Longtime Hillsdale resident and New York Post sports columnist Mike Vaccaro has authored a new book, “The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner,’’ which debuted this weekend at No. 14 on the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover non-fiction.
On Saturday, April 11, at 1 p.m., he’ll be appearing at Bookends in Ridgewood with former Yankees catcher and broadcaster John Flaherty. The following is a brief Q & A with the author.
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On memorable personal exchanges with George Steinbrenner
The book opens with a memory of their first phone conversation, with Steinbrenner calling Vaccaro, who was at a San Diego hotel during 2003 Super Bowl week. It was 3:27 a.m.
“I hear you want to talk to me.’’ And after inquiring why Vaccaro was sleeping, “he gave me 40 minutes of gold.’’
By that time, “he was a different kind of George. If I was praising him, or even if I was ripping him, he would send me a handwritten note saying, ‘Hey, I liked your story.’ That’s a different version of the Boss than Phil Pepe or Maury Allen got.’’
On something surprising that came up in your research
Vaccaro mentioned the extent that George Steinbrenner’s purchase of the Yankees prevented them from leaving – and not just to the New Jersey Meadowlands.
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“New Orleans was making a real pitch to get them to move. But Bill Paley of CBS didn’t want to be known not only as the guy who let the Yankees disintegrate but also let them leave town like the Giants had.’’
As the front-facing representative of his ownership group, Steinbrenner contributed only a fraction of the purchasing cost: $116,000 of his own money.
On whether there could be another “George Steinbrenner type” owner in sports
“No shot’’ in today’s world, said Vaccaro. “As younger owners ascend, they become more familiar with the ways of social media. They like what they’ve got. They don’t want to risk it.’’
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Jerry Jones, Mark Cuban and the late Marge Schott were owners capable of making headlines, but the only owner “in the same ballpark’’ as Steinbrenner was the late Al Davis.
Plus, “they were both good friends, both born on the Fourth of July, one year apart. Davis was a New York guy through and through. If he’d have owned the Giants or the Jets, he might have gone headine-for-headline with George.’’
On the ‘If only George were still around’ debates when things go sideways in Yankees Universe
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An opening day logo is painted on the field before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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See best photos as Yankees host Marlins on Opening Day 2026
An opening day logo is painted on the field before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Fans hang out at Dugout, a local Yankees bar, before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Fans exit the subway station before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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A fan shops for merchandise before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Players warm up before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Fans hang out at Dugout, a local Yankees bar, before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Fans flock the the stadium before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Fans order drinks at Dugout, a local Yankees bar, before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Fans wait in line to enter the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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New York Yankees players take batting practice before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Eric Fontanez, 9, sits on a bench before his second opening day game before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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A fan waits for his group before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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A fan shops for merchandise before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Fans hangout outside of Dugout, a local Yankees bar, before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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A fan shouts while heading towards the stadium before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Fans hang out at Dugout, a local Yankees bar, before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Fans flock the the stadium before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Fans enter Dugout, a local Yankees bar, before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
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Players begin to take batting practice before the home opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY, Friday, April 3, 2026.
“If we’re talking about the George of 1981, he certainly would’ve fired Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman by now. Boone might be in his third tenure like Billy Martin, because he had a circle of trust.
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“You’re more than welcome to be impatient, you’re a Yankees fan, I get it. Some fans only remember the George of the latter 2000s, when he was like everybody’s grandpa walking through the stadium and everybody cheered him . There’s a belief that when he fired anybody, everything was better.’’
On Hal Steinbrenner speaking publicly about his bottom line
“If (fans are) going to have opinions, they should be informed opinions…(but) he probably shouldn’t have shared it because it’s never going to be interpreted properly. Even the most reasonable fan doesn’t want to hear it.
“They want to know why the Dodgers get all these players and we can’t. How come Steve Cohen doesn’t care how much money he loses, and you do? Hal’s never called what he does a burden. He calls it a privilege.”
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In many ways George Steinbrenner’s ownership style gave fans license to be impatient, since “he was the most over the top lunatic fan, sometimes, of all.”
On whether Hal Steinbrenner might ever sell the Yankees
“I think he enjoys being the owner of the Yankees. I think people are going to find that amazing. What’s equally amazing is how much he cares about running it as his father does.”
Hal Steinbrenner told Vaccaro: “If I’m watching a game and the Yankees blow a lead in the ninth inning, I’m going to throw my shoe at the TV.”
George Steinbrenner might do the same. “The difference is, he’d call (a columnist), and say, ‘I just threw my shoe through a TV.’ And there would be three days’ worth of headlines.
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Owning the Yankees “mattered to his father in ways it’s impossible to describe,” said Vaccaro, and having the team remain in the family is “important (to Hal) as a personal kind of permanent monument to his father.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Steinbrenner era of Yankees ownership deep dive into history