As I always do, I like to conduct some serious due diligence on various subject matters that can have a profound affect on society as a whole. In this particular subject, we are dealing with baseball ownership characteristics. During my research I came across a wonderful article which had delve into the domain. I’ve used a few well noted statements from the article in the Los Angeles Times regarding the Los Angeles Dodgers. I know ! What does this have to do with the Padres ? Well, we need to further investigate what characteristics makes an Owner a successful one. Plus, what kind of Owner will Jeff Moorad be for the Padres. Let’s be honest, the media propaganda can heavily influence the public and if we can decipher that propaganda to accurately formulate the type of Owner Moorad would be.
Let’s get to the chase. Looking at the last 10 to 15 years, ownership changes involving the Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics and Boston Red Sox have produced triumphant turnarounds. “Ownership of a pro sports team is a very diversified business. Your customers are your fans, but your product is winning and winning as relatively cheaply as you can, so you have to maintain the right balance of players and stars and evaluate your talent accordingly,” Robert Boland, a professor of sports business at New York University’s Tisch Center.
The article continues on as Boland makes some rather interesting points. “A lot of owners fall in love with their players and overvalue their own players and mess up the payroll that way, or they don’t fall enough in love with them and hate them all. It’s a very complex business and some of it is knowing when do you break ties and when to produce stability, and knowing when the heck to get out of the way of your own management people with new and great ideas, and be able to adapt to the changing dynamics.”
Now, here’s a very very worthy comment which will give us a more true path to follow in determining what kind of Owner Jeff Moorad will be. Scott Rosner, associate director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania divides owners into two categories. Profit maximizers “are in it for the operating profit and the capital appreciation and some combination thereof,” he said. Utility maximizers buy teams for ego or to network with power brokers and boost their other businesses.
Are you ready for the most profound statement ? “As a fan you want the new owner to be a win maximizer,” Rosner said. “You want them to own the team because they like winning.” There are a few Owners who fall into this category such as Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban, Boston Celtics Wycliffe and H. Irving Grousbeck and Stephen Pagliuca, Boston Red Sox John Henry, Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner, Texas Rangers Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan, and Los Angeles Angeles Artie Moreno.
Conversely, there are cases where new ownership has failed such as Phoenix Suns have struggled since penny-pinching Robert Sarver bought them in 2004 for $404 million, Michael Jordan hasn’t duplicated his on-court magic as an owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, Stephen Ross bought a half-interest in the Miami Dolphins in 2008 and most of the rest in 2009, but the team is 16-25 the last two-plus seasons, Daniel Snyder’s ownership of the Washington Redskins has been a mess, with seven coaching changes in 12 seasons. The one comment that stood out about Daniel Snyder is the following “He’s very involved in the day-to-day operations of the team, which is his right as the owner. It’s just not necessarily the most intelligent thing to do.” We just hope as Padres Fans that Moorad separates himself from the business and allows Baseball people make the calls in all baseball related issues/transactions. Remember who are your customers, the FANS, loyal season ticketholders who want to see a damn good product on the field that produces results.
The bottom line is all about winning and doing so with a very concrete balance way through the draft and a mixture of must see talented stars and homegrown players. The Tampa Bay Rays have shown this to work, if the Baseball Operations remains intact and stable. The question is where will Moorad fall under ? Profit Maximizer OR Utility Maximizer OR Win Maximizer? I have a feeling where Moorad falls under, though I want to see what truly happens in 2012 before I state the obvious. What do you think readers ?
Alright ! With all this being said here’s a closer, Blues Musicians Nick Moss and the Flip Tops featuring Jason Ricci playing the song “I Got My Brand On You”. Ohh ! And what brand of product would that be Jeff Moorad ?