Marlins park will not come close to last season’s opening day sell out this year
On April 1st, 2012, the Miami Marlins opened their brand new palace of baseball in downtown Miami. The ballpark received rave reviews as a upgrade over the drab setup of Sun Life stadium, possibly over-the-top in its extravagance. The team playing in the new digs almost received as much fanfare as the ballpark itself. Superstars dotted the field, the pitching staff looked to dominate the National League, and the payroll resembled those of Major League Baseball’s powerhouses. Hope and promises of championship rang through Miami as the Marlins finally looked like a legitimate contender for years to come after an offseason like no other in franchise history.
April 1st, 2013 was different.
This year’s opening day loss in Washington, D.C. brought an all too familiar feeling for Marlins fans. Adeniny Hechavarria($1.75 million) replaced Jose Reyes ($10 million) at shortstop. At third base, former face-of-franchise Hanley Ramirez ($15 million) is gone and in his place is 37-year old Placido Polanco($2.75 million). The team changed from a group of stars to a group of no bodies, from front page news to irrelevant, from beloved to ignored. They generate a feeling of indifference and little hope for future success. All thanks to the current owner Jeffery Loria.
This season follows yet another Marlins’ fire sale, in which Loria rid the club of all notable players but one. The 2013 fire sale followed the same blueprint of the ones in 1997, 2003, and 2007(?): trade the highest paid veteran players for no name minor leaguers in the hopes of maybe one of them becoming decent. Some of those trades actually worked for the Marlins bringing in Derek Lee, AJ Burnett, and Hanley Ramirez. But, most have completely failed including the Miguel Cabrera deal, which many baseball minds describe as the worst MLB trade in the past 20 years.
But, the latest version of the Loria’s antics brought a certain sense of nefariousness to the organization because now he has taken not just players or hope away from the city of Miami. He’s taken money from the county’s budget. The partially subsidize Marlins Ballpark generated a 16% increase in the total worth of the franchise this summer, according the Forbes magazine. Miami-Dade county, meanwhile, will spend an estimated $2.4 billion funding the stadium. Loria went from incompetent and cheap to a crook. He’s actively robbing the city every time the Marlins take the field whether or not fans buy tickets. The city can scream angrily, but the stadium deal is already in place with no wiggle room. Miami is stuck with Loria.
The sad part of all this is, even if Loria decides to shell out money for free agents, the Marlins may not sign a big name player for a long time. Players around the MLB saw the Marlins deals as a slap in the face. Loria promised the players coming in last summer that the franchise would continue to build on the foundation of big name players. He promised them that they would be in Miami for a while, then turned around and shipped them off without warning. Free agents will remember that and many say they will be wary in dealing with Loria. They, like the city of Miami and the county of Miami-Dade, distrust his intentions as an owner.
This season’s expectations are nonexistent. No major media outlet picked Miami to finish above last place. The only hope for fans lies in Giancarlo Stanton. The 22-year old slugger could resign with the team and provide the backbone of a stable franchise for years to come. More likely, he will not resign long term with the Marlins. Who would at this point? The team’s young players also provide a glimmer of light. Jacob Turner and Jose Fernandez can certainly pitch well for the fish in 2013, Hechavarria intrigues experts around the league, and the farm system has jumped up in the rankings. But as the Marlins continue to load up on young talent, the only thing fans will wonder is how long will they will be here. Hope will always be tempered with Loria as the owner and fans will always have 2013 to point out as the reason.
Gabe Ibrahim 