Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 31, 1990                   TAG: 9007310407
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

OPINIONS DIFFER ON NY BOSS

"It's a sad day for baseball and also for George," Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller said Monday night after learning that Steinbrenner was forced out as principal owner of the Yankees by Commissioner Fay Vincent.

"I have a lot of respect for George," said Feller, an executive with the Cleveland Indians. "He's a very charitable guy . . . But he got himself involved with a possible felon, and evidently he couldn't get himself disengaged."

The Yankee owner was ousted for his association with gambler Howie Spira. The latter is awaiting trial on a charge he tried to extort $150,000 from Steinbrenner and threatened both the owner and former Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield.

Winfield did not fire an all-out salvo at Steinbrenner.

"I felt quite a bit vindicated because so much had been said about me, I had so many battles, so much turmoil," Winfield said. "I'm glad to get a lot of this out of the way. The Yankee fans deserve a new chapter. This one has come to an end."

Ironically, Spira, who regularly called news organizations about Steinbrenner, would only say, "I have nothing to say."

Former Yankee players were generally fond on Steinbrenner.

"He might been tough on his secretaries and people who worked for him, but he still did a lot of good . . . and a lot of good for baseball," former Hall-of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter said.

Rickey Henderson, traded last season to Oakland, recalled Steinbrenner's driving desire for victory.

"When I played there, he was a good man. He wanted to win so hard for New York. He did everything in his power to win, so I respect him for that," Henderson said. "I feel sorry for him. He had put some tremendous teams together. He was not hard at all to play for."

San Francisco Giants owner Bob Lurie called it "a sad day for baseball," but applauded both Vincent and Steinbrenner for working out an agreement that saved baseball an embarrassing day in court.

"Both Commissioner Vincent and George Steinbrenner approached this investigation like professionals," Lurie said.

At Yankee Stadium, the opinion in the dugout was different from that in the stands.

"The fans may have been cheering, but I wasn't," agreed Dave Righetti, who has pitched for New York through much of the controversy of the Steinbrenner era. Righetti, who has been with the team since 1979, has the longest tenure of any current Yankee player.

"It's sad. He really loved the idea of owning the Yankees, and now it's been taken away from him. It'll certainly be different not having him around here," Righetti said.