George Steinbrenner
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George Steinbrenner, the character
George Steinbrenner acted as George Costanza’s boss while employed for the Yankees. In this role, Steinbrenner was just as quirky as the rest of the Seinfeld roles—which is to no surprise at all considering how fabulously written Seinfeld scripts were throughout its run. Steinbrenner’s face was never seen in throughout the show, but Lee Bear portrayed him in the physical sense while Larry David provided the voice-over whenever Steinbrenner spoke.
George’s idiosyncrasies
Steinbrenner, like the rest of the Seinfeld roles, brought a wealth of quirks to the show. He was a chatterbox, talking all the time, regardless of there was anyone available to listen in on his babble. He called himself “The Big Stein” and was a brut, hefty character often
lounging in his office chair behind his desk.
Steinbrenner, the character, had a penchant for making poor decisions. This included all sorts of bad decision making, including trading Yankee players unfavorably, cooking jerseys, scalping box tickets, and cancelling an important meeting because he couldn’t get his beloved eggplant calzone (naturally, this was George’s fault).
Also, Steinbrenner is a compulsive firer. In other words, he gets his kicks in letting people go. In the episode, “The Wink,” Steinbrenner goes off rambling about all the people he’s fired in history, including Billy Martin, who he mentions four times, and then Buck Showalter. After realizing his mistake in confiding, he makes George swear to silence.
George Steinbrenner, the individual
George Steinbrenner is a real-life figure, owner of the New York Yankees. Born July 4, 1930 in Rocky River, Ohio, he has owned the New York Yankees since 1973. He is known for being a highly influential and outspoken Major League Baseball figure, working always as a hands-on leader, constantly actively involved in the game.
Because of his forwardness in public, Steinbrenner, the character was similarly depicted as controlling, especially as it pertained to his hiring and firing of several New York Yankee managers and other influential figures.