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Hank Steinbrenner never was afraid to stoke the flames of his team’s rivalry with the Red Sox. Steinbrenner, the Yankees general partner and co-chairperson who died Tuesday at 63 after a long battle with an illness not related to the coronavirus, wasn’t afraid to speak his mind on any topic, much like his father George. …
Hank Steinbrenner never was afraid to stoke the flames of his team’s rivalry with the Red Sox.
Steinbrenner, the Yankees general partner and co-chairperson who died Tuesday at 63 after a long battle with an illness not related to the coronavirus, wasn’t afraid to speak his mind on any topic, much like his father George. That put the Red Sox in the crosshairs in a 2008 interview with the New York Times’ Play magazine.
“Red Sox Nation?” What a bunch of bulls–t that is,” Steinbrenner said. “That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans.
“Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.”
Red Sox principal owner John Henry, whose team at the time was coming off its second World Series championship in four years, wasted no time getting in on the fun. Instead of lambasting the Yankees and their fans, Henry made a notable addition to “Red Sox Nation,” if not an unwilling one.
“I’m a big Hank fan,” Henry then wrote in an email to multiple outlets. “Just to ensure he knows how cool Red Sox Nation is, [Saturday] we officially inducted him as a member of Red Sox Nation and we are sending him his membership card giving him access to an array of options including our newsletter, bumper stickers, pins, Green Monster seats and a hat personally autographed by David Ortiz.”
Safe to say, Steinbrenner did not take Henry up on the offer.
“I’m not gonna join Red Sox Nation — honorary or not — I’ll respond to that later,” Steinbrenner told The Boston Globe. “Trust me I’m never going to join Red Sox Nation. But John Henry’s a great guy.”
As for what he would do with the membership card that Henry said he was sending?
“I’ll give it to the [Yankees] fans and let them handle it,” Steinbrenner said. “The fans will probably take care of that. Let them decide.”
