Hal Steinbrenner excited about Yankees’ upcoming season
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner talks with reporters following the MLB owners meetings on Aug. 16, 2017, in Chicago. Credit: AP / Nam Y. Huh
Excited about the Yankees season that begins on Thursday? You are not alone!
“Every year I’m excited,” managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said Wednesday on ESPN New York Radio’s “The Michael Kay Show.
But . . .
“It’s a little bit different because of what we accomplished last year and the expectations being so high and having such a great group of young players and veterans alike. There’s just a lot to be excited about.”
When asked further about expectations, Steinbrenner did not shy away from them, saying, “Look, I think we have a championship-caliber team, without a doubt. A lot of things have to go right. We have to stay healthy. But we have a team that can [win], in my opinion.
“It’s going to be an uphill battle. It always is in our division. It’s a tough division, and it won’t be any different this year. But I believe we’ve got a real shot.”
Steinbrenner credited in part the Yankees’ recent discipline in holding onto young talent such as Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge and Luis Severino rather than trading them for veteran help.
As for Judge, the boss expects more big things. “He was not healthy the whole year [in 2017], so if we can keep him healthy the whole year I think there’s no reason to assume that he couldn’t have a better year,” Steinbrenner said.
He said he has been impressed so far with “calm, cool, collected” rookie manager Aaron Boone and that he expects veteran players will help him ease into the new job.
“I think we saw great things from him in the spring, but he’s got a lot of work to do and expectations to him as well are high,” Steinbrenner said, “and he knows it.”
Steinbrenner expressed cautious optimism Greg Bird will return on schedule in six to eight weeks from ankle surgery on Tuesday.
Asked about the Yankees ranking seventh in payroll, he said, “This is what we’ve been striving for for years: to have a good mix of marquee type veterans, mentors, and young players. I’ve always said that you shouldn’t have to have a $200 million-plus payroll to win a World Series, because no one has.”
Steinbrenner said the team has the flexibility to make deals later this season without luxury tax implications.
“Absolutely, we’ve got money to spend at the trade deadline,” he said. “We’re going to do what we need to do to remain competitive throughout the course of the entire year. So there absolutely is money there.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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