To the Boss it was always Hope Week<\/p>\n
For the New York Yankees, this week represents Hope Week.\u00a0 During Hope Week the players spread hope and goodwill throughout the community.\u00a0 As Hope Week comes to a close today I thought of the Boss and how since I met George Steinbrenner in 1973 it has seemed like every day was a day of hope.<\/p>\n
For me, his best work was always helping the less privileged.\u00a0 The day that he gave me an opportunity to work for the NY Yankees, I asked him why he was doing this for me, and he replied, \u201cSomeday you will know why.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giving to the less fortunate always seemed to be a reality check for the Boss.\u00a0 I will never forget the day in 1978\u2014he was having a knock down, dragged out screaming match with Billy Martin in the manager\u2019s office. Every four letter word that you can think of was thrown at each other back and forth\u2014not to mention the smashing of objects heard bouncing off the walls\u2014Goose Gossage and myself had our ears to the door listening, laughing, and reporting what was going on to the other players.\u00a0 All of a sudden the Boss opens the door, Goose and I standing there in shock\u2014caught.\u00a0 After calling us bleeping idiots, the Boss grabbed me by the collar, as he used to do a lot in those days, and dragged me off for a walk.\u00a0 We went to the parking lot where he made his driver, a retired NY City Police Officer, get in the backseat\u2014The Boss was driving and I was in the passenger seat.\u00a0 We proceeded to drive around the South Bronx, then a war zone, and as the popular phrase of the era, \u201cThe Bronx was burning.\u201d During the first five minutes of the drive all he did was banter about Reggie and Billy and their total dislike for each other.<\/p>\n
As we headed deeper into the Bronx, he started to compose himself and realized that we were headed into \u201cthe real world\u201d and turned to me and said, \u201cDo you realize how lucky we really are?\u201d\u00a0 I waited a moment and then said, \u201cBoss do you understand that this is where I come home to every night.\u201d\u00a0 With that, he pulled the car over and said, \u201cAre you doing OK pal?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe do great out here Boss, this is all that we know.\u201d\u00a0 He jumped out of the car, grabbed me in Steinbrenner fashion, and started to talk to the Hispanic people outside the neighborhood Bodega. Some recognized him, some didn\u2019t.\u00a0 One particular man with his family beside him started to give advice to the Boss as to how things could be better at Yankee Stadium.\u00a0 He laughed, thanked them and told them he would take their advice.\u00a0 He always carried tickets for future games and he pulled them out and gave them to the family along with a fifty dollar bill, which was a lot in 1978 especially for a poor Bronx family.\u00a0 They could not stop thanking him and hugging him, typical George Steinbrenner fashion that reminded you of Santa Claus. \u00a0He made this family feel special-like they were somebody and throughout the years I would always notice how he made less mean more.<\/p>\n
We got back into the car and headed back to the stadium, he didn\u2019t say another word but the look on his face told me that this experience brought him back to reality about what really mattered in life. For me, that was true \u201cHope Week\u201d that started without the Boss even realizing it.<\/p>\n
Ray Negron is a Yankees executive and has worked for the team for over 40 years. His first job came from a chance encounter with George Steinbrenner as a youth. He has become an American film producer, a best-selling author, and a philanthropist. His memoir is entitled, \u201cYankee Miracles: Life with the Boss and the Bronx Bombers.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To the Boss it was always Hope Week For the New York Yankees, this week represents Hope Week.\u00a0 During Hope Week the players spread hope and goodwill throughout the community.\u00a0 As Hope Week comes to a close today I thought of the Boss and how since I met George Steinbrenner in 1973 it has seemed … <\/p>\n