In baseball, it’s not really that typical to see the owner of the team in the dugout with the rest of the club, cheering them on and arguing with the officials. You’re more likely to see that on the sidelines in football (Jerry Jones) and on the bench basketball (you know who). But not really in baseball. We missed out on an opportunity to finally witness this. Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban put in a bid to become the owner of MLBs Texas Rangers, but he lost out to a group led by Rangers All-Time great, and Hall of Famer, Nolan Ryan.
Ryan’s group won the team with a bid of $593M, including $385M in cash. Ryan was involved in a pretty tense bidding war with a group led by Mark Cuban. Team Cuban decided to pull out after the bidding reach a predetermined limit that they said they would not exceed. Cuban also previously submitted an unsuccessful bid for the Chicago Cubs last year.
The part that got me was that both parties included $208M of team debt, including nearly $25M in deferred compensation owed to A-Rod, all these years later. Sorry, I find it funny A-Rod contract is still a part of business negotiations.
Now, that we have the story laid out, I’ll say this: Rangers fans should rejoice that Cuban won’t be their owner. I don’t really have a problem with Mark Cuban’s eccentric personality (Except for when he told Kenyon Martin’s mother that her son was a thug. Not sure what exactly was going through his mind). Sports are full of emotion and excitement, so I’m fine if that translates in an owners behavior, and/or comments. I think Cuban’s style works for basketball and I could see it working for football if he ever decides to go that route. But not baseball.
Baseball is too laid back for Cuban. The sport wouldn’t know what to do with itself. They can barely handle White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen’s outbursts. Can you imagine Mark Cuban running out of the dugout screaming at the umpires? It would be crazy. But it would definitely be Mark Cuban. It is a blessing in disguise that he did not win the bid.
This isn’t the first, second or even third time that Cuban has expressed interest in buying a baseball team, and it certainly won’t be the last. Regardless of who places the highest bid, Major League Baseball still must approve the deal and the owner. I could see league officials denying Cuban if he were ever in the position where he was very close to being named owner of a MLB team. I think it’s a sign for Cuban that he shouldn’t own a baseball team, but of course, he won’t stop trying. He should shift that focus on building a championship caliber squad for the Mavericks, but first he must realize that Dirk isn’t the answer.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe too for free on iTunes.
