7
2013
Wilpon’s Hubris
An article by 
Recently Josh Kosman of the New York Post reported that the Wilpons have refinanced $450 million in SNY debt. Subsequent clarifications in the NY Times and Forbes explained that they refinanced an additional $250 million and still managed to cash out $160 million. They aren’t entirely out of the woods, but there is a growing consensus that they may yet manage to hold onto the team, and they almost have to don’t they?
The Mets are really all the Wilpons have. No one cares about office buildings or investment securities, but the Mets, well, the Mets have a mascot with a giant head who lacks vocal cords — the Mets get airtime on Letterman and the Daily Show and Family Guy. It is thus perhaps as good a time as any to consider how Fred Wilpon came to own our Mets in the first place and what this ownership group continues to represent for fans who desperately want to believe there is yet hope for our franchise.
Wilpon and Katz have always appeared vulnerable to the perception that they burst onto the scene as Johnny-come-lately’s (compared to old money blue-bloods like Doubleday), ascending to ownership on the wave of a real-estate boom as a couple of tenement flipping nouveau riche guys from Bensonhurst (no not the fat bus driver and the sewer worker). Wilpon was a West Egger to Doubleday’s East Egg (if I may cite Gatsby), and Katz’ giant brass balls (of note in Toobin’s New Yorker piece) notwithstanding, Doubleday made no qualms about his disdain for Fred.
You see Doubleday never forgave Wilpon for the manner in which he took over half ownership. Nelson Doubleday had even more to say about the way he was low-balled during his buy-out proceedings. N.D. considered the “first refusal” clause that Wilpon used to match Doubleday’s ownership percentage (after the sale of Doubleday & Co.) underhanded because Doubleday never intended that the Mets be part of the deal. The clause was nevertheless present in the fine print as a standard if not forthright real estate maneuver.
Down the road the two sides would end up in some nasty litigation when Doubleday balked at Robert Starkey’s appraisal of the franchise’s value after Doubleday and Wilpon finally agreed to part ways. Doubleday may have had a point as Starkey was a crony of Selig’s dating back to Bud’s Brewer days, but in the end you get the sense that Doubleday had had enough and wanted to be done with his marriage to the Wilpons.
Early in the dissolution negotiations Richard Sandomir of the NY Times reported that Doubleday openly doubted Wilpon’s ability to come up with the kind of money he’d need to buy him out and implied he’d be more than willing to purchase Fred’s share. I believe Doubleday would have bought Wilpon out in a heartbeat if he had the opportunity as he never really intended to share the Mets with Fred.
Doubleday knew you don’t just wake up one day hundreds of millions of dollars richer unless your old Papah leaves it to you in a trust fund, and Wilpon’s father was an undertaker from Brooklyn. These comments by N.D., when looked at through the lens of the Madoff debacle (it is speculated that Wilpon’s involvement with Madoff dates back to around 1986), make one wonder what percentage of Wilpon’s new-found financing power wasn’t perhaps leveraged by artificial means. Of course the case for Doubleday wasn’t helped by the fact that he was a pompous and obscenely wealthy eccentric who occasionally let slide anti-Semitic slurs (detailed in “Lords of the Realm” by John Helyar), but he had a knack for knowing when to splurge on the fans and when to spoil his grandchildren. Doubleday also didn’t endear himself to Commissioner Selig as a long time supporter of Selig’s predecessor, Fay Vincent.
Nelson Doubleday ran further afoul of MLB when quotes were leaked from his lawsuit against Wilpon implying the following against at MLB,“in a desperate attempt to reverse decades of losses to MLB’s Players Association – determined to manufacture phantom operating losses and depress franchise values.”
If Selig wasn’t on Doubleday’s side before those comments you have to believe he didn’t have a lot of warm feelings for him afterwards.
The wording in the lawsuit specifically struck a chord that Donald Fehr and the Players Association were harping on. Selig threatened Doubleday with a million dollar lawsuit and soon afterwards T.J. Quinn of the New York Daily News reported that the quote “was not written by Doubleday or his associates, according to sources.”
Doubleday eventually apologized to MLB and the commissioner’s office for questioning Selig’s integrity and for any controversial comments in light of ongoing collective bargaining negotiations. Doubleday went on to say that his lawyers worded and filed the lawsuit without specifically informing him of the implication that MLB was making attempts at systematically devaluing franchise values by drumming up artificial losses (accusations that in retrospect seem almost prophetic given Selig’s now notorious devices in this regard). Needless to say, Doubleday all but sealed his exit from the owner’s club with these actions and the era of Wilpon began in earnest.
Since that time, Doubleday has come to be seen as the magnanimous and colorful figure who presided over one World Series title and another World Series appearance. Fairly or not, he’s accepted as largely orchestrating the triumph of 1986 by hiring Frank Cashen. From the time of purchase in 1980 when he bought the Mets from the Payson family for 21.1 million, Doubleday was received as a kind of rescuer. Doubleday fulfilled that promise in 1986, and furthered his rapport with the fans by openly pushing for the Piazza deal over Fred’s balmy reservations. He was well-liked by the fans and his absence left an image vacuum in the owner’s box that Wilpon never really seemed comfortable filling. Wilpon, on the other hand, got off to a bad start with the fans by being the thin dour-faced fellow with way too much hair gel who elbowed his way into the partnership that eventually pushed Doubleday out of the picture. Doubleday became a kind of betrayed would-be savior in hindsight, whether that designation was deserved or not (Wilpon was present and involved with both the 1986 and 2000 teams).
Fred’s efforts in filling the ownership vacuum became an exercise in how NOT to conduct a public relations campaign. Doubleday wore bright outfits and had a big personality while Wilpon’s sullen and reserved demeanor and ridiculous paranoia over his own public image led to some awkward missteps both with the press and the fans. Wilpon seemed to become obsessed with cultivating and maintaining a sterling reputation, as he and Katz seemed to be caught in a perpetual P.R. struggle against the perceived notion that there was little separating them from a run-of-the-mill moneybags slum-lord.
You can imagine Fred perhaps even feeling ostracized as a new-money “East Egger” (the Madoff proceedings might have all but cemented that perception for some), but in the end they did still own the Mets, and that was their great redeemer. The Mets are their legacy, their badge of honor, their Plaza Hotel, their claim to elite standing. If the Wilpons had a family coat of arms the Met “NY” would be at its center. Owning the Mets gained admission for them to all sorts of exclusive circles and country clubs that only the likes of Doubleday were formerly privy to. For these reasons (among others) there is not a snowball’s chance in hell the Wilpons are going to give up the Mets unless they absolutely have no choice, unless the team is pried from their cold dead hands (or they end up floating face down in a swimming pool).
Sadly, Fred’s desire to keep the Mets “in the family” speaks to an identity driven disregard for the “public domain” component of a Major League baseball club — the fan base. Fred’s own dream of bringing the Dodgers back and filling the abdicated longings of a failed baseball career and a childhood marred by the loss of his beloved team not only hints at his own self aggrandizement but points to a profound misunderstanding of the true Met ethos. Our unique identity — born from the modernist intonations of the 1964 Worlds Fair — not only stands apart from old NY’s baseball culture, it is in many ways diametrically opposed to it. The Mets are all that is new and different, quirky, inventive, and charming.
The Mets are lovable in losing, and occasionally boisterous and unstoppable. They are Tom Seaver and Cleon Jones and Tug McGraw and Lee Mazzilli and Strawberry and Doc Gooden and many other wildly talented players. Wilpon believed he could superimpose his own perceptions on the franchise rather than allow the fans to drive the team’s culture and heritage. The Dodger inspired edifices and rotundas of Citi Field may seem like passing slights to the team’s true character, but they point to an owner who is hopelessly out of touch. It is difficult to envision how these owners, given their history, could possibly prevail upon whatever faculties are available to them to bring about a Met renaissance. Much like Gatsby, no amount of lavish parties or helicopter rides during spring training will convince anyone that they are legitimate to their ambitions.
Like Pandora, Wilpon has let loose all manner of calamities (Bonilla, Alomar, Glavine, Bay — jeez you’d think with a mortician for a father he’d have found easier ways of getting rid of these stiffs) on our Mets, while making every attempt to shut the door on our last remaining hope; a forced sale. But we should not begrudge Fred Wilpon’s unwavering determination to hold onto our team. He is resolute, Like a dog in a manger, unable himself to apportion sufficient resources to effect success while standing in the way of letting another buyer do so. For Fred the Mets are all he has separating him from all the other filthy rich West Eggers, City Field is the one deed he can hold up to the snooty Doubledays of this world to show that he has something they don’t. No, Fred’s not giving up this team, not any time soon. We’re pretty much stuck with these guys unless the team continues to crap itself for several more seasons or things take another dramatic turn for the worse. Our only real hope is that this Sandy Alderson character, on whose forehead you could diagram the human genome with a sharpie, is all he’s cracked up to be, and it’s a fool’s hope at that.
Fair and balanced team coverage. We give it to you straight!
About the Author: Matthew Balasis
I’ve been a Met fan since August 1969 when a fire resulted in the Red Cross placing my family on the 6th floor of a building in Willets Point. I could see Shea from our balcony and I knew something big was going on. I followed them through the dark years and the resurgence of the 80’s only (sadly) to miss the fall of 86 because I was in Boot Camp. I've been serving penance ever since in Minnesota where I'm an SLP. I've written a lot about the Mets in an effort to share with my kids (and anyone else who might listen), a sporting tradition that made much of my childhood worthwhile. Follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewBalasis
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excellent article…
may i add this as a supplement …
please listen to Fred’s 12 step plan on returning the mets to greatness in 1980
https://plus.google.com/photos/112206184788769679724/albums/5656072820853221377?banner=pwa
Unfortunately getting an error message on that link.
https://plus.google.com/photos/112206184788769679724/albums/5656072820853221377/5656072825096822594?banner=pwa
how about now ?
Dang, Matt, that’s some elegant and high-brow prose!
Very much hope to see more of your work here.
Not too shabby for a leatherneck.
Just another reason why Metsmerized sets itself apart from all the other sites out there. A tremendous article. I tip my cap to you.
I’ve always felt that Doubleday got the short end of the stick. Now I know he did. My disdain for current ownership just continues to grow. Thank you for the eye opening read.
Excellent post!
Well written and thanks for the full perspective.
Good job.
…and when ur done with that…
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1137963/index.htm
there are some interesting parts here…
Wilpon wants former Mets such as Tom Seaver, Mookie Wilson, Lee Mazzilli and Rafael Santana to come work for the organization. He wants “the greatest community outreach program” in sports. He wants grand entranceways and redesigned fan services at what has been a tacky Shea Stadium. He wants updated, cheery uniforms for the ushers. He has ordered intensive customer-relations training for all of the organization’s business managers, including himself. He has talked with the Disney people, Universal Studio executives and other resort managers to learn how to attract and treat customers.
Wilpon pulls away the lid from the large white box. It is an architectural model of a sprawling entertainment complex. The centerpiece is a grass-surface stadium with a retractable dome, to be built within five years near the current Shea Stadium site and financed by state and city bonds. The stadium is surrounded by several pointed pavilions that resemble huge tents. Wilpon explains they are state-of-the-art exhibit halls that he intends to be the permanent home of the World’s Fair. That portion of the complex will be privately funded.
Wilpon opens and closes the little retractable dome, which splits open at the center like dual sliding doors. It is a perfectly happy and orderly place. The little plastic trees are always full and green. There is never any traffic on the access roads. It is kept immaculately clean. This is the world Fred Wilpon wants for the Mets. He wants the litter of a live-year decline swept up. He wants not a single piece of paper on the floor.
===============================================================
When the Mets traded him to Toronto, on Aug. 27, 1992, Cone called it “the end of the arrogant Mets. The end of the mid-’80s, flourishing Mets.” When Cone was asked that day if he knew how that end came about, he replied, “Well, yeah, the heart and soul was bred out of it. Numbers and production have taken a front seat while what a guy’s intangibles are, what personality he brings to the Mets, is left on the backseat. You need people who are fixtures, with personality and guts. When things are down, those are the type of guys who fight back.”
( sounds so familiar doesnt it ? )
===============================================================
Viola was tormented by the carousel of grotesque fielders the Mets annually put on display. “”I’m not surprised to see what’s happened to the Mets,” says Viola, who bolted after the 1991 season to sign with the Boston Red Sox. “I saw it coming. What happened is they had too many people out of position. And I mean starting from the front office on down.”
( sounds so familiar doesnt it ? )
===============================================================
Gregg Jefferies, a hitting phenom who was touted by McIlvaine as a future batting champ, came up in 1988 as a third baseman, moved to second base and then back to third—he displayed not a bit of elegance at cither position—before the Mets moved him one last time: to Kansas City, following the ’91 season. Howard Johnson began 1990 at third base, ’91 at shortstop and ’92 in centerfield. During those three seasons the Mets’ Opening Day lineup featured different players at six positions every year. “The Mets have always been an offensive-minded club,” says Dallas Green, who last season became the Mets’ fifth manager in three years. “I could never understand why they ignored defense, with all the good pitching they had. It’s a mistake we’re not going to continue to make.”
Putting people out of positon and moving them all around?
( sounds so familiar doesnt it ? )
===============================================================
McIlvaine made the trade the day after running it past Johnson and after Cashen—much to his subsequent regret—endorsed it. There was one unmentioned element that clinched the deal. Samuel was Latin. “We were desperate to have a Latin on the team,” says one Met official, “especially with the great Latin American population in the city. We thought New York would love him.”
Marketing over production?
( sounds so familiar doesnt it ? )
===============================================================
Some excellent points. Fred tenure has been marked by the same tactics repeated over and over. Players out of position and a total disregard for defense is at the top of the list. So it the perpetual quick fix. From Coleman and Bonilla all the way through Bay, it was always the same antics. Even the Wright signing, in my opinion, was done with an eye on the gate receipts. Fred knows all too well that getting rid of Wright this off season most likely would mean an empty Citi Field in 2013 (which might happen anyway). So once again we see a big contract handed out to a name, albeit one who is homegrown, in an effort to keep people coming out to the park.
“Fred knows all too well that getting rid of Wright this off season most likely would mean an empty Citi Field in 2013 (which might happen anyway). So once again we see a big contract handed out to a name, albeit one who is homegrown, in an effort to keep people coming out to the park.”
EXACTLY
which is why I routinely make fun of those who supported resigning him…its a marketing move in a results oriented town…
this might work in KC…but NY is absolutely brutal…the worst place in America to be when u are an overpaid and underproducing player for a franchise starving for a ring..
the most insane part…is if we cant afford to keep Ike + Tejada because of the dwindling ticket sales…( it wont be b/c of Wright’s contract )
Their failure to learn from their previous mistakes might be the nail in the coffin
Here I thought we could go a whole post without your venom for Wright?
I do agree with you (and I’ve said it before) that the Wilpons tend to personify the whole saying of “What’s the definition of insanity?” saying… They repeatedly go back and do the same things over and over.
Wright was paid for marketing purposes…
they even said they would take money from the advertising budget to help off-set his salary
sorry…but he put the bullseye on his back when he took that money…
and if u think im bad…wait til reporters run out of scape-goats and Wright is the only guy making money….
and if he is slumping…again….in the 2nd half…it may get ugly for him over here…
The guy with the big contract always gets the bullseye. Nothing new.
But what keeps getting overlooked with DW is that he is also the best player on the team, by far. So they were not just extending a guy because teenage girls like him, or he might sell a few more tickets, but because he is the actual top-end ML talent that they desperately need.
So if there is a marketing compenent, that is more likely the last couple of years when he might be kind of useless on the field (though at least paid less). For the bulk of the deal though, what should be his remaining “prime” years, he is actually paid a reasonable amount, compared to what other top guys are getting.
“But what keeps getting overlooked with DW is that he is also the best player on the team, by far”
But he really isnt…at least not “by far”
I would say Ike is breathing down his neck for that title…
a 40 HR year with great defense cements it for me…
and Ike affects Wright more than Wright affects Ike..
Put a weak fielding 1B and see how Wright’s fielding percentage ( and Murphy’s ) is affected…
Not so much the other way around…
I think Wilpon has always been overly image conscious, but another reason may be the fact that many fans lamented the loss of a potential dynasty because of character flaws in our young talented core … only to watch the Yankees across town construct a team on largely the same blueprint that Cashen used, only with ++character guys, enjoying the dynasty we SHOULD have had. While that may be a logical conclusion, part of me thinks that’s not it at all and the focus on character is some weird obsession with Wilpon.
Hi Just,
I supported re-signing Wright but understand that Sandy and Wilpon signed him for all the reasons associated with the business that had nothing to do with the competitive integrity of the team.
I think David adds that type of integrity and glad he is back, even though he’s not back for the reason I believe in.
It’s OK with me if you think the team would be better off without David for that’s at least a baseball-related opinion.
It really depends on what the “options” are..
Just play out the season and let him walk ? – worst option
Resign him to a huge contract. keep him at 3B… – 2nd worst option.
3-way trade for Stanton ? then use the money saved to extend Stanton – a fantasy
Sign Wright to a decent contract…move him to RF…move Murphy to 3B…?
Fact is…why would ANYONE, including Wright, want to play here unless he was going to get COMPENSATED WELL
the same way we had to overpay Beltran and Pedro to come here…we have to overpay Wright to stay…
I just hate the ol golly i just wanna win BS he said in August…
If Wright was THAT solid on winning, he would force a trade / or play out the 2013 and RISK the big payday…
Fact is…Wright was either NOT that solid on winning or was adverse to risk…
i mean its not like Jeter when Jeter signed the largest contract in Yankee history in 2001…
The Yanks had been the WS 4 of the past 5 seasons…
The Mets have been the Mets for almost all of Wright’s career…he’s been here 8 years…he’s seen 3 decent seasons..( 06-08 )
and he has seen his friends booed maliciously
Reyes…
Beltran…
Bay….
He knows whats coming…
Thanks for the link to that SI article. Very interesting.
History just keeps repeating itself, doesn’t it?
yup…
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1136763/index.htm
” “Maybe we’ve made too many trades for guys who are used to getting their asses kicked,” said Gooden. “The guys who used to snap—Wally [Backman], Lenny [Dykstra], Ray, Keith, Mitch—they’re gone.”"
“the Mets have wound up with major weaknesses where they count the most—up the middle. ”
“Dykstra learned well to lower his voice. Although the Mets are based in the borough of Queens, their front office treats all matters with the secrecy of the Manhattan Project.”
“New York has used five catchers this season and has a natural third baseman, Jefferies, at second and a second baseman, Miller, in center. “We have to get a catcher, a utility infielder—a backup at short—little things” is all Cashen will concede.”
“Darling, who was 15-6 as a starter in 1986, is the current odd man out. He is only 29, and New York is trying to trade him for a catcher. Says Harrelson of his bosses upstairs, “If they have any plans, I would like to find out, even if they’re futuristic. Are we going to have the services of Strawberry and McReynolds?”"
Ordinarily a reserved man, he was fairly hollering in response to a question about Strawberry and McReynolds, who also has said he might leave when his contract expires at the end of the 1991 season. “If they don’t want to play here anymore, they don’t want to play here anymore!” said Cashen. “What am I going to do? Go out and give them 10 million dollars?” And with that, a team functionary swept Cashen into the…
For one thing, New York’s games this season have looked like Gilligan’s Island reruns, with a recurring cast of players remaining stranded every night. In what the Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistician of major league baseball, calls Late Inning Pressure Situations (LIPS)—
that is, at bats in the seventh inning or later with the hitter’s team tied or trailing by three or fewer runs, or by four runs with the bases loaded—the Mets were hitting .202 at week’s end. In those same situations with men in scoring position, New York’s average shriveled to .158. The ’86 Mets faced a few LIPS with men in scoring position themselves and hit .326 (box, page 59).
sound familiar ?
jdd,
thanks for looking up those quotes. I am interested to hear why you still want wright to be moved to the outfield after posting violas quote.
I applaud you for such a well written article and an enjoyable one to read as well.
I thought the Mets were Daisy, the lovable but empty headed young thing who is torn between her love of the wealthy, respectable yet ultimately loveless relationship with old school tradition and the exciting yet callow and irresponsible nouveau riche who offers only the patina of inclusion?
Of course that would make us Nick who ultimately buries the young usurper and returns to the midwest to root for the Cubs.
This was solid. I knew we were doomed when Wilpon got his grubby little hands on the whole cookie jar.
The fun will really begin when Jeff is able to put his fingerprints all over the organization after Fred steps aside (or dies). He might name himself Owner, CEO, GM, and Manager all on the first day.
When that day comes it will be the greatest tragedy of them all. Even in his insignificant roles Jeff has had, he’s been a poison pill.
Excellent read.
‘..but they point to an owner who is hopelessly out of touch.’
Couldn’t agree more with this – as well as all the reasons you gave why Fred will never sell this team unless absolutely forced to.
My biggest concern is the day ‘Fred’s legacy’ passes into the hands of his son Jeff.
If we believe Fred is out of touch, I fear Jeff’s perception will be 10 Xs worse.
The single biggest difference between Doubleday and Wilpon was Doubleday’s “hands off” approach, never so much as questioning Cashen’s approach or his moves.
lol! Boomer, that’s a great analogy, hadn’t thought of Daisy as the Mets themselves.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112206184788769679724/TheWilpons?authkey=Gv1sRgCNn2_9brxfL_MA&noredirect=1
Great Article!
Just,
Any chance you can somehow share that link some other way. I can’t open it even though I have an account and I’m very interested to read that.
im trying…
its actually a video from 1980…
it shows a young Fred Wilpon in his first spring training as a Met….a minority owner with 5% ownership of the team…hogging up damn near the whole show….
You can clearly see Wilpon had aspirations of running things even then….
the CRAZY part….is when the reporter asks how is Fred going to increase attendance…
Fred says he doesnt plan on doing it by winning 90 games…rather he is going to bring the magic back by reintroducing the fans to the “experience” at the ball-club….the smell of fresh cut grass…and popcorn…the sound of the crack of the bat on a warm sunny day…
I cant make this crap up….i was baffled when i saw this…
Wilpon has ALWAYS put marketing a product ahead of the actual integrity of the product..
Its kinda like Hollywood….
I read an article about the movie the Impossible….( awesome MUST SEE FLICK )
the director, a spaniard, said he wasnt sure if he could get financing if he kept the family from Spain…he said in order to secure financing…he had to find a way to have “universal” appeal…
universal appeal = Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts ….
Now in the case of that movie…it really didnt matter, the actors were awesome, the special effects were awesome…it was overall a great movie….
but the same sorta mentality that goes on in Hollywood….its the same mentaility Wilpon incorporates
If he gets a player from free-agency…he has to find a way to market him to the crowd, even before a ticket is sold….the marketing has always been the top priority…
this is why Fred will always pick a guy like Bobby Bo…who had the million dollar smile…before a Barry Bonds….
Bobby = hometown kid done good…nice guy….replaces the mean and surly traitor Strawberry
This is why a guy like Ike can hit 50 HR every year…but if he is not nice to the reporters…and it results in negative press ( YIKES !!! ), He is out of here….
Fred’s aversion to criticism has been a nail in our shoe for 25 years
Hilariously, the more he tries to avoid it, the more it finds him
Great read! This was a good article too in reference to the Wilpons from the book The Worst Team Money Could Buy http://2guystalkingmetsbaseball.com
Just my two cents on the whole Wilpon Doubleday controversy….
First off as Matt correctly pointed out, Doubleday came FROM money and Wilpon built his empire by EARNING his money….
Doubleday inherited the majority of his wealth and Wilpon created his own…
and THAT is why Doubleday got screwed by a clause he probably didn’t even realize was there but is SOP for most partnerships where two partners own shares and the other gets an option to buy out the other at some point.
Wilpon is a real business man….Doubleday pretty much inherited his wealth based on his Fathers business acumen….
Lets be clear here…NDJr is pretty much Jeffy when it comes right down to it…No wonder he got screwed by a shrewd Business type like Wilpon….
How did Wilpon get his wealth? Well it’s pretty apparent now isnt it? He would get loans to buy properties and pay off the loans with whatever rent he got from it. Buying tenements for pennies and turning them into commercial and residential properites that could be sold during the BOOM and Bubble….
It was WILPON who was the guy who started the attempt to buy the Mets, He always wanted to run a baseball team and since he didn’t have the money to buy it on his own and no bank would lend you the amount of money needed at that time (especially considering the Mets at that time) He found a moneybags investor to buy majority of the team that would let him run the organization (ND Jr.)
Many think the WIlpons are broke but it is obvious to anyone who sees the way they have conducted business that the Wilpons NEVER PLAY WITH THIER OWN MONEY!
It’s always someone else’s!
Be it Doubleday, a Bank, Perhaps even Madoff Victims, and for a year or two the MLB!
Even if they defaulted on loans on the stadium, SNY, Even some loan they may take (but don’t have today) out for the team….
Those three things are the only thing they would lose and still be as rich as they have ever been.Would probably even make a Killing on the sale as that would get them much more money than what they have out in loans.
SO lets not cry for the Wilpon’s Financial picture and lets stop excusing thier lack of spending on thier own personal financial position….
None of thier personal wealth is on the line here and the reason we are not spending is because they are smart enough to know you should NEVER put your personal wealth on the line. Especially into a business that loses money because people refuse to attend.
They will spend money when the fans show they are willing to pay to see that spending….
And since we have already showed we will abandon them at the first sign of trouble it will take a lot more than just going one year before they are conviced we will support that spending for the duration of the commitment.
Maybe I shouldn’t be speaking for anyone else but….I think we all know the Wilpons aren’t broke – far from it. Only the Mets were/are broke.
I think it is also a stretch to say the Mets are broke as well SRT….
The team isn’t highly leveraged in debt, They lost 23 Mil last year and have since cut 25 Mill of Payroll….
So the METs aren’t really broke…not yet anyway….
Businesses lose money all the time and have down years….
They are not in jeopardy of having to declare Bankruptcy and after paying off the loans they had they probably have a better credit rating than the Wilpons themselves do at this point.
SO the Mets aren’t broke they just are not raking in cash and won’t until their cuts surpass the losses in attendance those cuts cost you….
And if they signed or got a guy like Upton or Bourne they would easily turn a profit with no debt to speak of.
So it’s not even realistic to say the mets are broke…
They have a TON of room to pull in more revenue that wouldn’t take a miracle to get, and all it would take is proving to fans they are TRYING to win soon as opposed to three years from now where the Fans will wait till then to buy tickets.
Well, that’s why I said ‘were/are’. Truthfully, I don’t know what the state of the Mets finances are – not sure any of us do. Let me say then, IMO, that they’re ‘less broke’ than they were a year ago this time.
Yeah but the 65% stake in SNY is essentially equity that they just leveraged to the hilt. You figure if Yes is worth 200 million SNY might net 170 or 180? So they refinance the 450 already owed, add 250 more in loans to that, and the 160 million cash out, you are approaching half of SNY’s value. Minus their debt and the additional loan, what is left is probably the 160 million dollars they cashed out which will probably be used for operating funds. This is essentially a second mortgage with a cash out, a portion of which may be used to pay down their stadium debt — the 250 million — not nearly enough to pay it off but they do have until 2014. Yes they are moving around money and paying some debt (with more debt) but the do appear to have used up the little bit of equity they had in SNY and that’s not good. The press (based on news releases from the WIlpons and their sources) is making this out to be this overwhelmingly positive development when in reality I’m not so sure it is. Yes they’ve brought interest rates down and restructured their timetable on some of their debt but they’re far from in the clear … especially if the Mets don’t stop bleeding 8 – 10 million per month during the season.
Sorry, I believe Yes is worth 2 billion, so SNY might be 1.7 or 1.8 billion … got my numbers mixed up. I checked Bloomberg and Yes is actually valued at 3 billion … so I may be off, maybe the Wilpons have more left in terms of equity in SNY outside of this deal. Unbelievable that these networks are valued at …
Love the article and the comments. Filled me in on Mets history I did not know, especially the business side. Nothing was better than going to Shea on a beautiful spring or summer day and seeing Joan Payson smoozing in her box. Never MET her (hey bad puns are allowed on this site) but LOVED her. I can’t understand why when talking about the Mets, history and their fans, the Yankees always comes into the picture. The Yankees play in the Bronx and I bet Met fans don’t even go to the Bronx and unless they work in the city, probably only go to the city on special occasions. No Met fans are from Brooklyn, Queens and the Island and I read where we have a lot of fans in Jersey too. That seemed strange to me but all Met fans are my brothers and sisters. So for 2013 I will never mention the Yanks again. I promise and I hope y’all do the same. At this point in time the Wilpons, Katz and the 20 million dollar buy in guys own the Mets. I am a fan, I can’t do anything about that BUT before I pass my wish is to get a new owner with deep pockets that will TEAR down Dodger Stadium East and build a true stadium that MET fans can call HOME! I know all the negatives about the ole’ Shea but I truly loved the place and miss it so. What memories I had there with my family and friends. I served in combat in ‘Nam with a friend from the Island and in between tours we went to Shea and it was great. I returned to ‘Nam and a few weeks after I got back he died in an auto wreck. Shea gave me my BEST day with my buddy. Priceless! I am almost in tears.
Now I know why they wear puffy whites (which I hate) ,because they are Dodger style,and Fred is an old school Brooklyn Dodger fan,The only problem is that the Teams home uniforms were allways Orange and Blue pinstripes,It also explains why he’s made City Field look like a bigger Ebbitts Field,both inside and out.He should have bought the Dodgers whom he still loves,but it’s that love for his old team that’s destroying ours.
FYI…Sandy will turn this team around,If Fred and Co will allow him to.He built those great A’s teams of the late 80′s / early 90″s.He will turn out to be the Best GM since Cashen.
serious question, but who really cares if Citi looks like Ebbets field? and is it even vaugely similar on the inside? Even if it is, how many Met fans can actually remember being in Ebbets at this point?
but mostly, so what? Even if he loves the Dodgers, and has a fondness for Ebbets and their uniforms, why should that have any negative impact on the Mets being successful at this stage? i just don’t see how that could be destroying the Mets.
Well for one as a diehard Met fan. I CARE ! We are not the Dodgers. We started in 1962 and played in the Polo Grounds that first year. We never played in Ebbetts Field. We have NO CONNECTION to the Dodgers so why build a stadium that looks like Ebbetts Field. You say “so what.” Well what if you and your wife had a baby and when ready to leave the hospital the nurse says “take that one.” And you say “that’s not my baby.” And the nurse says “so what they all look alike at that age, a baby is a baby.” Well the Mets are my baby and I don’t want a lookalike baby.
all righty then…
I better not say anything about Shea.
Hi if,
Yes, I’d prefer you not mentioning anything about Shea. I still cry thinking of it and because I grew up with from the beginning and so even though that began with the Polo Grounds, Shea in my heart will always be the only real home of the Mets.
Despite it being a multi-purpose stadium, it was the only one that didn’t appear as so and though the seats were high and far away, it was still a ballpark, not a shopping mall.
Oh, I loved Shea. probably because, like you, I “grew up” there. And yes it was a dump, but it was our dump!
I never was in it back in the days that the stands still worked, so only saw pictures of it set up for the Jets.
But no, it certainly was not any sort of unique place, being out of that round steel donut mold so popular back in the day.
My real point was that while Wilpon may have been misguided in using Ebbets as the inspiration for the facade of Citi, so what? They weren’t going to recreate Shea, and citi pretty much fits the mold of what stadiums look like these days. And I really don’t buy that it somehow destroyed the Mets!
Doubleday wanted to renovate Shea, that was one of the biggest disagreements he had with Wilpon who wanted a new stadium.
Hi if,
Actually Shea was indeed unique in appearance compared to those other cookie cutter mult-purpose stadiums.
All the others were double decked going around the entire perimeter. 96 percent of Shea’s seats were within the foul poles. The only park that resembled Shea’s interior was actually the Astrodome except for the roof and the bleacher seats.
One could hardly tell the difference if playing in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and to a lesser extent, Atlanta. Shea Stadium, on the other hand, was built with an openness behind the outfield where one had a magnificent view of Queens, Long Island and the two suspension bridges. The view at night with all the lights sparkling – including those on the white shell behind the scoreboard – was truly breathless.
Shea wasn’t originally a dump – it was beautifully maintained those early years and if the same attention was given to it by the Wilpons, it could have remained clean and cheerful throughout – not drab, dreary and dark. Transforming that big scoreboard into mostly a big billboard was an eyesore.
Do you remember when the escalators actually went down at the end of the game?
Yes, it was a marvel of it’s time and because of that we kind of excused being further away from the action, being quite high up and even being unable to follow the flight of fly balls sitting the last two rows in the mezzanine due to the overhang (we saw the entire playing field and up to the auxiliary scoreboards and line score of the “stadi-o-rama” score board.
Because of this, I feel it had a charm all of it’s own that’s lacking at Citi Field. I love the old ball park feel sitting in the stands at Citi Field – I feel that is neat – and that it could eventually have a charm all of it’s own, however, in order for that to change there has to be less catering to those with more money at the expense of the the average fan (at least make most all entrances open to everybody instead of being exclusionary) not to mention the overwhelming commercialism as common to new ballparks today as the cookie cutter shape was to those of the sixties.
Perhaps many of us will find Citi Field a much warmer place once the Wilpons are no longer associate with it. Could just be that whenever we see it, we see Wilpon!
Great article Matt but just a bit confused as to what you meant with the last sentence:
“Our only real hope is that this Sandy Alderson character, on whose forehead you could diagram the human genome with a sharpie, is all he’s cracked up to be, and it’s a fool’s hope at that.”
Were you referring to Fred in terms of being like Sandy or Sandy being in terms of Fred?
I think Sandy is all that he is cracked up to be – in the business sense and if anyone can make things financially turn around the Mets it would be him. But one must distinguish competitive integrity from that of financial integrity. One is definately being sacrificed for the other and when it comes to the latter, perhaps the word “integrity” is out of place altogether.
If I may throw my answer in. I think Matt means what I say on MMO all the time and that is that Alderson and Wilpon are partners in crime working together in the Selig crime family. There really is a plan that Alderson often alludes to, unfortunately for us though it’s called the Freddie Mac Plan.
Isn’t “saving the team for the Wilpons” the same as “making the team financially stable and self-sufficient”? Any owners of a business are going to have a primary goal of making their business financially solvent, right?
It is a fantasy that they are going to say we better sell when they got in a position that the team revenues couldn’t support a 140mill payroll. Not without trying to save the ship first.
The difference between the Mets and a regular business is that in any other business in the United States, the Mets would be subject to anti-trust laws and a competitor would have driven them out of the market years ago. To allow a New York baseball team to flounder for 10 years in the name of allowing cash strapped owners to hold onto it because of stubborn pride is not in the best interest of baseball or the Mets. This will likely be the 4th consecutive season where they have a worse record than the year before, three of them on Sandy Alderson’s watch. No one expects a $140 million payroll, but $80-$85 million? Maybe D’Arnaut, Noah and Wheeler turn out to be All-Stars, but the chances are far greater that 2013 is a disaster of epic proportions.
80-85?
right now its around 65 mil…
“But one must distinguish competitive integrity from that of financial integrity. One is definately being sacrificed for the other and when it comes to the latter, perhaps the word “integrity” is out of place altogether.”
I’d tend to agree, with one reservation. While Alderson appears to have total control of the Mets, he can’t control what the Wilpons do with their money. In that light it’s really interesting that he hasn’t signed anyone because the Wilpons desperately need the team to be better if they are to stop the bleeding. As far as it being a “fools hope,” I meant that directed more at the Wilpons continuing to own the team & not Alderson.
“he can’t control what the Wilpons do with their money. ”
But he does have control over the money they gave him and he has been given about 25 Mil of thier money he refuses to spend….
More than enough to get that OFer he needs…
But do we really know how much money there is to spend?
I read this morning it’s closer to 10 MIL than 25 MIL.
On another note, just read Hairston will make a decision in a matter of days on where he will sign. Rumors points to either Mets or Yankees.
If there is even 5 Million left to spend SRT then you can’t say Wilpon is not giving Sandy money to spend…
He has 5Mil in that case (or 10 Mil or 15 Mil or 25 Mil) and it’s not Wiipon who is stopping Sandy from spending it’s Sandy!
Cause Wilpon gave him that money he didn’t spend!
Poof goes the Wilpons are stopping him or not giving him money to spend excuse…
Well, we’ll have to tally it up on opening day to see how much money was spent this off season.
Maybe by then they’ll be a little more forthcoming on how much money is in reserve for either the drafts and/or mid season pickups (I can dream……)
Hi Matt,
Though it is the Wilpons’ money (not personal but ownership) we have to take into account how Selig pushed Sandy on them. For the Wilpons to accede to such a demand (don’t forget, Sandy wasn’t even interested in the job and how many bosses want to hire somebody with that attitude?) to me at least indicates there were some strings attached to how much control Sandy had over that money, even though it was not his.
Unless it was a case of Fred recognizing he needed Sandy to rectify the financial chaos he found himself in and is ceding to Sandy’s judgement. For all we know, Fred might have wanted Sandy from the outset and it wasn’t as much being forced to taking him as it was having his friend Bud Selig urge Sandy to consider it on Wilpon’s behalf.
You do make a valid point because, as you said in your MOST INTRIGUING ARTICLE (congratulations for I know a lot of research went into that so to be accurate and not trying to participate in a journalistic witch-hunt) that Fred Wilpon made his money on his own and is obviously no financial dope. Yup, it could very well be that he and Sandy simply see eye to eye on things when Sandy presents his proposals to the boss (without a capital c).
I wonder if Jeff was the President would he have wanted Sandy Alderson under the same circumstances or rather the late Sandy Becker. For those of you not old enough to recognize that name, Sandy Becker was the host of a kiddie’s television show in the mid to late fifties and among the puppets he had the most popular was one called “Gebba Gebba”.
Sandy was really brought in to do the COO role. Problem is, Jeffy already had that title, so they had to make him the GM instead.
basically…
the gm role is really by committee with the wilpons providing a general direction…and everyone kinda putting their 2 cents in…
i still say David Wright was all Jeff/Fred Wilpon…..esp with the All-Star being held here…
Can u imagine the embarrassment if we only had 1 All-Star …and it was someone who wasnt really deserving….but just a token selection :-/
imagine an all-star game with RA Dickey, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright…and none of them are wearing Met uniforms…
Great article, Matt. I have so much to say, both about the article and comments, but don’t have time now. I hope to get back to you soon. Once again, great writing.
Don’t get Nelson started about Jeff Wilpon:
“In 2003, the team’s previous partner, Nelson Doubleday, told the Star-Ledger:
“Mr. Jeff Wilpon has decided that he’s going to learn how to run a baseball team and take over at the end of the year… Run for the hills, boys. I think probably all those baseball people will bail… Jeff sits there by himself like he’s King Tut waiting for his camel. Hump one. Hump two. They like that, two for the price of one.”’
Another good Jeff Wilpon article that mentions Nelson:
http://risingapple.com/2012/12/11/jeff-wilpon-needs-a-new-role/
Hey, tlagee. Your name is familiar. Are you some guy from Australia?
Hey Puddin. Happy New year!!!!!!!
Right back at you and your family, Mr. tlagee. Going to be in these parts soon to escape the heat?
good on ya mate!
youse should put a prawn on the bah-bee and join us he-ah.
Good article – thanks for the link.
And I couldn’t agree more with this parting shot:
‘…with the Winter Meetings long wrapped up, it is time for Jeff Wilpon to excuse himself from the practical side of baseball matters, and slip into the background again, or a new role, and leave baseball to the baseball guys. Ten years later, a solid baseball acumen still lacks from his resume.’
Hi Guys,
Though this is second hand information, a colleague of mine used to work in the finance industry in an upper management level and one day Fred and Jeff came to see her boss about some sort of business. She mentioned to me that after they left, her boss said to her they were both idiots.
That clinches it!
Your name, is it an homage to Willie Jones?
Not that low level Phillie racist. It’s a long story, just let’s say that I lost a bet about 15 years ago on the old NY Times Baseball Forums (of blessed memory. To keep up my part of the bargain I assumed the online moniker puddinhead — and it stuck. Why the 6? That’s another long but boring story.
Nice read but I must take exception with your deptiction of Nelson Doubleday as a stuffed shirt. Here is a little story of a meeting I had with him once. It was 1982. Shea was still Grants tomb which meant there were plenty of box seats available for a young guy who knew how to buy a general admission ticket stroll into the loge where they didnt pay much attention and jump down to the box seats in the area behind the dugouts where it was only about 6 ft down.
Anyway I found a nice seat about 5 rows back of the dugout. there were only a few guys in suits in that row. I pull my half pint of seagrams7 out of my sock and take a glance at the suits. I recognized one of them. Hey sez I, I know you. Youre Doubleday. He says no im not. I say ok and relax to enjoy the game.
The suit closest to me says ” This IS Mr. Doubleday, would you like an autograph?” sure sez I.
The guy said give Mr doubleday your ticket and he will sign it for you. I give him my ticket. Doubleday signs it. As he gives it back he sez to me. Do you always sit down here with the cheap seat ticket? I sez why the hell not? nobody else is sitting down here.
Nelson let out a laugh and he was quite friendly. we started talking about the Mets like fans. He told me he wasnt too happy with George Foster. I sez what about Ellis Valentine? he was a good pickup no? I dont think so sez Mr. D. Thats all I remember from our little chat but Nelson Doubleday was a real cool guy in my book from that day on.
lol, that’s a great story, although I don’t think I ever implied he was a stuffed shirt. Eccentric and obscenely wealthy yeah. He had a great way with people, excellent rapport with the fans (he seemed to understand us).
Matthew,
In the last paragraph you used the word Snooty but its all good. Im glad you enjoyed my little tale. Could you imagine if it was Steingrabber instead? SECURITY ON THE DOUBLE !!!!! LOL
This is the best article on Wilpon & the Medts that I have ever read. It is spot on, and completely true.
I just don’t like how the wilpons have done to this team. They are a disgrace as owners to this team. Really with the loan and refiance and you say you have gotten money back in the sum of 160 million. So you as owners won’t go out their and get us product for this team. You guys should be a shame of your selves. So wrong, so again keep us losing while you collect the money from the gates and not build us a championship team. The wilpons once again screwed us fans, and you’d raise ticket prices. Why are they con’t to do this to us mets fan. We don’t deserve this at all. So then please sell our team to owners who do give a damn about us and our team you stuipd losers. Get out now. Just do it.
Impressive post. MMO should have this bronzed!