{"id":581,"date":"2018-01-09T17:53:50","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T17:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theraynegronstory.com\/columns\/?p=581"},"modified":"2020-08-28T10:12:15","modified_gmt":"2020-08-28T14:12:15","slug":"interview-with-new-york-yankees-president-randy-levine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraynegronstory.com\/columns\/interview-with-new-york-yankees-president-randy-levine\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview With New York Yankees President Randy Levine"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I sat down for my first meeting of 2018 with New York Yankees President, Randy Levine. It was nice to see how enthusiastic Randy is about the 2018 Yankees. It\u2019s great to feel the incredible loyalty that exists in this storied organization with the officials that run the Yankees.<\/p>\n

I remember that after the great George Stienbrenner passed away there were whispers that the Yankees would be sold within 5 years. That could not be further from the truth. Also, the loyalty that the Yankee organization gives to the fans are at an all-time high. Hal Steinbrenner, the Steinbrenner family and the Yankee organization have taken the Boss\u2019 dream to another level. It takes all the blood sweat and tears from Hal, Randy, Cash, Lonn Trost and, of course, the rest of the front office to keep the brand what it is, the greatest in all of sports.<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoy my interview with Randy Levine about a shared love between an organization, their fans and the upcoming Yankee season.<\/p>\n

RN:<\/strong>\u00a0Im sitting here with Randy Levine at the start of 2018, Happy New Year how are you feeling?
\nRL:<\/strong>\u00a0Happy, Healthy New Year to you, it\u2019s a new year and I\u2019m feeling good.<\/p>\n

RN:<\/strong>\u00a0Fans in New York are very excited\u2013I mean the Yankees have made some pretty nice moves- the significant one is with Stanton, Giancarlo Stanton, what are your feelings?
\nRL:<\/strong>\u00a0I think that we have a really great team, we came a game away from the World Series last year.\u00a0 I think Cash and the baseball operations people did a great job in getting Giancarlo Stanton and some of the other moves that they made.\u00a0 I am excited to have CC Sabathia back.\u00a0 They are still working to improve the team \u2013Hal is always about improving the team.\u00a0 This is a young, exciting, very likable team and it\u2019s going to be fun for a couple months to be down in spring training and start to make the quest for Championship number 28.<\/p>\n

RN:<\/strong>\u00a0Brian Cashman, Executive of the Year? I mean what can\u2019t he do?
\nRL:<\/strong>\u00a0He\u2019s done a great job, really done a great job.\u00a0 We turned this franchise around in two years, he has made some great trades along with Damon Oppenheimer and the people down in Tampa.\u00a0 They get lots of kudos\u2013they really really devoleloped great young players.\u00a0 Our farm system is one of the strongest, if not the strongest in baseball so they\u2019ve done an incredible job.\u00a0 He\u2019s made obviously some really great trades and it\u2019s exciting\u2013we just need good health and a little luck and hopefully it will be a great year for us.<\/p>\n

RN:<\/strong>\u00a0Hal Steinbrenner\u2013 I remember being his babysitter when he was seven years old, now he is the man in charge.\u00a0 How tough is it for a guy like that, once you guys give him recommendations on baseball and other related matters, to have to press that trigger?
\nRL:<\/strong>\u00a0I think Hal has just become a great great owner, he\u2019s got phenomenal, phenomenal qualities.\u00a0 He\u2019s extraordinarily analytical.\u00a0 He is very, very smart but like his dad, he knows when it\u2019s the time to pull the trigger\u2013he always has in his mind what\u2019s good for this franchise, what\u2019s good for this city and New York, what\u2019s good for Yankee fans everywhere.\u00a0 He understands how important the Yankees are to the city and to all the fans all over the world and he understands that you constantly need to reinvest in this team.\u00a0 He\u2019s had a plan and he\u2019s executed it.\u00a0 We had a very good financial year.\u00a0 We had a great year on the baseball field and all of our other businesses have done very very well.\u00a0 The YES Network had record ratings, Legends Hospitality has done great, the New York City Football Club, on and on\u2026 Hal has really come to his own as a really strong leader, he\u2019s on the executive committee of Major League Baseball and he\u2019s very respected there as well.<\/p>\n

RN:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, I\u2019m sure Hal is happy to have soldiers like you and Lon Trost, and Brian Cashman to help support him at difficult times.
\nRL:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, any great organization is about team work, it\u2019s about checking your ego at the door and doing what\u2019s right for the organization.\u00a0 It\u2019s about leadership. \u00a0We all have a great relationship, we work well together, we support each other because we all have one end goal and it\u2019s to win championships for the Yankees, to make our fans proud and to continue the proud history of this franchise, which there is no other professional organization in the world like the New York Yankees with its heritage, its tradition or history so it is a great responsibility that we all take seriously everyday and that\u2019s what we wake up to and try to improve every day,<\/p>\n

RN:<\/strong>\u00a0Finally, for the fans of the Bronx, fans from all over, the Yankee fans all over the world\u2013will the Yankees win this year?
\nRL:<\/strong>\u00a0I hope so. I don\u2019t want to jinx it but i think we will be very competitive.\u00a0 I think we have a great, great team.\u00a0 We have the talent to play with anybody but baseball is a long season, and a lot of things happen.\u00a0 As a man once said, \u201cYou have to prepare yourself to be lucky.\u201d That\u2019s really what we have \u2013 the talent and we need a little luck and hopefully at the end we will be standing.\u00a0 I hope so.<\/p>\n

RN:\u00a0<\/strong>Thank you Randy Levine, President of the New York Yankees<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I sat down for my first meeting of 2018 with New York Yankees President, Randy Levine. It was nice to see how enthusiastic Randy is about the 2018 Yankees. It\u2019s great to feel the incredible loyalty that exists in this storied organization with the officials that run the Yankees. I remember that after the great … <\/p>\n

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