Negron Honors The Boss in New Children's Book

From Christian Red:

Ray Negron, 53, a special assistant to the 26-time World Series champion Yankees, has taken in plenty of history and heartache, controversy and celebration during three decades' worth of Yankee Stadium history.

But along the way, Negron's most prized connection with the franchise is the friendship he forged with the team's owner and patriarch, George Steinbrenner, which started when Steinbrenner caught a teenage Negron spray-painting the walls of the Stadium in 1973.

"This is a total tribute to The Boss," says Negron of his children's book "One Last Time," set for publication this month. "And it's for all the kids that (Steinbrenner) has helped over the years - the kids that knew him and the ones that didn't understand why he cared about them."

The book, Negron's third, tells the story of a Yankees bat boy named Ray - yes, Negron was a Bombers bat boy when Steinbrenner made him "work out" his punishment for the graffiti transgression - who is summoned by Steinbrenner to carry out a special task: Conveying to the past Yankee greats that the history and magic of the old Stadium will continue in the new one.

Negron says writing about the hallowed stadium - "my cocoon for the last three decades" - was not something he took lightly. "I always ask for permission from The Boss to do these books," says Negron. "And I told him I was messed up about losing Yankee Stadium. But he told me, 'You have to move on.' I'll always be a (Bobby) Murcer, (Mickey) Mantle, (Joe) DiMaggio, (Lou) Gehrig and Reggie guy when it comes to the Yankees. But I've accepted the new stadium, because the spirits have accepted it."

Negron also tells Tyler Kepner that “If it wasn’t for that ballpark and George, I don’t even know that I’d be alive today,” Negron said. “So I can honestly say that ballpark and that man saved my life. That’s what this book is all about.” And that the book was his "way of being able to finally walk away” from the old stadium. “It’s very, very personal,”Negron said.

Instead of always hearing about George being this tyrannical boss of the Evil Empire who fired people at the drop of a hat and made employee's lives a living hell, it's nice to hear about this side for a change. Not many people think of a caring man who would do whatever he could to help a troubled teen when they think of George M. Steinbrenner III.

Negron's next book will be about the day after Thurman Munson's death in 1979 and will be for young adults.