Steinbrenner’s Son on Yankees: ‘Who Needs It?’ : Baseball: George Steinbrenner doesn’t know who will succeed him after Hank reportedly turns down chance to run club.

George Steinbrenner said on Tuesday night that his son Hank has rejected his request to succeed him as general partner of the New York Yankees, telling his father, “Who needs it?” Said Steinbrenner: “I don’t blame him at all.”

Steinbrenner, when asked whom he will recommend as his successor at a meeting with his limited partners today, said that he didn’t know.

“I can tell you it is not the names being bantered around,” said Steinbrenner, who is likely to turn to one of his limited partners as his replacement. But he specifically ruled out Marvin Goldklang, a limited partner, and Jack Lawn, a Yankee executive.

Steinbrenner said Hank had spurned his plea to run the team. Hank, a source in Tampa, Fla., said, rejected the position in part because he finds baseball tedious.

“He showed up at three (minor league) games and said, ‘These games are boring. I’m not going to do this,’ ” the source said.

Steinbrenner hinted that he wants his other son, Harold, to run the team “in a few years.” He considered having his son-in-law Joseph A. Molloy serve as general partner until Harold is ready. Molloy is the Yankees’ secretary-treasurer. Steinbrenner has praised Molloy for organizing the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa. But the source quoted Molloy as saying, “It was supposed to be me, but the Boss changed his mind.”

Steinbrenner has envisioned for the past few years that control of the Yankees, like a family heirloom, would pass from father to first-born son. And July 31, the day after baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent ruled against him, Steinbrenner released a statement announcing Hank’s appointment as his chosen successor. But Hank, a 33-year-old with a love for horses, a newborn daughter and a quiet life in Florida, flatly refused his father’s wishes to step into the vortex of a turbulent franchise.

“He doesn’t want to do it,” Steinbrenner said. “Of course, what the commissioner said didn’t help any.”

Steinbrenner claimed that Vincent said Hank faced a difficult task in gaining approval from major league owners.

“That’s a hell of a thing to do,” Steinbrenner said. “And then the other guy (baseball investigator John Dowd) saying, ‘If he doesn’t do exactly what the commissioner says, God help him.’ That kind of talk from John Dowd.

“Neither of those quotes helped (Hank). He just said, ‘Screw it! Who needs it?’ ”

Steinbrenner, though, hinted that he will seek an arrangement today with his limited partners that will ensure that his younger son, Harold, will someday be general partner. Harold, a senior at Williams College, is known to have a greater interest in baseball and the Yankees than does Hank.

“I’m getting to the age now where I’ve had 17 years and I had hoped one son wanted to do it,” Steinbrenner, 60, said. “But I don’t blame him at all. But maybe the next son comes along in a few years and does it.

“But the fact that it is owned by (our) family will decide what is done and what isn’t done. We don’t have any plans to sell.”

The partners could decide to appoint Daniel McCarthy to serve as general partner for an interim period, perhaps five years, while Harold serves an apprenticeship. McCarthy, a limited partner, is Steinbrenner’s longtime tax attorney and confidant.

When asked what would happen in the meeting today, Steinbrenner said, “I don’t really know.”

But when he was asked if whatever plan he decides on will be implemented, Steinbrenner said, “In the end it will be.”

Indeed, it appears that the Yankee partnership will approve whatever plan Steinbrenner presents. That is because he holds a 55% interest in the team, which means he holds 55% of the vote. A candidate needs 67% of the vote for approval. Because his wife and several longtime friends hold another sizable chunk of the vote, Steinbrenner is virtually assured of getting what he wants.

“That’s perfectly true,” one limited partner said. “There will be no palace revolt.”

Said Edward Rosenthal, another limited partner, “As far as I’m concerned, I’m behind George because his back is against the wall. He has made us all a lot of money. This is not the time to be fighting him. This is the time to support him.”

Steinbrenner’s appointed successor must clear two other obstacles after winning approval from the Yankee partnership. First, Vincent must give his approval to the candidate. Then the candidate must be approved by two-thirds of the American League owners (10 of the 13 other owners) and a majority of the National League owners (seven of 12). They are likely to vote at an owners’ meeting Sept. 12 in Pittsburgh.

Steinbrenner agreed to resign his position after Vincent ruled on July 30 that he acted against the best interests of baseball by giving $40,000 to Howard Spira, a known gambler. Since then, Steinbrenner has had little contact with his limited partners.

As of Tuesday, the limited partners were not certain where the meeting would be held. They were instructed to convene at McCarthy’s office, but then disperse to an undisclosed location to avoid reporters.

Rosenthal said that Steinbrenner may nominate Daniel Crown, a Chicago businessman in his 30s, or Robert Nederlander, an attorney. Crown and Nederlander are limited partners whose families hold the largest stake in the team after Steinbrenner.