Hank ‘inducted’ into Red Sox Nation
Boston's owner reportedly responds after Steinbrenner rips concept
 Julie Jacobson / AP New York Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner, left, watches a spring training baseball game against the University of South Florida with his son Hank Steinbrenner on Friday. |
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TAMPA, Fla. - Yankees general partner Hank Steinbrenner knows what he’ll do with a Red Sox Nation membership card if John Henry sends him one.
“I’ll give it to the (Yankees) fans and let them handle it,” Steinbrenner said Sunday. “The fans will probably take care of that. Let them decide.”
Henry, a former member of the Yankees’ ownership group, inducted Steinbrenner into the club Saturday after Steinbrenner challenged the popularity of the Red Sox’s fan club.
“I’ll think of a good response,” Steinbrenner joked.
The Steinbrenner family holds Henry in high regard, and Henry and the Steinbrenner’s may collaborate on non-baseball ventures in the future.
“We love John Henry,” Steinbrenner said. “Our whole family does. We’ve got no problem with John, I’ll tell you that much. I’m sure we’ll be working on things with him the future. There’s nothing to talk about yet. A couple things have been talked about, that’s all.”
Steinbrenner would not get into specifics about any potential projects. He did say Henry has done “an incredible job” as the Red Sox owner.
“It’s going to be a tougher rivalry than it ever was in the past,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s going to continue to be a tough, tough, tough rivalry. And they’re always going to be good as long as John is the owner.”
But don’t think Steinbrenner is easing up on the Yankees’ greatest rival, saying New York “will be better, that’s the bottom line.”
Steinbrenner added: “I haven’t soften on the Red Sox any, I don’t want to worry the fans. We’ll always be arch rivals.”
Earlier, Steinbrenner had ranted about "what a bunch of (expletive) the term "Red Sox Nation" is. Boston principal owner John Henry responded as he "inducted" the Yankees owner into the club, the Boston Herald reported Sunday.
“I’m a big Hank fan,” Henry said in an e-mail, the Herald reported. “Just to ensure he knows how cool Red Sox Nation is, (Saturday) we officially inducted him as a member of Red Sox Nation and we are sending him his membership card giving him access to an array of options including our newsletter, bumper stickers, pins, Green Monster seats and a hat personally autographed by David Ortiz.”
Steinbrenner had called Red Sox Nation "a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans" in the New York Times Play magazine.
“Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets," Steinbrenner said, the magazine reported. "This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.”
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