I don’t understand all of the hate that the Dolans get…sure, there have been some bad moments (“enjoy him” comes to mind pretty immediately). But largely they have:
1. Hired great people (Shapiro, Antonetti, Francona) and let them do their jobs.
2. Been aggressive in the international signing market (by far the best ROI and a big reason why our farm system is churning out contributors year after year).
3. Provided the assets needed to take a swing when it made sense (Swisher/Bourn, Andrew Miller, Edwin Encarnacion – hell, even Josh Bell/Mike Zunino looked reasonable after the 2022 that we had).
4. Avoided arbitration almost entirely – no one wants to go through that with a player that you’re trying to keep.
And the team that they have owned has:
1. Been a model of consistency and stability.
2. Developed great young players year after year.
3. Made some savvy trades to take advantage of higher-spending teams in desperate situations.
4. **Won the 4th most games in the majors since 2013**, despite consistently being bottom-5 (or in the bottom half, at best) in team payroll. (and seriously, the other low-spending teams are also at the bottom of the standings in that time period, outside of Tampa).
Look…Cleveland isn’t New York or Los Angeles. And the **MLB payroll structure and cash flow is absolutely fucked** and [almost twice as dependent on local TV/media as any other sport](https://crossscreen.media/state-of-the-screens/local-tv-and-the-changing-economics-of-baseball/). We’re consistently in the bottom half of attendance (which accounts for \~[40% of team revenue](https://crossscreen.media/state-of-the-screens/local-tv-and-the-changing-economics-of-baseball/) when you include parking/concessions), have a terrible TV deal (\~[23% of team revenue](https://crossscreen.media/state-of-the-screens/local-tv-and-the-changing-economics-of-baseball/) \- and in the bottom 7 of the league). Maybe things will pick up if the league ever handles our TV deal (this had [an impact for the Dbacks last year](https://awfulannouncing.com/ratings/rangers-pirates-orioles-reds-biggest-local-mlb-increases-2023-season.html)). And despite this local dependence, the Dolans have remained steadfast that they won’t move the team to a bigger market. **And they have continuously fielded competitive teams even with these limited resources.**
If there was a salary floor, a more even cash flow of revenues (less local dependence) and more incentive for teams to retain their homegrown players, we’d be looking at some of the best owners in the game. IMO it’s more of a league issue than it is an owner issue.
All of the “sell the team” talk just seems like bitter fans who never want to lose any player or want to overpay for free agents (when this is **usually the worst ROI that you can get** \- and there are hundreds of examples of these free agent deals aging terribly). Would you rather sign/draft a bunch of toolsy middle infielders and hope that you can develop them into contributors, or pay Carlos Correa $200M guaranteed? Would you rather draft/sign and develop Chase DeLauter, George Valera, Steven Kwan, etc., or pay Brandon Nimmo $162M? Would you rather churn out stud pitchers year after year, or pay the near-40 year old Verlander/Scherzer duo over $200M combined and owe them each a ton of money when you aren’t competitive and trade both away mid-season? The Yankees are paying Giancarlo Stanton another $118M over the next 4 seasons – is that what people want us to do?
They aren’t perfect, but I think that we have better owners than most people realize. Most low-spending teams (and probably quite a few high-spending ones) would love to be in our situation year after year, and ownership certainly plays a role in that. Would love to hear why I’m wrong though!
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And no, this is not Paul Dolan’s burner account.
We were coming off a WS appearance and won 102 games in 2017 and still didn’t crack the top 20 in fan attendance. The fans don’t spend like it’s a big market team so the owners don’t spend like it’s a big market team.
Shapiro was a Jacobs hire and wasn’t all that great regardless. I still remember Shapiro and the Dolans bragging about getting LaPorta* for Sabathia.
*although Brantley was also acquired through that trade, he was literally the player to be named later and not part of the main deal; he was only included because the Brewers made it to the postseason that year.
I just wish MLB would open the books. I want to know how much the Dolans and similar owners are taking home.
Nearly every small market fanbase cries how their billionaire owners are cheap. And the MLB hides behind it all.
They’re bad owners
They could stand to spend a little more, but they actually aren’t bad owners. The organization as a whole is healthy and a good operation. Bad owners don’t have that
I think baseball’s shit structure and cash flow is just catching up and making the Dolans look better. They’re worth billions and refuse to invest any of their money as owner, *especially* when it’s not going to translate as a return financially. The owners who are trying are the owners spending money out of their own pocket, and whether or not they make it back isn’t exactly relevant to them. The Phillies come to mind, as do the Mets off the top of my head. Whether or not those teams make more money is irrelevant to the fact that their owners do things like spend a shit ton of money so the team they own is a better team. They want to win and ask questions later because when you’re worth x-billion dollars or whatever the hell it is, you can do that. Look across town at what Dan Gilbert has done as Cavs owner. Sure the NBA is different, but Dan was writing blank checks for luxury tax while we were going to the Finals with LeBron.
As for the part of the post referencing Correa and Nimmo as examples, that isn’t what anybody’s problem even is imo. We just want to be able to *keep* the Lindor’s of the world. Free agency in baseball can be really tricky and you made great points about bringing in free agents, OP. It just isn’t the thing I’m over here personally bent out of shape about and I think a lot of fans would agree
MLB is broken and I get that. Seeing my favorite players get traded or sign elsewhere every seasons sucks. It’s tough to be a fan for a team like that. Sometimes it feels like college sports or the minor leagues. How can we root for guys knowing fully well that they’ll be gone in a few seasons? I’ve never had a Cleveland baseball jersey last more than two seasons and I’m never going to buy anything player specific ever again.
Having said that we had a championship caliber in 2016. We were one game away from a championship. The next seasons you better go all-in. They didn’t, the team never got back to the World Series and I doubt they ever will again.
The owners are the easiest to blame, even if we all know it’s unrealistic to compete with the LA and NY teams. But why can the Rangers, Cardinals, Giants, and Padres spend so much more? There’s absolutely no excuse to be in the bottom 5 in payroll every damn season. During our championship “window”we were in the bottom half of the league. That’s inexcusable.
Maybe so, but it’d sure be nice if Matt wasn’t spending a boatload of money to run for Senator.
When is the parade for Winning the 4th Most Games in MLB Since 2013?
😂