Yeah, you read that headline correctly. It's true that Steinbrenner's caused the ire of New England sports fans more than any other owner or front office executive in any sport (aside from the father-son tag team of Jeremy and Charlie Jacobs, of course). And many around these parts say Steinbrenner ruined the game and free agency by throwing around money like it was going out of style (the trifecta signing of Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett from a couple years ago serves as case in point). But the way I see it, he simply took advantage of the system in the way in which it was intended to be used. The best player gets the most money from the team that wants him most. Granted, Steinbrenner took this philosophy to the extreme, but you're flat-out lying to yourselves if you don't think at least 70% of the teams in the MLB could do the exact same thing he did year-in and year-out.

Other owners/execs just don't have the balls to take that big a risk (our beloved trio of Sox owners included), despite the possibly payoff, if they're already running a profitable venture. Steinbrenner knew the Yanks would make money every year (kind of goes along with the whole "most famous and recognizable brand in the history of sports"); his drive wasn't padding wallets, it was winning championships. And with 7 World Series and 16 Divisional titles to his resume, The Boss accomplished that goal more than any other modern-era owner.

I think Peter Abraham summed it up best : "Steinbrenner was a fascinating figure: Charitableand cruel at the same time, stubborn yet visionary. He changed all ofsports." I stop short of saying he will be missed because I didn't know the man and for much of my life I've found him insufferable, but there's no doubt that he deserves and has earned our respect and admiration.