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09-02-2003, 08:13 PM
New York Expos?
Yankees and Mets would fight it, but the idea makes sense
John Shea Sunday, August 24, 2003
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The Expos could spend another season in Montreal, and that would do nothing but give Major League Baseball executives more time to scratch their heads about the long-term future of the franchise.
The options are the same, but the best option of all isn't an option at all.
While MLB considers Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Portland, Ore., San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Monterrey, Mexico, nobody is mentioning the one alternative that makes too much sense to apply.
A return to the golden age.
It has been 46 years since three teams played in New York, and it might be another 46 years before it happens again. But by moving the Expos to the biggest city this side of Tokyo, baseball would help achieve two of its goals.
It would give the Expos a home.
It would give the Yankees a headache.
That's really the ambition of all other owners, isn't it? To limit George Steinbrenner's revenues?
The new labor agreement was supposed to help bring the Yankees back to earth, fiscally, but it did nothing but widen the gap between them and everyone else. Though other high-spending teams -- including the Mets, Dodgers,
Red Sox and Rangers -- acknowledge there's some semblance of a salary cap (the luxury-tax threshold), the Yankees dismiss it altogether. Their payroll is bigger than ever.
Move the Expos to New York, and the Yankees, along with the Mets, would be forced into a regional form of revenue-sharing, and that would go a long way toward balancing the economic playing field.
MLB would not propose a three-team New York market because Steinbrenner and Mets owner Fred Wilpon would go straight to court, so willing to protect their territorial grip that they'd make Al Davis seem like an amateur suit-filer. Even though a Gotham trifecta would be good for baseball, the Yankees and Mets aren't interested in helping the game as much as themselves.
At the owners' meetings in Boston Aug. 13-14, no decision on where the Expos will play next year was made, but it could come soon. MLB has until Sept.
1 to present a 2004 schedule to the players' union for review. Although schedule-makers are keeping multiple sites in mind while filling dates, MLB would prefer a final answer by then.
It won't be New York, of course.
The NHL doesn't have a problem with three teams (Islanders, Rangers, Devils) in the New York area, and it worked for decades in baseball, even in the end of the golden age. Between 1947 (Jackie Robinson's first year) and 1957 (the Giants' and Dodgers' final year), the World Series featured two New York teams seven times and one New York team three times.
From '58 to '61, baseball allowed the Yankees four unchallenged years before inventing the Mets and dressing them in Dodger blue and Giant orange, for old times' sake, but the Yankees still have dominated the town, especially lately.
No team comes close to the Yankees in generating local TV/radio revenue, and a third team could make a huge dent, even if it's situated in the National League.
The 29 other teams own the Expos, and they'd draw top dollar by selling to New York ownership. They'd also guarantee high attendance, which wouldn't be a lock in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia or Portland.
When Jeffrey Loria owned the Expos (awfully, we might add), he would have loved to move to New York, his hometown. He knew it wouldn't happen, and he sold the team to MLB and bought the Marlins, who were a disgrace until they fired Loria's buddy, manager Jeff Torborg, hired Jack McKeon and promoted Dontrelle Willis.
The Expos are a better team now, under manager Frank Robinson and general manager Omar Minaya, and remain in the wild-card hunt. To their credit, they're not surrendering or salary-dumping like the Reds and Pirates. They signed veteran Todd Zeile on Wednesday and have kept their free-agents-to-be, including Vladimir Guerrero, along with Livan Hernandez, who's vested for $6 million next year once he throws another 32 innings.
Of course, MLB could command a higher price for a contending team, so keeping the Expos together is a good idea. But if they suddenly drop from contention, several players suddenly would become available -- the team would collect prospects, and a new owner would inherit a lighter payroll.
For now, it seems the Expos will play next year's games in Montreal or San Juan or a combination of both, though the players want all 81 home games in one city. Either way, the franchise's long-term future will remain in limbo.
The New York Expos? It makes too much sense to ever happen.
E-mail John Shea at jshea@sfchronicle.com.
Yankees and Mets would fight it, but the idea makes sense
John Shea Sunday, August 24, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Expos could spend another season in Montreal, and that would do nothing but give Major League Baseball executives more time to scratch their heads about the long-term future of the franchise.
The options are the same, but the best option of all isn't an option at all.
While MLB considers Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Portland, Ore., San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Monterrey, Mexico, nobody is mentioning the one alternative that makes too much sense to apply.
A return to the golden age.
It has been 46 years since three teams played in New York, and it might be another 46 years before it happens again. But by moving the Expos to the biggest city this side of Tokyo, baseball would help achieve two of its goals.
It would give the Expos a home.
It would give the Yankees a headache.
That's really the ambition of all other owners, isn't it? To limit George Steinbrenner's revenues?
The new labor agreement was supposed to help bring the Yankees back to earth, fiscally, but it did nothing but widen the gap between them and everyone else. Though other high-spending teams -- including the Mets, Dodgers,
Red Sox and Rangers -- acknowledge there's some semblance of a salary cap (the luxury-tax threshold), the Yankees dismiss it altogether. Their payroll is bigger than ever.
Move the Expos to New York, and the Yankees, along with the Mets, would be forced into a regional form of revenue-sharing, and that would go a long way toward balancing the economic playing field.
MLB would not propose a three-team New York market because Steinbrenner and Mets owner Fred Wilpon would go straight to court, so willing to protect their territorial grip that they'd make Al Davis seem like an amateur suit-filer. Even though a Gotham trifecta would be good for baseball, the Yankees and Mets aren't interested in helping the game as much as themselves.
At the owners' meetings in Boston Aug. 13-14, no decision on where the Expos will play next year was made, but it could come soon. MLB has until Sept.
1 to present a 2004 schedule to the players' union for review. Although schedule-makers are keeping multiple sites in mind while filling dates, MLB would prefer a final answer by then.
It won't be New York, of course.
The NHL doesn't have a problem with three teams (Islanders, Rangers, Devils) in the New York area, and it worked for decades in baseball, even in the end of the golden age. Between 1947 (Jackie Robinson's first year) and 1957 (the Giants' and Dodgers' final year), the World Series featured two New York teams seven times and one New York team three times.
From '58 to '61, baseball allowed the Yankees four unchallenged years before inventing the Mets and dressing them in Dodger blue and Giant orange, for old times' sake, but the Yankees still have dominated the town, especially lately.
No team comes close to the Yankees in generating local TV/radio revenue, and a third team could make a huge dent, even if it's situated in the National League.
The 29 other teams own the Expos, and they'd draw top dollar by selling to New York ownership. They'd also guarantee high attendance, which wouldn't be a lock in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia or Portland.
When Jeffrey Loria owned the Expos (awfully, we might add), he would have loved to move to New York, his hometown. He knew it wouldn't happen, and he sold the team to MLB and bought the Marlins, who were a disgrace until they fired Loria's buddy, manager Jeff Torborg, hired Jack McKeon and promoted Dontrelle Willis.
The Expos are a better team now, under manager Frank Robinson and general manager Omar Minaya, and remain in the wild-card hunt. To their credit, they're not surrendering or salary-dumping like the Reds and Pirates. They signed veteran Todd Zeile on Wednesday and have kept their free-agents-to-be, including Vladimir Guerrero, along with Livan Hernandez, who's vested for $6 million next year once he throws another 32 innings.
Of course, MLB could command a higher price for a contending team, so keeping the Expos together is a good idea. But if they suddenly drop from contention, several players suddenly would become available -- the team would collect prospects, and a new owner would inherit a lighter payroll.
For now, it seems the Expos will play next year's games in Montreal or San Juan or a combination of both, though the players want all 81 home games in one city. Either way, the franchise's long-term future will remain in limbo.
The New York Expos? It makes too much sense to ever happen.
E-mail John Shea at jshea@sfchronicle.com.