Hank Steinbrenner

Henry (Hank) Steinbrenner - nicknamed "Hankenstein" - (born April 2, 1957) is the part-owner of the New York Yankees along with his brother Hal Steinbrenner. Hank's title in the Yankee system is Senior Vice President of the New York Yankees. At present, Hank seems to be the future President/CEO of the Yankee organization given that his father, George Steinbrenner, has publicly expressed his intention to pass the team over to his sons as he gets older. The brothers also oversee the Steinbrenner family's hotel and horse-racing interests.

Since 2007 Hank and Hal have taken over most of the day-to-day responsibilities in the running of the team. Their father has stepped aside allowing Hank and Hal to make most of the decisions about the team in tandem with Yankees President Randy Levine and General Manager Brian Cashman.

When Alex Rodriguez opted out of his contract during the final game of the 2007 World Series, Steinbrenner vowed not to negotiate with him. Steinbrenner was quoted as asking if Rodriguez wanted to be remembered as a Yankee or a Toledo Mud Hen. Three weeks later, Rodriguez called Steinbrenner and told him he wanted to come back, and Steinbrenner only agreed to negotiate on his own terms, though Rodriguez did ultimately receive a multi-year deal increasing his salary.

Steinbrenner is married to his wife Joanie, and they have four children.

The Author

In September, Hank Steinbrenner took on a new challenge — sports columnist — by writing his first piece for the Sporting News magazine (first published in 1886). The Yankees boss was set to write every other issue for the popular magazine. In his first column, Steinbrenner wrote that Yankee Stadium was the worst stadium in the world and that he really liked the Mets. In September 2008, Crain's New York Business deemed Hank and Hal Steinbrenner two of the most influential people in New York City.

Public Persona

During his stewardship of the Yankees, Hank Steinbrenner, like his father, has gained a reputation for being outspoken. He has been criticized by many New York sports columnists for his off-the-cuff remarks that seem to lack forethought. Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently wrote, "Hank Steinbrenner is the owner of the Yankees by DNA accident. He blabs a lot, but does nothing that actually demonstrates leadership."

Steinbrenner voiced his displeasure with the term "Red Sox Nation" in a 2008 interview:

Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of bullshit that is...That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans...Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.
- Steinbrenner in March 2008.

In response, Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry inducted him into Red Sox Nation, complete with a membership card giving him access to an array of options, including the group newsletter, bumper stickers, pins, Green Monster seats, and a hat personally autographed by David Ortiz.

Concerning the Yankees' spring training feud with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008, Steinbrenner stated, "I don't want these teams in general to forget who subsidizes a lot of them, and it's the Yankees, the Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets...I would prefer if teams want to target the Yankees that they at least start giving some of that revenue sharing and luxury tax money back. From an owner's point of view, that's my point."

Regarding former Yankees manager Joe Torre, Steinbrenner has said his father did not get enough respect for hiring Torre in 1995, and that Joe Girardi has "...a little more fire in his belly" compared to Torre when it comes to managing. Steinbrenner has gone on to say that he will "support everything [Girardi] does" and "[Girardi] was the manager I wanted, and that's not anything towards Joe Torre. That's the manager we wanted at the time. Times change."

In 2008, Steinbrenner lashed out when Yankee's pitcher Chien-Ming Wang was injured while running the bases in an interleague game against the Houston Astros, suggesting that the National League needed to "join the modern age" by implementing the designated hitter.

In September 2008, after the Yankees were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 1993, Steinbrenner penned an article in The Sporting News criticizing Major League Baseball's divisional format.