Sorry David, you may have increased payroll this year, but you still suck...Sincerely, SI.com
Top 5 Best and Top 5 Worst Owners in MLB (and other sports). Aaaaaand...discuss.
almost 3 years ago
Sweep_the_Leg
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If they're judging his entire tenure as owner...
then I agree. If they’re saying this year he is one of the 5 worst owners I think that is a little harsh. He has seemingly improved as an owner since bottoming out with the firing of Baird and subsequent removal of press passes for reporters whose tone he didn’t approve of.
I would probably bump him off the list, and move Tom Hicks off
The biggest complaint on Hicks’ summary was that he’s spent a ton of money on bad deals—at least he’s trying. Loria, Lerner, and probably Angelos are pretty much no-brainers. Pirates ownership has been pretty much atrocious, but with McClatchy leaving in 2007 and Nutting only having a couple years to work with, maybe they didn’t feel like it was right to include either (maybe the same thing with the Reds). Regardless, my list would be:
5. John Moores (Padres)
4. Pirates ownership (past 5-10 years…at least)
3. Angelos
2. Lerner
1. Loria
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on May 12, 2009 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions
why does the Padres ownership make your list?
I would take Moores off and add Drayton McLane, otherwise, I would probably agree with your list.
I was thinking about getting public money for the new stadium and then
immediately slashing payroll. But that may have more to do with his impending divorce. Plus, they haven’t been more than marginally competitive in a notoriously weak division for more than 10 years now. But I’d agree that McLane is probably more deserving of the last spot. The bottom three are probably pretty universal for most, but you could probably make a good case for any one of 10 or so owners for the 4-5 spots.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on May 12, 2009 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions
The Padres did not slash payroll until Moores' divorce 5 years after Petco opened
In those five years in Petco, the Padres won the division twice and posted winning seasons four times. Moores sold the team to Jeff Moorad’s group earlier this year.
and the terms of the sale are ... interesting...
I have no idea what to make of it, really, either way. I agree that Moore has been a good owner, but this situation, well, I guess I need it broken down even more simply than Shysterball does.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 12, 2009 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Of those list of 5 worst...
The Royals had by far the biggest % in increased value (300+!)… so he may be doing something right.
As far as W-L… yeah… :(
They didn't have the largest increase in value
The Yankees did (10 mill to 1.5 billion) and the rays also did from 65 mil to est. 320.
What I want to know is how anyone would estimate the Rays to be of better value than the Royals. Unlike the Rays, the Royals, you know, consistently make money.
As a business man Glass is great, and I think he’s getting better at letting others handle the baseball stuff.
At least Wally Joyner's not on the team....
Just in case anyone thought SI was relevant at all
Loria not “winning” his division really says it all
Poor JoPo
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
I guess the challenge would be to name five worse guys
I’ve got… the dude who owns the marlins, maybe the lerners in DC, and….
wouldn't pre-death pohlad be on the list?
he was phenomenally rich and never really put too much money into the twins.
Drayton Mclane of the astros is pretty bad too. He has his hands all over everything, and hasn’t been willing to pony up to sign amateur players either.
he's signed a bunch of big league guys to big FA contracts....
and extensions though, so you really cant say that he’s not trying
Fire Hillman
by billybeingbilly on May 12, 2009 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions
it isn't that McLane doesn't try...
…just like Glass had his hands all over everything as well during the Baird years. But unlike Glass, McLane drove away one of the more competent GMs in the game in Tim Purpura and replaced him with, of all people, Ed Wade. McLane loses a lot of points just for that.
Bill Dewitt?
The guy that threatened to move the Cardinals to Illinois?
I woulda thought the Brewers new owner would be in there. He offered $1 tickets one game when the Brewers were out of it, he’s upped payroll to field a competitive team, and he has a guy slide into a glass of beer for every home run! How can you not like that?
Loria has to be #1. And Carl Pohlad should be up on the “worst” list too.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
DeWitt is notoriously thrifty
Although it can be said they don’t trade away their top prospects, yet they don’t sign anyone to help their team. They lost the division and wild-card completely by bullpen mishaps, and then sign no one to help. Then, the “best fans in baseball” cry about not getting more players (protecting Albert with Khalil Greene doesn’t cut it), and say they are never going to go to a game again. Yet they still come back, because they are “the best”. The situation amuses me, but is also very annoying.
"It’s not about the guacamole itself," Greinke said. "I just don’t want to let them win."
by Joseph Landis on May 12, 2009 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions
if Carl Pohlad were still alive, he would probably make the 'worst' list too
But I think the list should probably stick to owners whose tickers are still, well, ticking.
I wish Amos Otis was a multi Gazillionaire
and could buy this team and hire the next incarnation of Cedric Tallis as GM so he could trade the next incarnation of Joe Foy (Alex Gordon anyone) off for someone who should really not be a third baseman (A.O. with the Mets), the next incarnation of Vlad Guerrero (someone fill in that blank) and start my dream dynasty.
Lightning, please strike again here.
(I really do believe that Alex is going to be good though — but the comparison of Alex Gordon to Joe Foy could be a post worthy of “GobbleforCyYoung” controversy)
Yeah? From what I hear, you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a f@#%ing boat.
I agree with djkroyal
If this list is analyzing an owner’s entire tenure (and why wouldn’t it be?), then Glass richly deserves a spot in the 5 worst.
I think SI is confusing bad ownership with bad GM/Organization when they put Hicks on there. Hicks has always seemed willing to spend plenty of money – but the boobs he has had running his franchise are clueless. That organization has actually developed PLENTY of pitching talent – but they always trade it away for more hitting. That’s on the GM and player personnel people, not the owner.
Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!
"That John Hart's a Genius with his radical 'farm system' idea he keeps telling me about!"
—Hicks
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 12, 2009 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Forgot to add
DeWitt belongs on there. St Louis has TREMENDOUS resources – but instead of taking advantage of that, they are content to do just enough to keep the lemmings (St Louis fans) streaming thru the turnstiles.
When they had McGwire, they let his HR chases sell their tickets while the team wallowed in mediocrity.
Now, they have Pujols, but again have not added much in the way of free agency.
That organization reminds me of the Chiefs in one way – their fanbase is so genuinely rabid that it makes their fans vulnerable to indifferent ownership. (well, at least until the respective team REALLY sucks, like the Chiefs the last 2 years). In other words, just be around 500, and you can sit back and rake in the cash.
Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!
by loyal2sdad on May 12, 2009 6:00 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
The Cardinals/Chiefs analogy is definitely a good one
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on May 12, 2009 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions
won't it be fun when Pujols tells them to screw themselves in a couple years?
he’s already made rumblings about wanting them to make more efforts to field championship teams
Cardinal or not… .Pujols is unbelievable, and they’re semi-squandering his prime
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 12, 2009 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions
I'd take it too
Just like I’d take the 90’s chiefs.
Its amazing how a high percentage of people in the state of Missouri like the Cardinals and Chiefs. And then how the Rams and Royals are largely second fiddle and restricted to their respective cities.
Teams that start with C >> teams that start with R………..we could be on to something here boys.
At least Wally Joyner's not on the team....
FYI
For those that haven’t heard, and continue to believe the hype that KC is at it’s payroll max…
Soren Petro of 810 AM said last week that his sources (who refuse to go on the record. I’m in no way saying this is airtight, but Soren is pretty solid, I don’t think he would say this if he didn’t feel his source(s) was giving him good information. FOr those that are out of Market, Petro is NOT your typical shock-jock. He doesn’t say things for ratings,he is real even keeled and is well respected and has solid sources around the country) have placed the ‘08 Revenue Sharing/Slush Fund amount at $103 MILLION coming KC’s way.
BOOM! ROASTED!
Oh yeah, that whole area is absolutely Soren's
White Whale. He will not die until he’s actually able to drag the cold, hard facts about the Royals’ revenues and payroll out of somebody. I imagine him sitting down in his little secret basement room (hidden behind a fake wall) with several file cabinets, drafts of various enlarged spreadsheets tacked to the walls, a dedicated, off-the-grid computer for running his calculations, and an encrypted sat phone for talking to his sources about this whole issue.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if those numbers were accurate.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on May 12, 2009 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Soren ALWAYS asks Dayton about payroll flexibility
and Dayton never gives him any kind of substantial info. It makes for horrible radio but I appreciate his dedication.
his sources?
Same guys who told Selena Roberts about A-Rod’s pitch-tipping.
(winky face)
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 12, 2009 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Nah
The funny thing is Soren Petro is better looking than that broad too. Anf he is a fatty with a goatee
BOOM! ROASTED!
he also seems to be a great guy,
I played in a golf tournament and he was in the group right behind us. They came up on us a few times and he was always friendly and great with the small talk.
After the tournament, we found out who he was.
If you were thinking, you wouldn't have thought that.
Yea he used to come in when I was a bertender
Always ordered Labbatt Light (Back when Labats sponsored his show). Really unassuming cat that is just a really well informed/well spoken fan.
BOOM! ROASTED!
I would disagree with putting the Steinbrenners on the 'best' list...
Their constant ‘win now’ demands have saddled the Yankees franchise with ridiculous numbers of absolutely horrid contracts (Jason Giambi, Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown, Kei Igawa, to some extent Hideki Matsui and Mike Mussina, Roger Clemens in 2007, and more). Just because you can afford to make a ton of costly mistakes doesn’t make you a good ownership regime. Hank Steinbrenner has been even more meddling than his dad.
I can't believe Glass has been here 16 years.
And the 16th year, he’s actually trying a little bit, so I guess he’s not that bad. Glass ran the team into the ground for 13 years, then paid $25mm out of $250mm for his new stadium. He’s clearly in the Bottom 5, despite our historic 2009 start.
The Cards may have pretentious fans, but they’ve been to 7 playoffs and 2 World Series over the same period. And DeWitt paid for something like $200mm of that. I’d take that.
When did Glass officially "own" the team
When I was younger I remember the team kept looking for an owner, and I always thought of David Glass as the “interim” owner if you will.
Did he finally at some point pony up the cash and buy the team outright?
At least Wally Joyner's not on the team....
According to his Wiki, in 2000.
He did control the team for the prior 7 years, so he gets most of the blame, though it was a bad situation, with the franchise stuck in limbo for years while Kauffman’s estate was tied up in legal wranglings with the IRS. Once the current stadium deal passed he has opened the wallet, hired DMGM, and allowed the payroll to increase.
by hunter s. royal on May 12, 2009 6:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Absolutely foolish
to put the Marlins owner on that list of worst. He has to deal with the most disinterested fan base in the major leagues, yet he still somehow has managed to field a low-payroll team with great young talent. It is also dishonest to say its only a matter of time until Hanley is run out of town, because he just signed a huge extension.
He could pull a Steinbrenner and charge a gazillion dollars for seats to pay for Pavanos and Giambis, though. That’d probably put him at the top of the “best” list.
- W. Bloomquist homered to deep center
- P. Earth explodes
not necessarily dishonest to say that about hanley...
he’ll be run out at some point….
and his extension being signed only increases his trading value….i’ll be shocked if he plays out that contract in florida. if i had to guess, he’s gone at the deadline the 2nd to last year
Fire Hillman
by billybeingbilly on May 12, 2009 7:07 PM EDT up reply actions
You might want to read up on the history of the Montreal Expos before defending Jeff Loria
by Gopherballs on May 12, 2009 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Plus the way he tears the Marlins apart...
everytime they get good is downright criminal. If that was the Royals they’d be picketing the stadium.
i'd have a hard time picketing...
i’d get way too distracted by the two world series flags in the outfield
Fire Hillman
by billybeingbilly on May 12, 2009 8:01 PM EDT up reply actions
...the first was his first year in ownership
he started selling off talent almost immediately after. The first flag is Huizenga’s. They ahve been remarkably competitive, but that’s due to an impressive front office working off a late 1990s-early 00s Royals type of payroll.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 12, 2009 8:20 PM EDT up reply actions
sorry, I mean the second championship
the first was Huizenga’s
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 12, 2009 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions
that is an impressive front office....
that works for Lurie or Luria or whatever his name is. He has to get credit for that.
Fire Hillman
by billybeingbilly on May 12, 2009 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Indeed
What he did to the Expos was near criminal. Montréal is, believe it or not, a big baseball city- always has been. And he wasted it, destroyed it and kicked it down the gutter.
The only saving grace for the Marlins is that they didn’t have many fans to alienate in the first place.
The Allard Baird of incisive internet discourse.
leave it to an art dealer to out-sleaze
a Wal-Mart exec, a Great Depression foreclosure genius (Pohlad), and the PIttsburgh media morons.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 12, 2009 8:22 PM EDT up reply actions
ooops
and I’ve talked to people up here — the notion that baseball would “never take hold” in Quebec is exaggerated. Again, when they won, they drew decent crowds. There is actually a decent amateur baseball culture in Quebec, too.
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 12, 2009 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Observation Time
The list of the “bad owners” are ridiculously hideous. My goodness is Peter Angelos, Stan Kasten, and David Glass ugly.
Some ugly people. Especially Angelos, he looks like the love child of the Thing from the fantastic four and a turtle.
by Royal from Queens on May 12, 2009 7:47 PM EDT reply actions
I think they have Glass about right
when they say stoolpidgeon. Although, I would have simply said stoolpidgeon.
Yes, he is finally starting to spend some money. Not enough, but some. He has always seemed to think that the fans were supposed to come out and fill the stadium and THEN he would spend money. Wake up to reality buddy. Build a good team first and the fans will come. He ought to be seeing that in action right now.
So, let’s all hold our breath and smile at David. Maybe he’s coming around.
First.
The General Theory of Royaltivity
Totally disagree with Glass being a stool
He’s an aggressive and ruthless businessman, who I respect. He’s been the only owner with the balls to vocally oppose the players union, all the other owners are playing with their franchises like kids with tinkertoys. Granted they may be more passionate baseball people, but give me a solid business man and he can traditionally turn things around if given enough time to figure out the systems in play.
The way I see his gameplan, make the money first, make the money work for you, make more money then reinvest the money back into the system (ie create a winner). Kinda like how that little company from Bentonville Arkansas got successful, what’s their name again, oh yeah WAL-MART. That plan seemed to work pretty well for them considering they’re #1 on Fortune/Forbes Top 500.
by Your_Moms_Boyfriend on May 12, 2009 8:24 PM EDT reply actions
It's amazing that a Walmart exec
would be so vocal against a union.
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
The best part of the Walmart
plan is when they figured out they could take advantage of slaves in China. GREAT PLAN !
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
best part about slavery
not onlyl is there no free agency, no arbitration, either
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.
by Matt Klaassen on May 12, 2009 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Everyone who runs a company is anti-union
because unions suck ass. And David Glass has been instrumental in the growth and continued dominance of Wal-Mart. And don’t give me the slaves in other countries crap, read The World Is Flat.
by Your_Moms_Boyfriend on May 14, 2009 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Union's suck ass?
If you think higher wages, better benefits, and a solid retirement plan suck, than yeah, I guess Union’s suck. Put down the Friedman and pick up Krugman. If you think paying workers in China pennies a day hasn’t caused problems for our economony, and somehow blame unions, then I fear you may be too far gone.
by Nighthawk at the Diner on May 16, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
I just read the first few chapters of Denis Johnson's Tree of Smoke
And I’m never going to shoot a monkey again……..
by Nighthawk at the Diner on May 12, 2009 8:37 PM EDT reply actions
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