Even though Major League Baseball is in lockdown mode (and they don’t seem very anxious in rectifying the situation), fans of the Cleveland Guardians got some good news in the past week.
According to reports, the Dolan family has found a minority owner to take the place of John Sherman, who sold his interest in the team to purchase the Kansas City Royals. The rumor is David Blitzer, who owns shares in the New Jersey Devils (NHL) and Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) and several European soccer teams.
Hopefully, this will inject some capital into the operations of the Guardians, who badly need it, not only in terms of players but we feel in the business operations as well, particularly in marketing and scouting.
We love that Blitzer has experience in professional sports, so perhaps he will share the realization that you need to spend money to make money, a premise known by many people in the business world, but not by the majority owner of the Guardians.
It is no secret the payroll of the baseball team has dropped significantly since Sherman decided to buy the Royals, and we hope having another investor will cause the amount of cash spent on players’ salaries to rise dramatically and hopefully immediately.
Besides the on the field product, we would also like to see an upgrade in the marketing and game day experience at Progressive Field. We know the renovations were supposed to start this off-season, but we would like to see the hiring of more ticket takers and people working concessions stands at the ballpark as well.
The days of frugalness need to end right away.
If you visit this site often, you know how we feel about the Dolan ownership, and you also know we don’t believe for a minute they are losing money. We don’t believe anyone owning a Major League Baseball team is under a financial hardship, despite their claims to the contrary.
We believe one of the reasons fans do not go to Progressive Field is it’s not a fun experience. Hopefully Blitzer (assuming the rumors are true) takes what he learned from his other investments and makes going to a Guardians’ game the thing to do on a warm, summer night in Cleveland, and also does some things to boost attendance during the times when school is still in session.
On the field, the first big decision is with Jose Ramirez. The switch-hitter is one of the franchise’s all-time greats and it would be nice to see one of those types finish his career in a Cleveland uniform.
Remember, Ramirez did not receive a huge signing bonus when he came to the organization, and over the past five seasons, he has been one of the best players in baseball. If he and his agent see this as an opportunity for him to finally get paid, it could be difficult to get a long-term agreement here.
Regardless, the payroll has to increase to a more respectable number.
As part of the investment, Blitzer is expected have the opportunity to become the majority owner when the Dolans decide to sell. Assuming a lease (or by then, a new stadium deal can be put in place) extension. This could be another win for Guardians fans.
For whatever reason (and we don’t buy the reason they give us), the Dolan family decided to take a very frugal approach when it came to running this baseball team, and that wasn’t fair to the fans.
Yes, they had some success, particularly in the last 10 years, but they always seemed to stop short. Hopefully, this deal gets done, and the Guardians can end the longest championship drought in the sport.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 