00:00With all your research, do you now believe he belongs in the Hall of Fame?
00:04I mean, I've done a 180 on that particular issue.
00:06I mean, for years, I wrote and believed and fervently believed that a guy gets kicked out of baseball twice,
00:11he probably shouldn't be allowed in the Hall of Fame.
00:13I also know that over time, I've changed my position a lot of times on a lot of players,
00:18you know, both with the votes that I have and just feeling subsequently after they leave the ballot whether they
00:22belong.
00:22When I asked Hal this question, he wouldn't campaign for his father, but he said this and he's right.
00:26You know, you can't possibly write an accurate history of baseball without including a lot of George Steinbrenner in there.
00:31But, you know, I think on his plaque also, you have to have the good and the bad.
00:34You know, the Yankees won seven championships under him.
00:37They became the most famous brand in the entire sport.
00:40But then you also put under his watch that he was suspended twice.
00:43I mean, I think a full accounting of his life is worthy of the fame part of Hall of Fame.
00:47I don't know that that's ever going to happen.
00:49I think that there's growing momentum.
00:51I don't know if it's growing to the point where that'll happen in 2027 when he's next eligible to go
00:56in.
00:56I mean, you see some of the people who are in the Hall of Fame who are owners and executives,
00:59and he certainly belongs among that crowd.
01:02To his credit, I asked him the question directly.
01:03Are you a Hall of Famer?
01:04He said, no, I'm not.
01:06And whether he was just giving me a, whether he just knew that was going to be a nice back
01:11page column for me for an earlier whatnot,
01:13or he truly believed that that's what he said.
01:14He said, no, I'm not.
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