Word: schaap
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...fact, Schaap quotes several psychologists as suggesting that the owner's legendary capriciousness could stem only from a need to please his father. And, says Schaap. Henry G. Steinbrenner was rarely pleased. When his son purchased the Yankees in 1973, his father told friends, "That's the first smart thing he's ever done...
...because of Steinbrenner's strict upbringing, Schapp says the "mature" Steinbrenner alternates between two broad behavior patterns. The "good George"--whom he charges the press with overlooking entirely--has given many thousands of dollars to charities, and has often given generously when his ballplayers faced personal crises. That trait, Schaap suggests, steinbrenner the need to please the Steinbrenner has evinced since his adolescent inability to satisfy Papa Steinbrenner...
...Yankee follower knows the "bad George," and Schaap describes a series of events that suggest that Steinbrenner's vengeful, authoritarian, and image-conscious side first took hold early on. He tells us how Steinbrenner lied to friends about his performance on his high school track team and observes that today's owner is fond of bragging that he sang in the Williams Glee Club with Stephen Sondheim--though the famed composer was never a member of the group...
...bravado in telling the press that he had floored two insulting Dodger fans in a hotel elevator during last year's World Series seems to reflect the same willingness to trade the truth for attention. No one, after all, ever found the fans Steinbrenner claims to have punched out. Schaap accounts for the "phantom punch" by suggesting that the bruised fist the owner raised as proof of his triumph actually resulted from Steinbrenner's striking the elevator wall himself, enraged after the Bombers' loss...
...WHICH is very illuminating and funny; Schaap's diagnosis of what makes George rant and rave does make sense. Yet amidst all the stories and jokes, Schaap fails to address questions that the presence in the sports world of men like Steinbrenner has raised. Those who deride Steinbrenner tend to rail on him for two activities: meddling in on-the-field decisions, and jacking up baseball salaries to an insane level. With his general mockery of Steinbrenner, Schaap suggests that he blames the Yankee owner for both trends...