Taking a quick break from all your current Yankees and sports news, I recently received a email from a loyal reader who for now well call Bobby J(or Bobby Dimes to some).
Bobby J writes:
“I’ve been a Yankee fan for almost 50 years, growing up in the 60’s I suffered with 15 years of futility while the “Bombers” were real bombs. I welcomed with open arms that brash new owner, the man, who even then, was bigger than life Mr. George M. Steinbrenner.
Love him or hate him, you knew right away that he had one goal in mind, and it was the same goal every diehard Yankee fan was waiting for, TO WIN! So even through my disagreements with the way he handled Billy Martin & Yogi Berra, and how he admired Reggie over Thurman, I knew in the end he was the right man for the job, and history has proven that. There is no owner in all of professional sports that has done more for his team, or the city it plays in, than Mr. Steinbrenner. So it is with the utmost respect that I plead to the Steinbrenner family to bring back the name Legends Field to your Tampa facility.
It is so rare, in any genre, music, sports or entertainment, where a name stands alone and depicts all the history and all the emotion, that the name Legends Field employs. Revert back please to the name that says it all! Alternatives can be Steinbrenner’s Legends Field, or Legends Field at Steinbrenner Park, but the phrase Legends Field should remain.”
I’m glad this came my way because I also feel very strongly about The Yankees Tampa facility. I think that Legends Field is one of the best names I’ve heard for a stadium. If anyone should have a field named Legends field it’s The Yankees. The Yankees have had so many extraordinary players, all star caliber players, it was fitting to have a field with that name.
I don’t want to take anything away from “The Boss” either. He truly is the greatest owner in sports. He does whatever he can to help this team win, and you have to respect and appreciate that. He is a huge part of all the championships the Yankees have won in the passed 20 plus years. He has also gone above and beyond to help both communities in the Bronx as well as Tampa, reaching out to help people who were a lot less fortunate than himself. He’s had the attitude of Lead, Follow, or get the hell out of the way, and that mindset has helped him become one of the most successful owner in sports. With that in mind I think it’s great to show appreciation for him by naming the Yankees Tampa complex after him, but I agree with Bobby J here why not incorporate the two names together. I think Steinbrenner’s Legends Field would fit very nicely. Talk to me, what do you guys think?