From the NY Daily News:
Not even the Yankees can deny the monument unveiled in honor of late owner George Steinbrenner on Monday dwarfs legends such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle in Monument Park.Is the monument too large? Yes, and it would have made more sense to me if it was like the other monuments. But at the same time, I can't say I'm upset by it. It is what it is, let's move on to things that matter.
However, they aren't about to apologize for it, either.
"We think the monument is a tribute to the man The Boss was, larger than life. His spirit is encompassed by that monument, and there was no intention to make it bigger than the others just for the sake of doing it," team president Randy Levine told the Daily News before Tuesday night's game against the Rays. "We just felt that it was The Boss, the greatest owner in sports. He built (the new) Yankee Stadium. He did so much for so many people. And he made the Yankee brand a worldwide one and took it to heights that never have been reached.
"It was not made bigger in an attempt to have it be larger than the others. We just wanted to represent the spirit of George Steinbrenner."
Steinbrenner's bust measures seven feet wide by five feet high - not including the base - and weighs 760 pounds.
Chief operating officer Lonn Trost said he and Senior VP of marketing Debbie Tymon worked with U.S. Bronze to commission the piece and that everything about the monument ultimately was approved by the Steinbrenner family.
"Mr. Steinbrenner always was so proud of Monument Park and now it's as if he's overseeing the other monuments and plaques and the tradition that reside there," Tymon said.
