Just a short train ride from Hal Steinbrenner at Yankee Stadium, Mets owner Steve Cohen is bringing back memories of Hal's father George with his willingness to criticize his team, but also his unrelenting desire to build a championship group, no matter the cost.
Steinbrenner doesn't seem to have the same operating tendencies as his father, but told reporters on Wednesday that he doesn't feel any pressure to spend more as Cohen continues to add pieces across town, because he simply doesn't have the resources that Cohen has with the Mets.
"I think everybody expects that I do, but the answer is no, because the fact is I can't control what resources other teams have and what they're gonna do with those resources," Steinbrenner said. "I make the same commitment every year, my family does, which is to do everything we're able to do to field a championship-caliber team and try to win a World Series. I will continue to do everything I am able to do to accomplish it."
Cohen, the richest owner in baseball by nearly $5 billion, has already signed Francisco Lindor to a record extension, Max Scherzer to a record deal of his own, and added Mark Canha, Starling Marte, and Eduardo Escobar. Steinbrenner, meanwhile, has dealt with a widespread frustration among the Yankee fanbase, which believes their team's owner is refusing to splurge on big-name free agents and sitting on the team's financial might at the most valuable team in the league (per Forbes). But Steinbrenner says Cohen's arrival is good for the city and the sport, even if his spending habits are putting Steinbrenner's group deeper under the microscope.
"I've had a couple lunches with him," Steinbrenner said. "He seems like a pretty down to earth guy, but I don't know him well.
"I think it's great for the fans of New York to have two competitive baseball teams. We're in different leagues, but to a certain extent, we're rivals. I think it's going to make the summer a lot of fun."
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