Steinbrenner Would Have Raised the Ante if He’d Been at the Table

NEW YORK — Even at 4 p.m. Thursday, Darryl Strawberry’s signing with the Dodgers was news to George Steinbrenner. News apparently doesn’t travel too quickly to Tampa these days. The revelation startled the Yankees’ ex-Boss. It didn’t thrill him, either.

Told that Strawberry went West for $20.25 million, Steinbrenner’s response was a classic:

“That’s for four years, right?”

“No” he was told. “That was for five years, George.”

“Five years for that? I must be out of touch.”

If Steinbrenner were still around, might Strawberry still be in New York? At the least, he might have received the first $5-million-a-year offer.

While saying he didn’t wish to criticize the Yankees’ new regime for its lack of interest in Strawberry, Steinbrenner’s comments left little doubt: he would have pursued the cross-town super hero with a vengeance.

“All one would have to do is look at what I’ve done before and you can judge for yourself as to what I might have done,” said Steinbrenner, who is prevented from involving himself in such matters by Commissioner Fay Vincent.

Steinbrenner’s appraisal: The Dodgers rolled a seven. “I don’t want to second-guess my people but Darryl Strawberry is an impact player,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s a fine move for the Dodgers.”

Steinbrenner calls letting Reggie Jackson get away to California in 1980 his biggest mistake. Of Strawberry, Steinbrenner said, “I wouldn’t have let him get away.”