HAL: I'M A VERY DIFFERENT MAN THAN MY FATHER WAS

Hal Steinbrenner took some time to sit down with Mike Francesa at WFAN to discuss the Yankees and his expectations for the team this year.

Hal, was realistic about what the team needs to succeed. We need to stay healthy. It has been something of a curse to our team that we cannot seem to keep guys off of the DL. He seems incredibly optimistic about the future of the team, and even said that we've got promising back up in the Farm System.

He also commented on the never ending string of "What would George do?"

"My dad was great. But, as I've said from day one, my dad and I are similar in some ways, we're different in some ways. We just have different personalities. People see me as not passionate; that's certainly not the case. I may hide it a little bit better... try to control it a little bit better. Whatever word you want to use, we are different. Of course I'm different, and of course I'm going to react on certain circumstances or situations different than he does."

It's interesting to me. With the Spring Training loss to the Mets and to the Red Sox, there was a lot of calling for The Boss. People waxing nostalgic about the good ole days, when George wanted to trade away Mariano Rivera. Oh, wait... that's not what they remember? I'm sorry folks. My mistake.

Look, while George was great, he wasn't perfect. Actually, for a while, no one was really a fan of his. He was even banned by Fay Vincent in 1990. He returned in for the 1993 season. And yes, he tried to trade away Mariano. In 1996, the Yankees were unsure about Derek Jeter so started looking over at the Mariners who wanted Mo. Thank goodness that was a bust.

But Hal is not his father. And while the comparisons do not bother him, it's still rather unfair. It's like expecting Didi Gregorius to play exactly like Jeter. Seriously unlikely, and a set-up for disappointment.

No, Hal is not his father. He's very different man. And yea, we sometimes miss George, but waiting for him reincarnate into Hal is both unfair to the man he became, that we now respect, and the man that Hal could one day be.

Anyway, you can listen to the full interview HERE.

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 
Twitter: @e_morales1804

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