AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2006 > December > 12 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USCorporate types ruin baseball
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
When the 37-year-old maverick Ted Turner broke ranks with the club owners cartel in 1976 and signed the maverick pitcher, Andy Messersmith, a bolt of disgust shot through the old guard, the bleachers crowd and any oracle who could foresee the future. Turner bestowed a “lifetime” contract for $1 million on the right-hander and precociously slapped this identifying label across the back of his uniform, “CHANNEL 17.” That was Turner’s bush league television station that was shooting for the majors, and well on its way.
This was the seedling. Ticket prices would go up, and up, and up, until you now pay as much as $157 for some seats in Yankee Stadium. The price of hot dogs and popcorn would go up. The price of parking would go up. Somebody had to pay for this tomfoolery, and who else but the fans? And, by the way, for all of the million or so that Turner laid out, Messersmith won just 16 games over two seasons and was gone. So was his arm.
Bring back the good ol’ Messersmith days. The market price has soared since. Baseball men are not the problem. It’s the corporate invaders, who think baseball is some kind of toy. If you can manage a zillion-dollar business grinding out widgets at a big profit, surely you can run a little playground game featuring sweat-sogged lunkheads. (Ah, but wait. They had yet to get involved with the arm-wrestling kings of negotiations: AGENTS.)
The course that baseball has taken since not even Donald Trump would understand. And you’ll notice that The Donald has been able to resist the temptation. A few seasons ago, a man of mild appearance, a commodities mogul in South Florida, John Henry, took the plunge. He had one registered credential, plus his wealth, of course.
“He loved baseball,” Edwin Pope of the Miami Herald said. “Just loved it.”
Henry bought the Florida Marlins, and shortly after had this to say about his new venture, sounding like a small boy lost in a wilderness. “I shouldn’t say anything, but it’s hard to be quiet when people are destroying the game. Anyone who says this is not destroying baseball is either ignorant or they just don’t care about the game.” He was alarmed at the fat contracts other owners were casting about. This was 2000, when the Texas Rangers blew the lid off the market with a $252 million contract with Alex Rodriguez, and they’re still responsible of $9 million of that each year, though he’s a Yankee. Also the year the Colorado shelled out $172 million combined for Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle, who between them won 40 games in a total of five seasons with the Rockies. The same Hampton whose arm has been under repair the past two seasons as a Brave, but whose paychecks go on.
But back to John Henry, now owner of the Boston Red Sox, whose payroll is the second most extravagant in the game. This is the same John Henry who authorized payment of $51.l million for the privilege of negotiating with a Japanese pitcher named Matsuzaka. Last I read, time was about to run out on his deadline.
Check the Cubs, you know, the nice, fan-loving Chicago Cubs. By the time the winter meeting opened, they had already committed themselves to $230 million in free agents, featuring Alfonso Soriano, his third team in three seasons. (Remember, this is a ball club owned by a newspaper!) Check Greg Maddux, who was beginning to look like home-folks in Atlanta. He is among several players who keep America’s moving vans on the road. From Atlanta to the Cubs, then the Dodgers now the Padres. A rumor that disturbed me was when the Braves were talking about trading Adam LaRoche for a two-inning pitcher; LaRoche, who hit 32 home runs and had finally given the Braves an established first baseman after a season of Robert Fick.
The free agent road is littered with crashes. On the other hand, consider Mark DeRosa and Henry Blanco, both cut loose by the Braves. DeRosa was rejuvenated in Texas and signed by the Cubs for $13 million, and Blanco, a backup catcher, was renewed for over $5 million. All the while, agents keep collecting their pint of blood — make that a quart — whether their clients succeed or fail. Club owners absorb the punch, any way it works out. They sign a player who falls on his face, the team fails. The player finds his game, and he becomes another J.D. Drew. The nomadic J.D. gave the Dodgers two years of his five-year contract, checked out for Boston, where he’ll play for — guess who? — the former purist John Henry. A fast learner.
I’ll be damned if I understand why I love this game.
Permalink | Comments (18) | Post your comment | Categories: Furman Bisher
Comments
By Bo
December 13, 2006 12:05 AM | Link to this
Mr.Bisher you are right on the money.Just look at what AOL Time Warner is doing to the Braves, the same as they did to the Hawks.
By Drexel Gal
December 13, 2006 02:36 AM | Link to this
Corporate titans’ ignornance of how to run a major league team is not a new phenomenon. Remember Mr. Carpenter, he of the DuPont corporate fortune, and his misadventures with the Phillies. Okay .. in a half-century or so, he did win two pennants and one World Series, plus a serious fold in 1964. But, otherwise —- what?
The Anheuser-Busch billions did work well with the Cardinals, but don’t forget that the previous owner, Sam Breadon, did rather weill with them, too (if you look it up).
Shall we discuss CBS and its tenure as Yankees overseers? I think not.
Fox (News Corp.) and the Dodgers? And who were those Japanese dot-com minions who pulled the strings in Seattle? TWO SEPARATE pizza magnates for the Tigers? A temporary pass-through by a garbage and video rental magnate for the Marlins? Don’t forget Disney and the Angels.
Somewhere, Calvin Griffith and his multiple chins are laughing.
By Tim
December 13, 2006 07:50 AM | Link to this
You cannot lay the financial state of baseball off on the owners, the players and the agents. The cost of mega dollar contracts have been passed along to the fans and the fans keep absorbing these rising costs everytime they continue to pass through the turnstiles in record numbers.
For the fan baseball is a game, for the owner baseball is a business and for the player baseball is a livelihood, so there are different perspectives and priorities at work here.
Has anyone taken notice of how many 40 plus year olds are currently signed to major league contracts? These players of diminished skills have been the benefactors of rising major league salaries more than anyone.
Personally, I am not going to pay the price of admission to see some old dude play. I can see that at a local softball park. And I might even see better 40 year old athletes at the local softball park.
In addition, I really cannot think of many current major league player’s that I would actually pay todays ticket prices to see play, Jeter and Pujols would be about it for my money.
I am hoping that metro Atlanta does get a minor league team, A ball I hope. Believe it or not it can be a lot of fun spotting a talented young player and then folowing his career to see if he rises to the major leagues.
If you think that corporate types are ruining baseball then send them a message, stop buying their diluted product. Or at least limit your purchases.
By Doc Dawg
December 13, 2006 08:06 AM | Link to this
I don’t believe “fans” are passing through the turnstiles in record numbers. I believe corporations and businesses are buying season tickets in record numbers, on the taxpayer’s dime by the way, to schmooze clients. The people I know who attend games are only going because they were invited by some sales rep, banker, accountant, insurance guy, or they got their own company’s unused tickets that day. Look around the stands. No families. No kids.
By Erik
December 13, 2006 08:36 AM | Link to this
Poor leadership at the top with Bud Selig is a good place to start.
By Milton Monday
December 13, 2006 09:08 AM | Link to this
Braves did it again. Schuerholz is an idiot. Economics drive his agenda. In the last five years, The Braves have managed to part ways with Sheffield, Drew, Furcal, Betitmet,and now Giles…….Franchise players in their own right. Get rid of the Chipper, he is over the hill, immoral, and an adulterer. Not to mention if he hurt his toe, he is out. Deal Chipper to the devil I say play Glenn Hubbard at second and he can coach first when he is not hitting or running the bases……
A former Braves fan…..
By Rod
December 13, 2006 09:57 AM | Link to this
Milton Monday sounds like a pathetic loser who’s got a burr up his @ss.
You call Schuerholtz an idiot because “Economics drive his agenda”? Hello? Yes - his bosses tell him to leave the payroll at $80 mil and he does what his bosses tell him. That makes him an idiot? Um, no, that’d be you.
Chipper’s not over the hill (rated in the top 5 third basemen offensively last year). Your immoral and adulter comments were regarding one situation over 5 years ago (if his wife and God forgave him, then who the hell do you think you are?).
You call Giles a franchise player? HOW STUPID ARE YOU?!?! Giles’ production has gone done over the past three years - he’s not even one of the top 10 2nd basement in the NL last year!
Go back under the rock you came from and keep sucking your daddy’s thumb (yeah, his 6” thumb).
By jm
December 13, 2006 10:19 AM | Link to this
I think Charlie Finley had the right idea about free agency back in the 70’s. Every player gets a one year contract, no long term contracts, no guaranteed contracts. Then at the end of the season, everyone would be a free agent. This way, every one would be playing for their job every season, rather than these guys who only seem to produce during “contract” years.
By MP
December 13, 2006 11:42 AM | Link to this
Furman is right on…but it is prevelant not only with baseball but all sports including golf and racecars. The current American business mentality is to bilk something for all it’s worth until it dies. Nothing will ever be as good as the days when everyone went to an event at a reasonable price, with reasonable consessions, and the event started when the promoters wanted it to, not the TV moguls (they are a huge factor). It’s just the way it is. Kid’s think today is great cause they never saw how it used to be. That’s life (or death) I guess…I rarely pay for tickets to anything any more. Except college football and it’s getting ridiculous too.
By rr
December 13, 2006 11:56 AM | Link to this
As long as a corporation owns a team and thus the Braves, we will never compete with the Elite teams with deep pockets. The game will continue to suffer as it will only be about money. I will only go if tickets are given to me; they raise tickets obviously to ensure they cover their costs but the product on the field will continue to diminish with the exceptions of a few bright stars. Wait until next year when Smoltz and the Jones boys are gone because the Time Warner will not want to re-sign aging stars. Bobby, if I were you I would retire to my farm and enjoy life when your contract expires! MLB should look at how the NFL runs their league and why they are successful both on and off the field.
By Minter Outlar
December 13, 2006 01:09 PM | Link to this
Amen, Furman. I was reading Tim Tucker’s piece that had a quote from the Liberty Media yahoo that made we want to throw up. He said he guessed a baseball team was worthwhile, as something that could eventually be sold. At least it’s value would never go down, he said. I want to shake that guy and say, “Listen moron, it’s an asset to you. To me it’s my #%@^*& Braves, who I’ve been pulling for for 30 years!” What’s the world coming to?
By Big Daddy
December 13, 2006 02:10 PM | Link to this
A lot of people are growing up these days and seeing everything for what it is. It’s all a matter of morality. No one gives a damn about anything but themselves these days and that includes management, players and fans and — sports writers. No one is exempt.
Yesteryear was a lot more fun because we had players for longer periods and we lived and died with them. Now if they have a down year they are gone. And no one cares past the first 60 days. Life goes on and it’s not getting better regardless of what the younger generation think.
Everyone is out to nail you for whatever they can. Did you look at your email lately for all the scams? And no one is doing a damn thing about all the laws that are being broken. It’s a morality thing alright through and through. Don’t believe it? Then you are part of the problem.
By geauxbraves2000
December 13, 2006 02:35 PM | Link to this
I agree that the agents are ruining this game, but I have to put some of the blame on the owners who are allowing this to happen. I know owners want to win, but if they’d finally just “have enough” of this ridiculous way in which baseball is headed and just say NO to these outrageous contracts, then maybe we could all get back to enjoying the game we love to praise and critize.
By BamaBrave
December 13, 2006 02:39 PM | Link to this
While there’s plenty of blame to go around when it comes to the business side of MLB, I’d like to nominate Scott Boras as the Great Satan of the sport. He makes George Steinbrenner look like a 12-year-old fantasy league geek. The number Boras is doing on the Red Sox is both astonishing and embarrassing…and he’s doing it with a pitcher of above average ability, unproven in the Majors - not a Sandy Koufax or Roger Clemens type. Just wait, Brave fans, until this reptile starts playing hard ball next year with our 280/40/110, 9 Gold Glove guy, Andruw Jones. Siyonara, Andruw!!!
By Big Daddy
December 13, 2006 03:07 PM | Link to this
Don’t blame it on Boras. If the Red Sox said NO then what?
Owners can stop it and only the owners can. They can set a salary ceiling but they won’t. I have no sympathy for them and why should I? They buy a team, keep it a few years and if they can’t afford to run it they sell it for two or three hundred million profit.
If I were Boras I would take them for all I could and if I was one of Boras’ players I’d take every dime I could get.
Flash forward a year. Do you think it’s going to be the faulf of Boras or Andruw Jones when someone offers him $150 million to play centerfield for them?
And if you were either of them would you reject that offer? Of course you wouldn’t.
By Lagert
December 13, 2006 03:36 PM | Link to this
Doc Dawg, How are the tax payers paying for the corprate tickets?
By Najeh Davenpoop
December 13, 2006 06:34 PM | Link to this
Nice hippie column. Way to complain about capitalism. Bottom line is, if nobody bought those $157 tickets or watched those overpaid players on TV, those greedy corporations wouldn’t have the money to pay those players. If you don’t like the current system, vote against it with your wallet.
And Boras doesn’t deserve any blame at all. He is the best at what he does. Blame a system that allows the Red Sox to pay more in “posting money” than some teams pay to their entire roster. Baseball’s salaries and ticket prices will never go down until fans stop watching, but at least the money can be more evenly distributed like the NFL if they institute a salary cap.
By Ken Stallings
December 14, 2006 12:10 AM | Link to this
Corporate ownership is certainly destroying the Atlanta Braves!
Mighty interesting timing on this column, Furman — given that Marcus Giles was released. Bobby Cox once called Marcus, “the original dirt player!” Indeed he was, and that’s why endeared him to the majority of the fans, all those who understand the game and value it.
The appalling thing is that Tom Glavine wanted to return to the Braves and would have for the amount of money now released from the departure of Giles. It was stubborn, spreadsheet obsessed, corporate ownership that refused to allow JS the flexibility to negotiate a “paper-only” overage on the payroll limit.
It is shameful, and if we have a commissioner who was more than a chair-warmer this situation would be corrected, at least in the case of the Braves.
The never-ending negotiating between Time-Warner and Liberty Media has left this team in purgatory for over a year now. There are plenty of local Atlanta millionaires who would purchase this team for a fair market value and rejuvenate the organization before all the core talent is gone.
But alas, for the price of a tax write off that will not happen!
Yes, corporate ownership is killing this game, and most certainly in Atlanta’s case.