Tuesday, Jul. 13, 2010

Seinfeld "Appearances"

Steinbrenner's 16 "appearances" on the hit television show Seinfeld played off the real Steinbrenner's bombastic, impulsive nature. Primarily seen from behind and voiced by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, Steinbrenner had many famous run-ins with Yankees executive George Costanza (played by Jason Alexander). In one episode, a misunderstanding leads Steinbrenner to replace all Yankee Stadium concessions with chicken — instead of hot dogs, chicken dogs; instead of pretzels, chicken twists. When Steinbrenner asks if they can make chicken beer, the Tyler Chicken Company tells him, "They ferment just like everything else." In perhaps the most famous Yanks episode, George tries to get fired by stealing Babe Ruth's uniform, wearing it to a meeting and smearing food all over it. Steinbrenner, convinced that the Yankees are living in the past, famously says, "Babe Ruth was nothing but a fat old man with little-girl legs. And here's something I just found out recently ... he wasn't really a sultan."