As a Sox fan I'll miss him. If he hadn't built the Yankees into the team they are, I don't think the Sox would be the same team. And the rivalry wouldn't be what it is.
The club I'm in had a former Yankee as a speaker, and he had many interesting things to say about him. One was that one of the first things he checked every day was the attendance figures for the Mets. If they were outdrawing the Yankees it was almost guaranteed that he'd say something a bit out of line about a player. But that it was always a player who was secure enough to handle it or a guy that would respond well. (Like Winfield being Mr May)
The second was that for many players he was privately a really great guy. This player had some family thing going on, I think it was a child being born and was summoned to the office. he was expecting to be grilled about how long he expected to be out, but instead was told to take as much time as he needed and to come back when he was ready.
Tough business man, but a guy who knew how to make the team a success both on field and for profit. And probably way nicer than he seemed publicly.
Steve B
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