George Steinbrenner got a special delivery in his suite before the ceremony celebrating the Yankees 27th World Series championship.
Derek Jeter and Joe Girardi brought Steinbrenner’s ring up to his suite.
“He was very emotional,” the Boss’ son and Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner said.
Jeter told Steinbrenner that he had to take off his Ohio State ring now, but The Boss just pointed at him and said “Michigan.” Steinbrenner did his post-graduate work at Ohio State and was an assistant on their 1954 National Championship team. Jeter grew up in Kalamazoo and considered going to the University of Michigan before the Yankees drafted him in 1992. The two Big 10 schools have a long-standing football rivalry.
But Steinbrenner opted instead to take off his 2000 World Series ring and replace it with the 2009 version.
“I am extremely grateful of everything he’s done in my life,” Girardi said after the Yankees beat the Angels, 7-5. “It was a thrill for me to go up there and give it to him and see the smile on his face.”
