the older brother and having the loudest mouth it appeared that Hank would be the alpha Steinbrenner when the Hank/Hal co-chairmanship was first announced.

Now Hank seems to be the chairman of fire and brimstone while Hal is the actual brains behind the operation.  Interesting that they seem to represent individually the two sides that made George Steinbrenner a singular dominant force and personality in baseball.

George Steinbrenner hasn’t been the Boss we will always remember him as for some time now.  Paula Duffy, National Sports Examiner, shares her memories here.

There will never be another Boss like George, but I’m sure the Hal and Hank team will bring us some great entertainment over the coming years.  Let’s hope they can bring some championships, too.

Photo: Jeff Riedel/NewYorkTimes