NEW YORK _ Hank Steinbrenner, the co-owner of the New York Yankees, has died after a long illness, sources confirm to the Daily News. He was 63.
Hank, the eldest son of George Steinbrenner, had largely kept out of the spotlight over the last decade. He and his younger brother Hal inherited the team when "The Boss" died in 2010. Hal became the organization's managing general partner and the more visible of the two brothers.
But Hank could still deliver quite the verbal jab when he did speak publicly.
Hank Steinbrenner spoke to the Daily News in 2017 about the "Baby Bombers" and how he had no interest in trading away the Yankees' young talent.
"We'll never (trade away prospects). I didn't want to do that in the '80s. But there was somebody that disagreed with me," Steinbrenner joked at the time, referring to his father.
He was also very willing to talk trash with the Yankees' arch-rival Red Sox.
Hank took a shot at Red Sox Nation in a 2008 interview with The New York Times' Play magazine.
"Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of (expletive) that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans. Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.
"My point was if this is a Red Sox Nation, it's a Yankees Universe."
His death was not related to the coronavirus, per sources.
"So sad to hear the news of the passing of Hank Steinbrenner," former Yankees pitcher Jeff Nelson wrote on Twitter. "Such a wonderful family and the best owners in baseball. Sheri and I will be praying for the Steinbrenner family."
