There is no question that Mark Cuban is a loud mouth, can be a jerk, and a lot of time acts in a way that makes the crusty, mostly old baseball owners of America very nervous. However, he is also a guy with very deep pockets, a huge sports fan, a guy with a lot of passion, and one of four professional team owners whose organization is the reigning champions of their sport. With all of that it seems weird the baseball (IE Bud Selig) seem so hell bent on not allowing Cuban into the sport of baseball. Let us not forget he has tried to purchase several team already.
Right now baseball is full of bad owners, not like hockey where many owners mismanage their teams or sign bad deals that do not allow them to make money, but bad owners who have a ton of personal debt. To be fair some of these owners have mismanaged their clubs and the list is pretty extensive. Thanks to guys like Fred Wilpon (New York Mets), Frank McCourt (Los Angeles Dodgers), guys like Jeff Loria (Florida Marlins) and Robert Nutting (Pittsburgh Pirates) are not continually run over the coals for their actions with their teams.
I found an interesting article by Jayson Stark of that four-letter network . He goes on to list bad owners of the past. People like Marge Shot who used Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati as a dog run for her St. Bernard’s, and Charlie Finley who paraded a mule around the outfield, and the most infamous of all Bill Veck who dreamed up the big winner Disco Demolition night.
Given all that, it makes no sense why Bud has decided a rich, passionate guy like Cuban should not be allowed to own a team. While Cuban tends to rub people the wrong way, he is the kind of owner that baseball needs right now.
Related Links:
- The Business of Major League Baseball
- Joshua Lobdell.com