I actually ran into him once in a NY hotel. Simply said hello and moved on. But I am not a fan and, while you have to admire his passion and commitment, I believe he did much to perpetuate the sharp division between the haves and have-nots in baseball, the neutering of the Office of Commissioner and the pricing of America's pastime beyond the middle class. He also participated heartily in the game of stadium extortion that sports franchise owners like to practice vis a vis their cities -- even though the Yankees are the richest franchise on the planet. None of that is good and it's part of the record.
As for changing Yankee baseball forever, well, they did win something like 18 or 19 championships before he darkened the door. Let's just keep things in perspective.
