It doesn't take much to coax Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner into giving his thoughts on the state of the franchise and baseball as a whole. The outspoken part-owner sounded off on a number of topics to reporters today, writes Bryan Hoch of MLB.com..
- Steinbrenner seems worried about the team's drive to win, saying "I think maybe they celebrated a little bit too much last year," the co-chairman said. "Some of the players are too busy building mansions and other things and not concentrating on winning." Shortstop Derek Jeter built a mansion in Florida during the offseason after negotiating a new three-year, $51MM deal. When asked if the comment was directed at the team captain, Steinbrenner insisted that he wasn't singling anybody out.
- The Yankees' 2010 payments as a result of luxury tax and revenue sharing programs are expected to total about $130 million, Steinbrenner said. He continued to say that the Yankees are allied with other major market teams on the issue and believes that Commissioner Bud Selig wants to "correct it in some way." Hoch noted that in a recent interview on Boston's 98.5 the Sports Hub, the commish said that he is happy with the system as it stands today.
- Steinbrenner says that pitcher A.J. Burnett seems "very hungry" for a bounce-back season. Last year, Burnett turned in a 5.26 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. The 34-year-old right-hander is set to earn $16.5MM annually through 2013.
- Skipper Joe Girardi, closer Mariano Rivera and several hitters were consulted on the idea of signing Rafael Soriano, Steinbrenner said. Last week, Rivera said that he had not been consulted about the signing but was happy to have the reliever aboard.
are the players spending too much time wearing hardhats, or picking out curtains? just because mansions have been a part of hanks life since before he could talk, good comment all the way around
Hank is just worried about where his hard-earned money is going… okay his earned money… okay his money.
Hank is a tool.
There’s “Manny being Manny”, and then there’s “Hanky being Hanky”
You mean Hanky being a douche
Come on, you know Manny is a douche also.
I guess. A more lovable douche though. Are we allowed to say douche?
I prefer Manny being Manny.
I prefer Manny being Hanky.
Hanky being manny?
I prefer hanky panky.
Hanks not b%$@#ing, he’s completely right. That’s what happens though when you have multiple 100 dollar millionaires on your squad and other teams are developing young talent with hungry young kids who don’t care about mansions and lots of money.
What? Who doesn’t care about lots of money?
According to Scott, the young guys. Therefore, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper do not care about money.
“Hanks not b%$@#ing, he’s completely right. That’s what happens though when you have multiple 100 dollar millionaires on your squad and other teams are developing young talent with hungry young kids who don’t care about mansions and lots of money”.
You sir are beyond words. Derek Jeter has had the mansion under construction since 2008. Since it’s construction he’s had one of the best years of his career in 2009 and helped his team win another WS ring. Jeter doesn’t draw up blueprints, doesn’t shovel a layers worth of dirt and I’m 99.9% sure he has someone handling the decorating, landscaping and furtishing of the mansion. All he does is cut a check. Blame his dismal 2010 season and the teams failure in the 2010 playoffs on anything you want, but the last thing you should do is blame it on a housing project.
Jeter, Arod, Posada, Mariano have had tens of millions for quite sometime and it doesn’t seem to effect their drive or production at all. Stop being a moron.
And Hank, leave your opinions and heavy handed manors to that of “Hanks Yanks” semi-pro league and help them win another champiosnip and leave the mlb team to the grown ups.
i understand hating the yankees and i understand hating that jeter’s D is so overrated. but i’ve never understood people actually hating jeter himself
as far as i’ve seen, he’s been a consummate professional and played some fantastic baseball for an organization that was more than happy to overpay him
Yeah, Jeter is the last person whose thirst to win I would question.
I’ve always hated the Yankees, deeply (not as much as the Red Sox or Cubs) but I still can’t stand them. And every October hope somebody eliminates them, then the Red Sox, and on rare occasions the Cubs, so then I can enjoy the post season. All that being said. Don’t have one negative thing to say about Derek Jeter. He’s a class act and the kind of guy that every MLB team should want. Never causes problems, never runs his mouth and always respects the game. That being said, its ashamed that most teams wouldn’t be able to afford to keep a guy like that for their entire career, Baseball is getting to the point where less than half the teams can really afford to keep star players, And I still wish they’d change the entire economics of the game so that big markets couldn’t just add free agents at whatever cost when they don’t win the division one season, while the small markets have to be creative and develop prospects to have a small window of opportunity until their prospects go to the Big Markets. But all that aside, Hate the Yankees, like Derek Jeter, Like Posada and Rivera too, just hate the Yankees.
Jeter’s Defense is underrated not overrated, stat geeks have a bias against him
haha, good one.
that was a joke, right?
Let me guess your one of those stat nerds that lives and dies by stupid formulas by people that never played baseball before, am I right?
No
I’ll admit that I do think Jeter isn’t a bad shortstop. He is probably the best at making easy plays without errors. However, his range is at best below average. Even a yankee fan could see that.
i’ll do him one better and say there are very few players who move as smoothly as jeter does out there
only when he gets to the ball, though. which isn’t nearly often enough
And I bet you are one of those people who think that evolution is not true cause it’s just a “theory”. Who needs “math” and “facts” to back things up?
I wish I could like this comment more than once
Ken Huckaby disagrees.
Do you ever wonder if Hank just makes these outlandish statements for the sake of making them? I wonder if he actually 100% believes everything he says or just is intentionally trying to stir the pot? Maybe that’s his way of trying to urge the team to perform. Not saying it’s a good idea….just curious
No. He’s truly a m0r0n. That may be his intention, but he’s far too mentally handicapped to be able to pull something like that off. His best daddy impression falls short yet again.
I think he’s got an ego the size of Montana and just want to be heard.
Leave Hannah out of it.
Well played sir
I think it’s genetic! George was the same way for many years with Billy Martin and Dave Winfield instantly coming to mind. He mellowed as he got older but Before that, George always spoke his mind like Hank!
If its genetics, Hal must have been adopted that guy seems to be the opposite of Hank
Actually, Hal gets his genes from Mrs. Steinbrenner! Lol!
George spoke his mind as long as he had one.
As I understand it, wasn’t Hank the guy that gave A-Rod the raise, over Cashman’s objections, after he opted out of the original contract?
He’s starting to sound a lot like his dad. George would make moves and when they backfired then he would blame his “Baseball people’. His team didn’t achieve the expectations and then he makes a backhanded accusation of complacency.
I think Randy Levine had a lot to do it with but it couldn’t be done without Hank and Hal ok’ing it though.
Let Hank be. After all nobody has done more for the players union than Hank Steinbrenner when he signed A-Roid to that sloppy big fat 10 year contract. I’m sure the Cards owners would like to lay a nice smack down on Hank.
I’m sure he wouldn’t be alone in that.
I think you mean young kids who can’t afford building new mansions because they are still under team control.
Thats the same thing my English teacher told me about my drive to finish my essay.
I’m a bit confused on the Luxury Tax issue. Did the Yankees spend in excess of $330 Million for the 2010 team, or is it that they are paying a percentage of the $130 Million? If it’s the former (which is what the article is implying) that’s ridiculous (by WAR, you should get 66 wins more than 46 for that money, or 112 wins, to justify the cost for the production)
The $130 mil is what they gave away to other mlb teams.
so they essentially payed $330 Million last year?
Yes. About $100 mil was paid simply because they are a big market team. The lux tax was about $20-30 mil I think.
Wow. That’s a ton of money for a baseball team. I’m not going to criticize the Yankees for it, as it’s childish to think they shouldn’t spend money when they are allowed to. However, I think baseball needs to change. The Yankees and the Red Sox (and other major market teams, they’re just the easiest to point to) obviously are willing to pay a ton of money, provided they are making worthwhile investments. This puts them at a somewhat unfair advantage. Yes, other teams CAN win. However, it seems like more of an anomaly when you see a team like the Rays come from nothing. For this, I think baseball needs a hard salary cap.
So you gloss over the fact that the Yanks gave away $100 mil to smaller market teams, not based on what they spent, but just because they are the Yankees?
It’s not only that. What did those teams with that money? Pocket it. There also needs to be a floor. But also, I’m not criticizing the Yanks of doing something bad here. They’re doing something perfectly legal by the rules of MLB. Unfortunately, those rules allow certain teams to become giants solely because they have more resources (capitalism). In my opinion, if it worked as communism, the MLB would be more enjoyable as a league.
Again, this is not because I hate the Yankees. It actually annoys me when people criticize the Yankees for spending too much. I just like how football is run (in terms of cap rules), with teams in semi-small markets like Pittsburgh and Green Bay being just as likely to compete as teams in giant markets like Chicago or New York
I agree with a floor but not for the same reasons.
Baseball’s books are a closely held secret. However, a few teams financials leaked out last year. Two teams at opposite ends of the spectrum, the Pirates and Angels stick out. Neither team turned a profit. Different markets, different payrolls, and different success levels. Despite all that, Arte Moreno at about $10m in 2010.
I’m sure some owners do take too much in profit but remember this isn’t a charity. They should be turning a profit as a business. The question becomes how much of a profit should they make. I would like to see revenue sharing be contingent on ownership taking less than “x” dollars in profit. For example, ownership agrees to receive no more than $5m in compensation. If they go above $5m the team forfeits revenue sharing.
I have to research but I thought the leaked report showed that the Pirates MADE a profit and was basically pocketing a lot more money than they were spending on the team?
That was my understanding, too. Revenue sharing should be to make the game more competitive and produce a better all-round product, not to enrich owners of small market teams. Steinbrenner has a right to be pissed about it.
Despite how much they gave away the team still banked more cash than every other organization (at least that is the speculation). The Yanks are in another league when it comes to revenues.
That said, I have a hard time with the fact that they have to cut such a big check. Doesn’t seem quite right – regardless of their revenues.
This complaining about New York and Boston spending is getting laughable! The John Henry group committed to a winner and a better ballpark and backed every word up! And for all you fans complaining about the Yankees I’ve got one question for you? How upset would you be if George had owned your team all these years and spent His Own Money on it to give you, the fan, a winner? Cue the crickets!
Pares fan speaking here.
I would feel little satisfaction in my team spending the most money and winning a championship. This may not be the same thing as I’m not as invested in the team, but I can honestly say that I used to follow the Heat to some respect because I liked Dwayne Wade from when he played for Marquette and San Diego lacks a basketball team. When they went out and got Lebron and Bosh I lost all interest in that team and in fact I hope they never win a championship with that team.
Is it given away to the other teams evenly?
As I understand it, under the current CBA all teams pay 31% of net revenue (ticket sales + et al – stadium costs). Then that revenue is redistributed evenly to all teams. This means that if the Yankees paid $130 mm as revenue sharing, the Yankees had a net revenue of $419 mm and that is not including revenues from YES.
Why would Hank say that Mo was consulted when Mo said he was not? Is he just a total PR dunce? Why would you ever contradict what one of your superstars said?
Well, now we know why Jeter was upset about the “low” offers he was getting to start off the negotiations. “C’mon, Hank, I’m trying to build my 12th mansion here..”
The best quote from that piece was this:
“At some point, if you don’t want to worry about teams in minor markets, don’t put teams in minor markets, or don’t leave teams in minor markets if they’re truly minor. The socialism, communism, whatever you want to call it, is never the answer.”
This guy knows how to make headlines!
What would Hank think if KC packed up and moved into NY for a 3rd Metro team? Splitting up NYC into 3rds is still a much, much larger market than KC. Think he would go for that?
I think the Yanks are one of the very few teams where past generations are locked in with the current generations.
i’m not singling anybody out here. i’m talking about active millionaire yankee shortstops in general
“not singling anybody about just bi-racial SS whose name sounds like a meter”.
I’m not singling anybody out here. I’m talking about just talking about shortstops who won gold gloves for their hitting.
“Not singling anybody out here. Just talking about the shortstop who has a top 10 girlfriend list that could make up a FHM swimsuit calendar for Jan-October with Miriah and Alba get two months because there just….. that….. good”.
DJ aka “A Pimp Named Jeter” (you say the whole thang like a “Tribe Called Quest”)
As much as I do believe communism and socialism are misguided theories and should certainly stay out of pro sports, I seriously hate it when people use the fear of them to make their point.
And it’s usually the insanely rich that use that fear for their own purposes.
Even if we were on his side, he’s only half right anyway.
There are certainly a handful of markets that really can’t support a financially-competitive team. In those cases, serious consideration needs to be given to moving them even though it will hurt the city and its taxpayers (who almost certainly contributed tax dollars to the stadium and possibly tax breaks to the franchise) and all the people who will suddenly be out of work. Still, this is the part we agree on and even then it’s not that simple. Tampa Bay and the Marlins are probably both in this camp — and yet the Rays have been extremely competitive the last few years and the Marlins have two titles in the last 13 years. San Diego also made a strong and improbable push last year. Do relatively successful teams who can’t compete financially need to be moved? Hopefully everybody can agree it’s an awfully complicated question.
So what’s the other half? Franchises that are in strong markets but still can’t compete financially. Let’s say a hypothetical new franchise opens in, I don’t know, Vegas. They have a payroll of $110MM. That’s pretty healthy, right? But it’s still somewhere in the vicinity of *$90 MILLION* less than the Yankees and Red Sox — or about 55%. Is that “competing?” At what point do you say that somebody’s father having the “foresight” to buy a team in a large, healthy market shouldn’t be a perpetual 45% competitive advantage?
Oh please…this coming from a guy who has never earned a penny in his life. must be nice to have your daddy do all the work and you walk in and start talking smack about guys you can’t hold a jock strap for. and i f’n hate jeter (most over-rated player in history)…but jeez…this guy has no right to say anything of this sort.
Jeter most overated player in history? Your just jealous
If the Yankees didn’t piss money away like drunk sailors (and raise the cost of doing business for everyone else) maybe the general public (and their competitors/partners) would be a little more sympathetic to them. I wonder how many Yankee contracts are used as comps in negotiations and arbitration?
What Yankee contract was used to get Arod his 10/$250 mil deal from Texas? What Yankee contract was used to get Barry Zito his 7/$126 with SF? If anything, it’s been these horrendous contracts given by smaller market teams that have driven prices up.
I remeber reading an article where Steinbrenner was trying to negotiate Jeter’s 1st extension back in 1999 or 2000 and was offering something around $110 mil and they couldn’t come to agreement and went thru the season and then later that year Arod signed his mega deal and the Boss was pissed and had to up his offer.
from wiki.
During the 1999–2000 offseason, the Yankees negotiated with Jeter, tentatively agreeing to a $118.5 million, seven-year contract.[25] Yankee owner George Steinbrenner did not want to set a salary record, delaying until the acceptance of a $143 million, eight-year contract extension between the Detroit Tigers and Juan González. When that proposed deal fell through, Jeter’s tentative deal fell through, and he agreed to a one-year deal for $10 million.
Before the 2001 season, with one year remaining until he would become eligible for free agency, Jeter signed a $189 million, ten-year contract to remain with the Yankees, making him the second highest paid athlete, trailing only Rodriguez.[25] Rodriguez signed his deal earlier than Jeter, setting a higher market for Jeter’s negotiations
I was thinking about more recent top dollar contracts with op out clauses, such as Sabathia and Soriano. These give the Yankees a second opportunity to bid against themselves for the players – at top dollar.
Thanks for the history lesson. I doubt the contracts deemed to be a “bargain” or “reasonable” would take more than a paragraph or two though.
You can’t make an arguement about using the Yanks contracts as “prcedent setting” and ignore the contracts that proceeded the one’s the Yanks handed out.
Opt put clauses simply do NOT have a negative effect on others. Btw, the Yanks were not the ones who issued the opt out clause to Arod.
Also, almost ZERO contracts handed out to elite free agents will ever be considered “bargains” or “reasonable”. Plain and simple, as long as an elite talent in on the open market then chances are he’s going to be overpaid by someone.
mike mussina was considered a long-term contract that worked out. It wasn’t a bargain but the yanks got their return on investment back which is all you can basically ask for with the huge contracts.
Hank Steinbrenner and Randy Levine are two great reasons to hate the Yankees.
Hank needs to shut his mouth and be more like his brother Hal who goes about his business professionally.
Who does Hank think he is, bashing Yankee players? If he keeps this up, what will Red Sox fans have to do? I guess we could hate on Tampa with Manny and Damon but its just not the same!
He took our jerbs!
“Steinbrenner says that pitcher A.J. Burnett seems “very hungry” for a bounce-back season.”
Judging by the looks of Joba, Burnett wasn’t the only one who was “very hungry” during the offseason.
You wrong for that man…..but that was funny.
I think Jeter spent the money he earned from helping the Yankees win 5 world series titles and appearing in 7 to build that mansion. Hank wants to be like dear old dad. the only problem is George commanded respect, Hank is just plan F’n stupid and no one respects him.