Cuban Flavor Would Spice Up Baseball

by Joe Phelps

Major League Baseball has a history of incredible blunders throughout their existence; most notably the cancellation of the 1994 World Series due to a strike (their EIGHTH work stoppage) and the Steroid Era. The MLB continues to show that they have not learned from their past transgressions and mistakes and it is the fan that continually pays the price.

But the purpose of this piece is not to debate whether or not the records shattered during the Steroid Era should stand or have an asterisk, nor is it to debate the short-sightedness of keeping Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame (he should be there, but that is another discussion). This article's goal is to point out yet another egregious error by the MLB and the owners. An error that once again will cause the game and the fans to suffer.

Mark Cuban was denied the right to purchase an MLB franchise (Chicago Cubs).

Why? There could be a litany of reasons why the owners voted to keep Cuban out of the MLB, however the only reason that sticks out in my mind is fear. Don't just take my word for it, listen to the fans themselves.

When I proposed the question (Should Mark Cuban be allowed to own an MLB franchise and why?) to the members of The Best Damn Poll In The Land, the responses were eye opening to say the least.

BucFan40 wrote: "He (Cuban) cares. He's willing to spend (money). His players love him and he brings attention to the sport. Love him or hate him, he's a lightning rod (for publicity). He speaks his mind, but the truth is he's a class act and a good guy. He's (also) a fan (himself)."

That's certainly not the "norm" for MLB owners. The fear factor seems to be concrete here.

Exhibit A: Robert Nutting, owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team has not finished above .500 since 1992, the longest drought in MLB history. The Pirates continually jettison players from their roster for fear of actually having to pay them based on performance; the most recent is Jose Bautista (given to Toronto for basically nothing), who led the MLB in home runs in 2010 and currently doing the same in 2011. Not holding on to these guys and building a winner shows just one thing: Nutting is in it just for the money.

Owners never reveal profits, but they'll be the first one's crying when they take a financial loss. Since 1992, Pittsburgh has averaged 21,000 per game in attendance. Nutting preys upon the loyalty of these fans and their love of the game to continually line his pockets with money from his investment. Don't believe me? Listen to a die-hard Pirates fan then:

Goose wrote: (When it was suggested by another member that Cuban should buy the Pirates) "Nutting will never sell. He still makes millions every year from this "investment". It's a joke."

If Cuban were to own an MLB franchise, it would spell disaster for buffoons like Nutting and his ilk.

Csd10 sums it up best: "Cuban would be a fantastic MLB owner. It shows where the priorities of MLB and its owners lie that they would rather have people who toe the line and kiss the commissioner's ass than an owner actually interested in putting a good product out there for fans to enjoy. That attitude is part of the reason why the NFL and NBA will continue to put distance between themselves and MLB, while MLB and the owners will insist that baseball is "fine." They're incredibly out of touch."

Perhaps no one is more out of touch than Fay Vincent. His comments echo what CSD10 pointed out:

"I think it's more important for owners to be gentlemen, play by the rules, respect the authorities, do what's good for the sport, than it is to manage his franchise into total success," he said. "The subtleties make the difference. George Steinbrenner was a real problem in baseball, and I think Mark Cuban is a real problem in basketball."

Exhibit B: Let's breakdown Vincent's statement. Basically what Vincent is alluding to is MLB does not want passionate owners that want to win. MLB wants owners that "toe the company line" and not ruffle any feathers. MLB wants owners that keep their mouths shut and have no desire to improve their teams. God forbid that it would pressure the other owners into actually spending the money that the shakedown the fans for and force them to improve their teams to be competitive.

The George Steinbrenner comments were priceless and very telling as well. Vincent calling George a problem for baseball is dumbfounding. How was George a problem? If he wasn't satisfied with the job his manager was doing, George called him to the floor. He did the same with his players. Here's the rub: Steinbrenner also called out the Commissioner's office on numerous occasions. I guess that is how the former owner of one of the most prestigious and successful sports franchises in the world was a problem.

There are way too many pros behind letting Cuban own an MLB team for them to be dismissed by Vincent and MLB owners with a mere "he'd be a problem." Cuban would spend his own money to improve the stadiums, parking, and fan experience instead of soaking the economically tapped municipalities like the current regime of owners do. Cuban would not rest until he put a competitive and contending product on the field. He would put baseball back on the map, and we just could not have that...could we?

Fear. That is what motivated the owners in MLB to deny Mark Cuban the opportunity for joining their private club. Fear that the franchise he would buy would set the bar too high. Fear that the other owners would have to spend money and stop fleecing the fans. Fear that Mark Cuban would bring change for the good of the sport and the good of the fans.

The owners obviously do not want that.

So, I was going to close this with some fancy words that would really strike a blow to the MLB owners, but I have decided to end it with some of the responses from the fans of MLB themselves. Mark Cuban would definitely spice up baseball as we know it.

Athens: "I think he would definitely be good and would love for him to buy the Braves. Too many of the MLB owners are either stoic, emotionless robots or corporate conglomorations that use the team as nothing more than a tax write off (See Braves). He is passionate, sometimes a little too much, but that passion is good for sports. Owners like him breathe life into sports and keep things from becoming too stale."

Bry176: "I think he'd be a great owner and great for baseball. I so wanted him to buy the Cubs, but baseball didn't approve him for ownership. And whole heartedly agree on Vincent, he is a douche. While were at it, let's get Pete Rose into the HOF. That won't happen until Vincent is dead though, and probably Pete as well."

BigDawgs: "CUBAN, BUY THE DAMN BRAVES!!!"

Buckeye47: "Any owner that whats to win and will put forth the effort to do so will make a  fantastic owner...Cuban falls into this category. Believe me, Dolan owns the Tribe and he has zero desire to win...I wish Gilbert would buy the Indians...Dolan should burn in hell."

Gabbert4Heisman: "I wish he would buy the Pirates.  He is from Pittsburgh and he would bring excitement to that town.  The Pirates have good fans and they play in a great ballpark but losing year after year, I don't blame them for not coming.  Cuban would be great for that franchise."

Goose: "He wanted to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates years ago but no progress was made (my understanding of the situation). I think he'd be a breath of fresh air... How many MLB team owners can people even name?  It can't hurt having a savvy owner, who wants to win.. The players would love it.. He will pay to win.. He will upgrade facilities.. He will have their back... The other owners would hate it at first (b/c he's brash and will buy their players).. but in the long run, another successful franchise will only make baseball better.. Plus, if he spends.. he'll have to pay luxury tax to the teams that don't want to win.. Win/Win scenario..."

Bardimous1: "I have a hard time seeing why it would be a bad thing... think of some other owners... you have the Steinbrenners who put down their own players... you have the Bob Nutting who just sits their and collects money and won't put a product on the field for the Pirates.  All Cuban would do is be a class act like he was during the NBA Finals and be determined to put a winning product on the field.  No salary cap would be a great thing for him."

El Ducko: "I think Cuban would be good for MLB. A problem MLB has is it is seen as the "Old, slow sport". Cuban would put some spark in to it simply by showing up. He is energy, enthusiasm personified. It can be overdone at times, but I think he generally just really likes his team and their games."

But why listen to the fans? I wasn't aware that the MLB owners feel the same way LeBron James does about the very people that make it possible for those idiots to make money.