I don't think it's a sad day. He was a husband, father and a grandfather, it is definitely a sad day for some people. Steinbrenner is as big a villain as there has been in baseball, right up there with Scott Boras in terms of people who have earned my complete and utter contempt And now he is dead. You win. He bought a lot of championships so the heavy handed New York fans and media could gloat about their superiority; and that's about all you can really say about his "contributions" to the sport. I find this statement to be quite ignorant -- The team that dominated the 70s, was built largely by shrewd trades -- Nettles, Chambliss, Randolph, Dent, Rivers, Murcer, Pinella were the foundation of the team that won a lot of pennants in the 70s-80s -- Others like Munson, Guidry, Roy White were homegrown. Certainly there were some high-tag free agents like Reggie, Winfield, Gossage -- but the Brewers had their own FAs, like Sal Bando and Larry Hisle. Also, Steinbrenner was not the only wealthy owner in baseball, there were plenty with deeper pockets, but were reluctant to spend money to help their team win -- Steinbrenner was willing to do what it took. The team that dominated in the 90s was largely home-grown as well.... And again, Steinbrenner certainly opened his checkbook, but he also paved the way for his spending by creating cable deals that eventually benefited a lot of teams. I can certainly understand he was abrasive... and he certainly wasn't my favorite owner of all-time, but a lot of my angst against him, is probably nothing more than misplaced jealousy. RIP George.