I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before, in any professional sports league.
The penny-pinching Marlins have been issued an edict: Put your millions where your players are.
In a carefully worded statement co-authored by Major League Baseball and the players’ union, the Marlins on Tuesday agreed to increase payroll in line with the money it receives each year from revenue sharing.
Translation: The Marlins will spend more on its roster next season. How much is uncertain.
But even though the Marlins denied any wrongdoing, the message was clear in what is an unprecedented agreement involving a team, the league and the union. The league and union demanded that the Marlins comply with the Basic Agreement and spend a larger portion of the revenue sharing money it receives each year on its players.
I’m not really quite sure how I feel about all this. The Marlins are notoriously cheap, and to say they owe it to the fans is kind of bullshit. Because it seems that no matter how much the Marlins spend or how well they’re playing, people in south Florida just don’t give a shit. The Marlins could trade for Albert Pujols, but the front page of the Miami Herald would be a feature on Dolphins training camp. So when nobody shows up to the games – even when the Marlins are competitive – it’s tough to say that the fan base is owed anything.
What really gets me, though, is that the Marlins finished just six games out of first last season and had a $36 million payroll. Meanwhile, the Mets spent about $100 million more than the Marlins did, and their season was over sometime in July. So whereas the Marlins are cheap, it’s not like they aren’t putting a good product out on the field.
What this means, I suppose, is that the Marlins will be more likely to keep Dan Uggla around for next season. Or, hopefully, they sign Josh Johnson to a long-term contract. All I know is that if I were Loria, I’d be pretty pissed with someone telling me how to spend my money. And then I’d tip %10 on a dinner bill and trade Hanley for five pitching prospects.
