New York Yankees President and CEO George M. Steinbrenner III died this morning in Tampa Florida after suffering a massive heart attack.  The following are comments and statements from people in the Yankees organization, players, and the Bud Selig.

Commissioner Selig:  “On behalf of Baseball, I am very saddened by the passing this morning of George Steinbrenner.  George was a giant of the game and his devotion to baseball was surpassed only by his devotion to his family and his beloved New York Yankees.  He was and always will be as much of a New York Yankee as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and all of the other Yankee legends.  I have known George ever since he entered the game in 1972.  He was my dear friend for nearly four decades.  Although we would have disagreements over the years, they never interfered with our friendship and commitment to each other.  Our friendship was built on loyalty and trust and it never wavered.  We were allies and friends in the truest sense of the words. My wife, Sue, and I pass on our deepest sympathies to the Steinbrenner family, to the New York Yankees and to all of his friends. We will miss him, especially tonight when the baseball family will be gathered at Angel Stadium for the All-Star Game.”

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg:  “Our hearts and prayers go out to the entire Steinbrenner family. This is a sad day not only for Yankee fans, but for our entire City, as few people have had a bigger impact on New York over the past four decades than George Steinbrenner. George had a deep love for New York, and his steely determination to succeed – combined with his deep respect and appreciation for talent and hard work – made him a quintessential New Yorker. George invested his heart and soul into the Yankees, and his competitive fire helped usher in new eras of Yankee greatness, reclaiming the team’s long tradition of excellence and its position as the most successful franchise in the history of American sports. He was a champion who made New York a better place, and who always gave back to the city he loved. He has left an indelible legacy on the Yankees, on baseball, and on our city, and he leaves us in the only way that would be appropriate: as a reigning world champion.”

Yogi Berra:  “This is a very sad day for me and Carmen and all of baseball. My sympathies go out to the Steinbrenner family. George was The Boss, make no mistake. He built the Yankees into champions and that’s something nobody can ever deny. He was a very generous, caring, passionate man. George and I had our differences, but who didn’t? We became great friends over the last decade and I will miss him very much.”

Darryl Strawberry:  “Greatness. Nothing but greatness. When people finally look back, now that he’s passed and his day has come, and they look back at what he built for the New York Yankees, remarkable. The impact that he’s had on baseball, the impact that he’s had on young people, the impact that he’s had on other people’s lives, there is a man that’s resting today that can rest in peace that has took his life on and did tremendous greatness with it and gave it back to help that struggle to show them the way.”

I posted this for all of the baseball fans out there who read my blog.  I am also sorry to hear about his passing, although I was not a fan of his.  I, as a Mets fan, didnt approve of the way he did many things.  But, he also did a lot of things (good things) that we as fans do not know about.