A new boss in the Bronx
As the parties convene to commemorate the historic document — Alex Rodriguez’s record-breaking contract with the New York Yankees — expect more sanctimony than celebration. This signing will be interpreted like an armistice.
Erstwhile über agent Scott Boras has already been cast as the capitulator, a peculiar role for someone whose client now has a contract worth as much as $300 million. The victor remains less well known: Hank Steinbrenner, the once reluctant heir. Whatever else Rodriguez’s contract portends — whether prescient, profligate or just plain unfair — Steinbrenner’s signature also signifies dynastic change. The new boss has arrived.
It was a job he never much wanted. But a little more than a month into this new reign (he shares power with his kid brother Hal, who tends less visibly to the business side), Hank Steinbrenner has distinguished himself as a worthy, if welcome successor to his father. He is quotable, sure, but also very much in charge.
Just last month, in the wake of Joe Torre’s departure, the sporting press was rife with predictions that the House of Steinbrenner was in for a great fall. It was thought that the beloved and much-admired manager would take with him the aura of stability and success that made the Yankees so attractive. The free agents would flee, it was said. There would be Yankee turmoil reminiscent of the Eighties, when Hank briefly served as an advisor without portfolio before leaving — chastened, disillusioned, and without question, relieved.
But none of those predictions have come to pass. The Yankees hired a much-desired manager for less than half the price of Torre. Jorge Posada will return to the fold for top dollar, as will Mariano Rivera. Still, in relation to those October forecasts, the biggest surprise of all is A-Rod.
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