Post Classifieds
Marlins' owner cutting costs a detriment to fans
By Leif Reigstad
On December 6, 2012
Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria started his Black Friday a few weeks early this year,
shopping his best players around at bargain prices that even Walmart would have trouble
matching.
Loria's salary-dump trade in mid-November was a blatant slap in the face to Marlins
fans. Loria traded star shortstop Jose Reyes, starting pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark
Buehrle, catcher John Buck and outfielder Emilio Bonifacio to the Toronto Blue Jays for
a few utility players and mid-level prospects.
That's a combined career 217 home runs, 230 wins, 524 stolen bases, 1,003 RBIs and
11 All-Star game appearances sent packing. Or, as Loria likely sees it, a combined $154
million in guaranteed salaries for next year he can write off the books.
After about a week of reviewing the trade's fairness, Major League Baseball
Commissioner Bud Selig allowed the deal, but issued a warning.
In a statement, Selig said he'd "continue to monitor this situation with the expectation
that the Marlins will take into account the sentiments of their fans" - fans that paid for
most of Loria's brand new, publicly-funded stadium.
In 2002, Loria purchased the Marlins, a franchise that had shared a stadium with the
NFL's Miami Dolphins. The Marlins' owner threatened to move the team if the city
didn't help build a new stadium.
Thus, Marlins Park was born, fathered by a ruthless businessman and shoved into the
hands of an unsuspecting public in the form of $360 million in taxpayer's money.
Fans that helped pay for the stadium had no way of knowing this kind of shake-up was
coming.
But who also would have guessed that half of the hyped 2012 team would be gone before
fans could celebrate the stadium's one-year anniversary?
Loria's defenders will likely point to 1997 (pre-Loria ownership), the first Marlins team
to win the World Series and the first Marlins team to be dumped all at once. The fire sale
after that season laid the groundwork for the Marlins' 2003 championship.
There's also the fact that the players traded away this year were part of a team that
finished last in the NL East this year. But this was obviously not a move meant to make
the team better.
Loria, the Ebenezer Scrooge of sports, will need a lot of luck next season when he is
faced with the challenge of marketing a scrap-heap team to an already diminutive fan-
base. And with the winter meetings coming up, things may get worse in Miami before
they get better.
Who will be the next Marlin to go? Ricky Nolasco? Logan Morrison? My money's on
outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, an emerging superstar who hit 37 home runs last season as
a 23-year-old.
Young? Check. Talented? Check. Heading for a big payday? Check. Sounds like Stanton
is just Loria's type to dangle as trade bait.
Loria runs the Marlins with an iron-fist full of dollars, a profit-centric approach with no
regard to the fans or the team's competitiveness.
Fans may yet see justice. Last year, the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission launched
an investigation into the financing of Marlins Park. The investigation is reportedly
focusing on the Marlins' claim that they needed more public money than they really did.
Until the investigation is complete, the full story will remain unknown. But one thing that
is for sure is that this isn't the last ploy Loria will pull.
Loria was lucky Selig allowed this trade. Next time, Loria might not be so lucky, and
he'll have to explain himself to the fans. But by that time, it may be too late.
Leif Reigstad can be reached by email at reigstad.record@live.com.
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