BRONX, NY – It was three years ago on April 14th when NY Yankees Co-Chairperson Henry G. Steinbrenner passed away. I miss my homie so much especially during this time of year when his team is fresh out of Spring Training. It was during this time when I would bend his ear with criticism of what he thought was this great Yankees team, that was molded for the upcoming season.
Hank would go nuts when I would challenge his claim that his 2016 bullpen which was nicknamed, “No Runs DMC” was the best in history. The trio of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman was broken up in July. Chapman was traded to the Chicago Cubs and Miller was dealt to the Cleveland Indians, where both teams met in that year’s World Series. I would tease him about the corny “DMC” nickname and what the M and the C did for other teams in October.
I miss HGS so much that I smile at the memories I had with him. He would constantly ask me for my opinions of his ball club and I would be brutally honest. The truth hurts and none of his Yes Men would dare hurt him or themselves. They would agree even though they disagreed.
He would share inside stuff with me about the A-Rod re-signing, in which anybody would bend over to get the exclusive on. With Henry & Me it was all about the trust. That trust blossomed into a friendship. A friendship that would lead to marathon late night calls. The cellphone minutes would be flooded with disagreements and laughter. I wish I can get another phone call from my homie so I can tell him that the Yankees need to leave Anthony Volpe in the lead-off spot, like they did during Spring Training.
Me and my other homie, Yankees Ambassador Ray Negron, continue to do what we do to keep his memory alive. The book, Henry & Me: The Most Interesting Yankee That Nobody Knew, was my ode to The Baby Boss and is available on Amazon.
