New York Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner dies at age 63

Hank Steinbrenner, co-owner of the New York Yankees, has passed away. 

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Steinbrenner's death was not related to the coronavirus pandemic. He was involved in "a long battle with an illness." 

Hank, who turned 63 years old earlier this month, was the oldest son of "The Boss," George Steinbrenner. George died of a heart attack in July 2010.

While Hank Steinbrenner stepped away from the public eye, he had a history of making headlines for his criticisms of Major League Baseball. Per Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, Steinbrenner lashed out at National League rules in June 2008 after Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang suffered an injury running the bases during a game. 

"I just think it's time the NL joined the 21st century," Steinbrenner said at the time. "The AL, the minors, colleges, high schools, they all have DHs."

As Mark Feinsand of the Daily News wrote, Steinbrenner also denounced MLB's divisional system later in 2008. 

"The biggest problem is the divisional setup in major league baseball. I didn't like it in the 1970s, and I hate it now," Steinbrenner wrote for a piece published by The Sporting News. "Baseball went to a multidivision setup to create more races, rivalries and excitement. But it isn't fair."

Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports wrote that Hal, Hank's brother, assumed the role of primary owner of the Yankees in recent years. 

Earlier this month, Mike Ozanian and Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes reported the Yankees were worth $5 billion. Only the Dallas Cowboys currently have a higher valuation than the Yankees among North American professional franchises.