YankeeTavern

used to be venerable, largely anonymous men. Baseball teams were the family business. You never saw them, rarely heard from them.

You had an occasional buffoon (Bill Veeck), or a pioneer (Branch Rickey), or a turncoat (Horace Stoneham).

Those anomalies aside, the rest of them wore stuffy suits, counted the day’s receipts, and some thought a hit-and-run was a traffic accident.

Their players were indentured. Thanks to the Reserve Clause, a big league ballplayer had the freedom of a goldfish in a plastic bag full of water and the leverage of a six-inch long plank.

Then came George Steinbrenner.

Steinbrenner, the Yankees owner who died early Tuesday morning at age 80, ripped the cloak of anonymity from team ...

Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - New York Yankees