Text size:

Outside Steinbrenner's house looking in

Jim Baumbach

October 17, 2007

TAMPA, Fla.

George Steinbrenner's home here in South Tampa is so large, it has its own name. We know this because it says so on one of the signs that hangs on the black metal gates blocking his driveway. One sign lists his address. The other says, "The Anchorage."

Day 2 of the Yankees stakeout here certainly had its bizarre moments, considering that none of the 30-plus media members camped outside Legends Field at 10 in the morning anticipated that they would wind up outside Steinbrenner's mansion before the day was through.

Steinbrenner's home isn't too far from Legends Field, only about a 15-minute drive. It's in a nice area, but not an especially exclusive part of town. For starters, there are no signs saying the roads are private, like the ones you see in some areas along the North Shore of Nassau County.

And the people who live near Steinbrenner's home seem to be rather nice. Several folks who were passing through the neighborhood stopped their cars and asked various media members if everything was OK with The Boss. The mailman was finished with his route, but he stayed in his car and watched from a distance waiting to see if there would be any announcement regarding Joe Torre's fate.

Jim Baumbach Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

Even the police officer who watched the media from his undercover car a few houses down the block turned out to be a nice guy. At 4:15, he stopped his car in front of Steinbrenner's house, rolled down his window and said, "Just so you know, I've been told the meeting is over."

But, alas, he wasn't told whether the Yankees' brass reached a decision regarding Torre's status. "I wish I knew," he said. "I'm a Yankees fan!" Then he drove off.

We saw Steinbrenner's sons, Hank and Hal, and his son-in-law, Felix Lopez, leave the house in separate cars, but no one stopped to talk. We never saw Steinbrenner or the New York contingent of executives - team president Randy Levine, GM Brian Cashman or COO Lonn Trost.

But, at the risk of giving away some trade secrets, we did see Steinbrenner's town car right outside his front doors, which is what tipped us off that the meetings were likely being held inside the home. All along, the expectation was that the big meeting was to be at Legends Field beginning at noon. But by 1 p.m., it was clear that was not true. There were multiple reporters at both entrances, yet there were no sightings of any of Steinbrenner's high-ranking executives.

The realization that we were in the wrong place set off a chase throughout the Tampa area, with reporters heading to spots that Steinbrenner has been known to frequent. I stopped at The Radisson Bay Harbor Hotel, The Palm and The Capital Grille before slowly, carefully driving down Steinbrenner's block. You could say that seeing his car in the driveway was sort of a welcome, comforting sight.

By 4 p.m., much of the original media contingent was waiting outside the Steinbrenner home, just in time to see Hank, Hal and Felix each leave the premises. Hal stared directly ahead in his Suburban. Felix waved from his Land Rover; Hank did the same from his Cadillac.

As for the enormity of Steinbrenner's two-story, sand-colored brick home, there are several examples. I counted 12 trees on the front lawn, and I may have missed some. There are four garages. According to the Hillsborough County 2006 assessment, it has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms. Its assessment value for 2006 was $4,490,587.

Now, as far as that Torre assessment that was taking place inside the home, maybe Day 3 will bring us an answer.