Ron Guidry isn’t yelling. He isn’t ranting. He’s doing something worse: calmly telling you what George Steinbrenner would think about this version of the Yankees — and why the gap between “then” and “now” feels bigger than the standings.
You don’t have to romanticize the past to feel what Guidry is putting on the table. The Yankees are now 17 years into the “Great Drought,” and the sport has shifted under their feet. The Dodgers spend like a superpower. The league’s money isn’t just baseball money anymore. It’s investment-firm money.
And Guidry? He’s in camp. He’s watching up close. Which is why his words land like a quiet alarm, not a hot take. Per Bob Klapisch NJ.com
The Gist
- Guidry believes George Steinbrenner would have treated the Dodgers’ rise as a direct challenge — and tried to outdo it.
- He contrasts the old Yankees’ constant tension with today’s calmer clubhouse environment.
- His point isn’t nostalgia. It’s competitive edge: fear, urgency, accountability — the stuff that used to live in the air.
- He doesn’t say the current Yankees don’t care. He implies the system no longer forces the same hunger.
George Steinbrenner
Sporting News/Getty Images
Guidry Isn’t Guessing. He’s Remembering the Operating System.
Guidry doesn’t speak like someone trying to go viral. He speaks like someone who lived inside a culture where the owner’s standards weren’t theoretical — they were public, loud, and unavoidable.
And when he imagines how Steinbrenner would respond to the Dodgers becoming the sport’s biggest, richest bully, he doesn’t hesitate.
“George would’ve found a way to match the Dodgers,” Guidry said. “Whatever they did, he would’ve done better. If they signed one star, George would’ve signed two. He would’ve tried his best to stop what’s going on.”
That’s not just about spending. That’s about identity. The Yankees didn’t just want to win. They wanted to be the team nobody could outmuscle.
The Part Fans Don’t Talk About Enough: Tension Was a Feature
Most people hear “George Steinbrenner” and picture chaos. But Guidry is describing something more useful than chaos: urgency. A daily reminder that your job performance was being evaluated by a man who hated excuses.
“One way or another, you’d go looking for the newspaper every morning to see what George had to say,” Guidry said.
Read that again. That’s not a motivational poster. That’s pressure.
And then Guidry makes the comparison that turns the knife — because it’s not about talent, it’s about atmosphere.
“Today, it’s really calm (in the clubhouse). When I was playing, there was always tension, guys were always looking over their shoulders, like ‘what’s next?’”
He even smiles when he says it, like he can’t believe how different it feels. The Brutal word Guidry used?
“It’s actually boring this way,” Guidry said. “The players today don’t have to deal with the tension. They’ve never experienced that.”
Former New York Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry, left, works with pitcher Carlos Legrange in the bullpen during a spring training baseball workout Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Tampa, Fla.
What Guidry Is Really Saying About “Accountability”
This is where the quote gets more revealing — because Guidry isn’t praising screaming. He’s praising testing. He’s praising a culture where you had to prove you could handle the heat.
“But George knew what he was doing. He’d wait to see if you’d stand up to him. Because if you had the guts to do that, then he knew you weren’t afraid of anyone. That’s the kind of player he wanted on his team.”
That’s the old Yankees blueprint in one paragraph: pressure creates nerve. Nerve creates October players.
And if you’re a fan wondering why the Yankees can look built for 162 but still feel like they’re missing something when the postseason tightens up… yeah. That’s the implication sitting underneath Guidry’s calm delivery.
The Dodgers Problem Isn’t Just the Dodgers
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: even if Hal Steinbrenner wanted to play the old game, the new game isn’t the same.
Baseball is now loaded with wealthy ownership groups, investment power, and front offices packed with high-level executives. The Yankees are still rich — but they’re not living in the same era where being the Yankees automatically meant nobody could outbid you.
Guidry’s memory of Steinbrenner is shaped by a man who treated competition like a personal insult. But the current landscape is a different kind of war — and not every team is fighting with the same kind of money.
The Final Line That Says Everything
When asked how Steinbrenner would respond to the current championship drought, Guidry doesn’t give a speech. He gives the simplest answer possible.
“George would not be happy right now,” he said. “You can be sure about that.”
That’s it. No theatrics. Just a standard.
And maybe that’s why it hits. Because Yankees fans aren’t really asking for chaos. They’re asking for urgency. They’re asking for a signal — from somewhere — that second place still feels like failure in the Bronx.
Guidry just reminded everyone what that used to sound like.
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