Word: schaap
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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...
...Despite Schaap's eagerness to interview Steinbrenner, and his obvious qualifications as a biographer (he has covered the Yankees since Steinbrenner took over, without taking sides in the team's regular internal battles) the owner refused to cooperate. In fact, Schaap says, Steinbrenner tried to quash the book, exhorting his friends not to answer the writer's questions (Most disobeyed.) Only when Schaap had completed the body of the book late this winter did Steinbrenner finally agree to talk to the author about his life. Unfortunately, the postscript that relates their nine-hour conversation does little besides confirm what Schaap...
...toughness in him--placed heavy demands on his only son. For one thing, he forced young George to wear a tie and jacket to grade school, losing him any friends he might have had; for another, he shipped the boy off to a military academy at age 14 where. Schaap observes, Steinbrenner's one good mark was an A-plus in military science...
...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...