This past Monday, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon updated the media and fans about the status of the minority ownership stakes, saying it was “going very well.” That was the first significant update since the David Einhorn deal fell apart.
Fans and the media alike were interested in who these minority owners were, and Mr. Wilpon stated:
Some of the people don’t want to be public. Some of the people might never be public. I don’t think anybody knows all the minority shareholders in each of the other teams. Do you know all the minority shareholders in Atlanta or Kansas City or St. Louis, Cincinnati, the Yankees? It’s just not widely known.
The bottom line is that Jeff Wilpon is right. The minority owners who have invested in the Mets are none of the fans’ business. I know in today’s information age we want to know everything, but this is a non-issue and I’ll tell you why.
- This has nothing to do with what happens on the field. These minority owners are being brought in to infuse more cash into the team overall and not just the roster which is our business. The renovations that are being made to Citi Field are a prime example of where some of this money is going to.
- The Mets and Sterling Equities are a privately owned company. They are not required by law to divulge information like this to us and the media.
- It does sound like there have been some sales of the minority shares which means that the sales and new minority owners have been approved of by Major League Baseball.
That last point is what matters most. I believe last week when Bud Selig said:
I do have a lot of worries today, but frankly I’m happy to say the Mets are not one of them.
He knew of the sales and there’s nothing to worry about which is refreshing.
We need to worry about what is on the field, and the players the front office is putting on that field – not who is infusing new cash into the team. I know that is not popular in today’s climate. We have a GM giving bloggers access to help share team news with the fans, and yet one of them attacks the owners of the Mets in order to help drive up his book sales. As long as MLB is happy and approves what the owners are doing, that is good enough for me and should be good enough for the fan base as well.
