The Problem with the Marlins

I pay attention to the Florida Marlins. They are my second-favorite major leage team. I do this because the Sea Dogs were affiliated with Florida for about 10 years. However, despite the fact that the Marlins have won more world championships than the Red Sox have in my lifetime, they have a history of very poor (in terms of quality, not in terms of wealth) ownership. The article "Dumb and Dumber" at the Hardball Times vividly illustrates this.

Here is a team that celebrated its first championship by getting rid of all their players and promoting their AAA team to the majors before they even raised a banner. Imagine the marketing campaign: "Come watch the guys wearing the uniforms that last year's World Champions wore!" I have always loathed Wayne Huizenga, the Marlins' owner at the time, because of the way he handled this, not allowing any goodwill to grow with the fans (resulting in increased profits) in celebration of a championship. The Hardball Times article points out something that I for some reason had never considered - that the Marlins bottom line losses (reputed to be $30 million - a number I never believed) weren't real at all. Among the factors contributing to the Marlins losing money were the following:

1. A poor stadium deal, with an exorbitant rent rate, no sharing of luxury box and club suite income, and very little parking and concessions income. All of this revenue went to the stadium, which is owned by who? Wayne Huizenga.
2. A below-market broadcasting deal with Sportschannel Florida, resulting in less broadcasting revenue than Florida's counterparts were earning. Sportschannel Florida is owned by who? Wayne Huizenga.

I'm sure that Huizenga also drew a salary from the Marlins, which also impacted the bottom line. This is exactly the type of thing that drives me crazy when baseball owners cry poverty, because believe me: related-party transactions are not limited to South Florida.

The current ownership (Jeffrey Loria, who John Brattain rightly points out as the man whe killed the Expos) has celebrated it's recent championship and wealth of young talent by complaining about how badly the team needs a new stadium. "Look, we're not going to be able to win a World Series every six years in this crappy ballpark!"

It's all just sickening and saddening.

The Marlins could (and should) be one of the jewels in MLB's crown, but they are portrayed as just another team that might not be able to get by. It's too bad, and it's about time MLB figured out that the fans might not like having this message slammed down their throats all the time.