George Steinbrenner: Why The Boss was notorious in Japan
George Steinbrenner won no fans in Japan with his disparaging comments toward beloved baseball players Hideki Irabu and Hideki Matsui. Japan actually has its own version of the iron-fisted team owner.
This February 2003 file photo shows New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner waving to fans in Tampa, Fla. Mr. Steinbrenner 'was well known in Japan.'
Chris O'Meara/AP/File
Boston
George Steinbrenner rarely held back an opinion, and The Boss made no friends in Japan with his disparaging comments over the years toward some of Japan鈥檚 greatest baseball players.
Baseball is Japan鈥檚 most popular sport, and at least three Japanese players passed through the Yankees under Mr. Steinbrenner鈥檚 glaring eye.
鈥�George Steinbrenner was well known in Japan,鈥� says , a longtime follower of Japanese baseball and author of 鈥淭he Chrysanthemum and the Bat: The Game Japanese Play鈥� and 鈥淪lugging It Out In Japan: An American Major Leaguer in the Tokyo 翱耻迟蹿颈别濒诲.鈥�
IN PICTURES: George Steinbrenner through the years
But many Japanese still feel slighted by Steinbrenner鈥檚 disparaging comments toward Hideki Irabu, who won two World Series rings while playing for the Yankees from 1997 through 1999. Steinbrenner publicly expressed disgust at his weight, at one point calling him a fat toad.
More recently, Hideki Matsui played for the Yankees from 2003 to 2009. Matsui struggled early on, leading to Steinbrenner's remark: "He is not what we expected." It made headlines in all the Japanese sports papers.
Then, last fall, Steinbrenner Japan鈥檚 beloved slugger despite him winning the 2009 World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Both actions earned Steinbrenner animosity in Japan.
鈥淪teinbrenner was viewed as a character and a powerful man, but he is also remembered in Japan as the guy who allowed [Yankees executive] Brian Cashman to dump World Series MVP Hideki Matsui last year. Ingrate,鈥� says Whiting. 鈥淪o as a result, the popularity of the Yankees had dropped in Japan.鈥�
But Japan isn鈥檛 a stranger to the iron fist.
The island actually has its own version of The Boss.
Steinbrenner was considered alter ego of , who owns the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper and the Yomiuri Giants, Japan鈥檚 most popular baseball team. "Both men have similar personalities,鈥� says Whiting.
The parallels between owners are striking.
鈥淏oth are martinets. Both come from different fields. Both knew very little about baseball, both ruled their teams with an iron hand, both used big money contracts to lure stars from other teams, both fired employees at whim, both arrogant,鈥� says Whiting.
In an ironic coincidence, he points out, Hideki Matsui played for Watanabe鈥檚 Giants before playing for Steinbrenner鈥檚 Yankees.
Meanwhile, in one of the world鈥檚 few other baseball-loving countries, the passing of baseball鈥檚 larger-than-life team owner will go relatively unnoticed.
鈥淐ubans inside the island have no idea who Mr. Steinbrenner was,鈥� says the operator of the blog . 鈥淭he government censors almost everything.鈥�
IN PICTURES: George Steinbrenner through the years
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