Gloating “I had my plan and the plan has worked”, baseball expert Hank Steinbrenner deigns to listen to a handful of questions from the New York Post’s Steve Serby.
Q: You once said: “If I fired somebody, it would be for a very good reason, and they’d stay fired. Dad fires somebody, then hires them back and sends their kids to college.”
A: I don’t want to compare myself with my dad. The fact is, I’m a much easier Boss; I’m very slow to fire somebody. It would have to be for a very good reason – if they cross me or the company. Once I fire them, they stay fired.
Q: The most memorable disciplinary punishment you received from your father?
A: He wasn’t the disciplinarian any more than I am with my kids. It wasn’t his thing, even though he’d be strict in certain areas … he’d push me in a lot of areas.
Q: How so?
A: Especially with homework and stuff like that. I tended to be more of a self-educated type. When I was 12 years old, I read Churchill’s memoirs and other history books like that. School tended to bore me so he had to push me to get my homework done.
Q: You once said, “If you’re the Boss, you have to be a benevolent dictator. Otherwise, they’ll take advantage of you every time.”
A: I was speaking historically. There were probably two benevolent dictators: Lincoln and Roosevelt … caring leaders. Most people, when they become dictators, aren’t benevolent anymore … Yeah, you gotta be The Boss, no question about it … you gotta be The Boss, but you should be good to your people.
Q: What did you think of the portrayal of your father in “The Bronx Is Burning?”
A: I really like Oliver Platt, I think he’s a really good actor; I don’t know if that’s the role for him.
Q: How about someone like Brian Dennehy?
A: Dennehy would be good, yeah.
Q: Favorite entertainer?
A: The Beatles when I was younger; U2 … I play the guitar, (Jimi) Hendrix was big too.