Can't Inherit Passion

There was an interesting report in the New York Daily News this morning which claimed that the New York Yankees might be for sale. Apparently after the Dodgers were sold last month for $2 billion Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, the sons of George who have been running the team since his death in 2010, started thinking about how much the Yankees could be worth and began to ask around. According to the report, they would listen to an offer of around $3 billion. (Which, even as a Red Sox fan, actually seems like it would be a bargain. These are the Yankees we are talking about.) For their part the Steinbrenner boys have come out and flatly denied the report, saying it is "complete fiction". Still, I'm not about to completely dismiss this story. It is entirely possible the report was leaked by the family as a way to drive up interest and let people know their phone lines are open. One of those "we're not actively looking to sell, but at the same time if you want to make an offer we'll listen" type of deals. I mean, the Daily News wouldn't just make this story up out of thin air, so there has to be some credence to it.

Now, I have to give credit to some Yankee fans I know, as they predicted this was coming from the day George Steinbrenner passed away. According to them, it was clear from the start that Hank and Hal never had the love of the game or the team that their father did and they figured the team would be sold within five years. Apparently the original plan of succession was to have George's son-in-law take over, as he is the true baseball man, but then he got divorced from George's daughter, so Hank and Hal to took over by default. With that in mind you have to question how much they even like running the team or if they are doing it out of some feeling of obligation. And if you are a Yankee fan, believe me when I tell you that if they don't want to run the team than you don't want them running it. We saw this first hand in Boston when Paul Gaston got the Celtics after his father passed away. Never a basketball fan, Paul was more concerned with the bottom line and making a profit (which is not the way fans want their favorite teams to be run). As such basketball decisions were made with a critical business mind and it is no surprise that during the ten years Paul was in charge the team only had a winning record twice (and both times felt as though it happened by accident).

The main reason I found this story to be interesting is that it is so common in the world of sports. There are numerous examples of teams which were family-owned, then the patriarch passed away and the team was sold within a couple of years, as if the family was just waiting a respectful amount of time. Families like the Rooneys, who have been running the Pittsburgh Steelers the entire time they have been in existence and smoothly transition from family member to family member while being competitive almost every year, are increasingly rare. It is much more common to see what is happening with the Lakers, where Jerry Buss stepped aside to allow his son Jimmy to take over even though his daughter had been doing a fine job as President of the team. Jimmy's first act was to drive out anyone associated with Phil Jackson and after two so-so seasons people in LA are freaking out over the thought that Jimmy Buss doesn't know what he's doing or, worst-case scenario, that he doesn't particularly care what happens to the team because he will be making money either way. What Yankee fans should be worried about is where George's sons fall on that scale.

I can see why Hank and Hal could possibly be disenchanted about running the Yankees. I think that attitude has to do with the public nature of owning any professional team, let alone one as popular as the Yankees. In the Steinbrenners' case you have to remember George was not the beloved figure in New York that everyone tried to paint him as after his death. He was a tough guy to work for and didn't get along with some of the media, so I'm sure being the son of the Yankees' owner was not all it is cracked up to be. When George bought the team he was old enough to be immune to the outside pressure and probably didn't care what people said, but I would imagine that if you are a kid being told everyday by your classmates that they think your father is an idiot for firing and re-hiring Billy Martin would get really old after a while. It's a little like being a politician's kid in that regard: your parent might be the one running for public office, but you are under just as much of a microscope as they are. No amount of free tickets is going to change that fact and I can see why you would grow disinterested in anything having to do with it.

In the end, I doubt the Steinbrenners will sell the Yankees - at least not anytime soon. I mean, every team gets sold eventually. (After all, someone had to sell the team to George in the first place.) But, it is not like they need to cash out before the team plummets in value. Last year several financial documents were leaked which revealed that even the really bad MLB teams make millions of dollars in profits, so the Yankees are in no danger being in the red this year. They have a brand-new stadium, a ridiculous TV deal and even though they are old, saddled with bad contract and near last place in the division they will still make more money than they know how to spend for the next few years. Clearly, the Yankees are not about to suddenly start losing value. As such there is no pressure or timetable to make this sale and whenever the Steinbrenner family does eventually decide to sell the team I guarantee they will make more money than the Dodgers were sold for last month. It is just that after this morning's report it sounds like that day will be coming sooner than people thought.