YANKEE IMPERIALIST.(George M. Steinbrenner, III)

George M. Steinbrenner III, the principal owner of the New York Yankees, was born and brought up outside Cleveland, Ohio, where his family owned a shipping business, but for the past twenty-five years he has lived in Tampa, Florida, and that is where he spends most of his time. His main office is at Legends Field, the Yankees' spring-training complex, which is at 1 Steinbrenner Drive, a couple of miles east of Tampa International Airport. Steinbrenner isn't overburdened with false modesty, but he isn't without a sense of humor, either. In the hallway outside his office, there is a fake poster for the movie "Analyze This," with him in the Robert De Niro role of the mafioso seeing a shrink. "Imagine This," the poster says. "You're analyzing the Boss of the Yankees. His forty-five minutes is up, and you've got to tell him to go." I was pondering this predicament one day a few months ago when Steinbrenner came out and shook my hand. He is about six feet tall and his broad shoulders and barrel chest give him an imposing presence. He was dressed Palm Springs circa 1964: shiny leather shoes, pressed tan slacks, a blue-and-white oxford shirt, and a navy-blue windbreaker with the Yankees' "NY" emblazoned on the left breast. A big diamond-encrusted World Champions ring obscured his wedding-ring finger, and his gray-brown hair was combed back. Despite the sharpness of his own attire, he seemed disconcerted by my jacket and tie. "We dress down around here," he said, almost apologetically. "Take your tie off. Relax."

Legends Field is a mini-replica of Yankee Stadium. It opened in 1996, with space for ten thousand spectators and a dozen luxury boxes. Hillsborough County paid about thirty million dollars to lure the Yankees from Fort Lauderdale, their former pre-season base. The taxpayers' money allowed Steinbrenner to create a Yankees theme park in his adopted home town, featuring palm trees, a duck pond, and a memorial garden commemorating the club's heroes, from Babe Ruth to Don Mattingly, which, in a fitting marriage of tradition and commerce, is next to a Yankees-merchandise store.

Steinbrenner, who has just turned seventy-two, keeps track of everything that happens at Legends Field. "I just got this put down," he said, pointing to a green baize carpet that led from the locker room to a practice field. "Before, we had guys walking along here in spikes on concrete. One slip and they'd be out. Now they won't be in danger of injuring themselves." We walked to Steinbrenner's dark-blue BMW sedan, which was parked under the grandstand. As he drove us out into the sunlight, we passed a frail, elderly figure in a wheelchair. Steinbrenner opened his window.

"How you doing today?" he asked.

"Not so good," the man replied. "I'm waiting to go see the doctors."

"Why, you look like a thousand dollars. I'll see you this afternoon when you get back."

The man stared at us forlornly. "If I get back," he said.