Growing up, watching baseball with my grandfather, MLB All Star weekend was always my favorite part of the game. It showed the players having fun, and seemed to make them more real to me.
Five years ago, when my oldest started playing softball, she knew it was a pastime.
Women in sports are not as widely respected or fairly paid.
But she absolutely fell in love with the game.
She quickly started following Jennie Finch because, not only was she a multiple Olympic Medalist, she also played at the MLB Celebrity Softball game every year and made it very clear that women in this game are serious athletes.
She took to researching Hall of Famers such as Dottie Komenshek, and more recent athletes such as Lauren Chamberlain, and Cat Osterman.
For the past few years, her heart has belonged to the game, and the game has belonged to her.
Now, that’s not to say that it has always been smooth sailing. At a whopping 4 ft 11 in, she’s always had to work twice as hard to get half of the deserved recognition. She learned quickly- if she was serious about the game, she had to take the pastime and make it a passion.
From that point on, she took off!
The past two years she has been playing with the City Divas - A Bronx RBI team that goes back more than 20 years. With the Divas she has been afforded many opportunities on the field. From playing in the Babe Ruth Tournaments to being part of the HBCU Juneteenth Tournaments in Washington, DC. She’s also become an incredible in-field utility player, with a passion for catching, like my Yankees favorite, Jorge Posada- although behind the plate, she is much more like Pudge Rodriguez. She currently plays 3rd base for the 18U/16U teams.
The greatest opportunity came in May when she was invited to try out for team DREAM out of Harlem, NY to be a part of the Jennie Finch Classic at MLB All-Star Weekend.
Samara says that she was nervous when she learned her coach had suggested her for the tryouts. She came home saying she “showed out.” Whether she was going to make the team or not, she absolutely was going to give it her all. DREAM’s softball coach saw something in my girl, and the rest is history! Have to say- her hard work and the dedicated coaching staff of the City Divas helped get her there.
Samara spent the last week in Los Angeles, California taking part of the MLB All-Star Weekend festivities. She played 3rd base at 2 of the 4 games played by her team and went 4 for 7 the whole weekend.
The highlight for her was meeting Lauren Chamberlain and Jennie Finch herself. Both who spent a significant amount of time in the dugout with each team. Of being at the tournament itself, Samara posted on Instagram that she was “literally living a dream.” Her second at bat during game 4, Chamberlain herself walked over to her, and said “you got this, kid!” Giving her a supportive pat on the helmet before heading into the dugout to cheer with the team. Samara hit a bloop past second for a single, and scoring an RBI. “She (Chamberlain) gave me good luck. I played my best game yet at 3rd after that.”
Samara was also present at the celebrity softball game and Home Run Derby. Seated along the first baseline, she said the softball game was the funniest game she has ever witnessed. She got to witness Bryan Cranston getting “Finched” first hand, saying him being ejected was first rate comedy.
For me, the best part of the week was conversing with Jennie Finch herself. We discussed the importance of having softball and the girls at MLB All-Star weekend. Growing up, young ladies were never represented on that stage. Watching the girls from the 12 MLB Youth Academies being represented is a huge deal.
I appreciate how much work Finch and the other Softball legends have put in to ensure that the game and our girls are represented, respected and honored for their hard-work and athleticism. It’s been a long road, but the change is happening.
Take it from Samara… my kid literally lived the dream!
Yoenis Cespedes has been one of the Mets biggest stars this season. It seemed strange when the Mets got him. When Cespedes didn't get the mega-deal he was after, the Mets swooped in with a three year $75 million deal, with the option to opt - out after the first year.
He exercised that option on Saturday. It was a little bit of a no - brainer. The slugger, who batted .280 this season with 31 homers, was the arguably the Mets best offensive player. This was painfully clear during August while Cespedes sat on the Disabled List. The Mets struggled significantly without the out fielder. Brian Cashman has said that the focus this off season is pitching. However, there is right field. If the price were right, could Cespedes make the shift from left to fit the bill?
There is no denying that the Yankees struggled last season. While the addition of the Baby Bombers -Tyler Austin, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge - made a huge impact late in the season, and even put the Yankees on a post season chase, it was not enough to get us there. The Yankees struggled with hitting frequently, particularly early on in the season. It was the cause of many fans frustration this season. In fact, the Yankees ranked 12th in the American league for runs, 22nd overall. The Yankees could absolutely use the bat. And Cespedes has proven that he can handle the pressure of playing in New York. The problem, for me, is the price tag.
Look, baseball is a business. Cespedes signed with the Mets after no one else would bite. He made sure to add the opt-out. He never truly intended to stay on for three years. Which works for the Mets. They will give him a qualifying offer, he'll turn it down, and they will get a draft pick. Cespedes will be able to test those free agent waters, after a phenomenal season. Teams will be looking at him and trying to do their best to broker a deal. Some may even offer him the block buster deal he is rumored to be after. But I don't think the Yankees should be among them.
Aside from the painfully obvious option of having Judge and Aaron Hicks platoon right, the Yankees are on the path of getting under the luxury tax for the first time since... well, a really long time. If they manage to hold off on making big deals right now, with the addition of Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia's contracts coming off the books, and if they continue to utilize their farm system - a plan that worked incredibly well for us late in the season - Yankees will be free to spend in 2018 in what looks to be the deepest free agency period in league history, when guys like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado become available.
I know Cashman is on the receiving end of a lot of criticism, and I know that a lot of Yankee fans are about the instant gratification - no one wants to wait to win the Chip, they want it now... every single year. But, if Cashman's plan is to tighten up on spending to be able to put his hands in the cookie jar that is the 2018 Free Agency, I'm all on board for that. Cespedes is great talent, yes. However, the 2018 Free Agency market is chock-full of talent, and it would be a shame if the Yankees couldn't grab at least one of those guys up. To be able to do that, they have to have the money to play around with. Because, lets be honest, the uproar from Yankees fans if the Yankees didn't even consider a few of those guys because they couldn't afford it would be astronomical!
Ultimately, as much as we would like to believe we are owed every superstar player that comes up on free agency, those players cost money. Why spend it now if you know the options later are going to be so much sweeter? It's like eating Spam when you know your wife is making you filet mignon. I'll wait. Besides, being spoiled didn't work out so well for Veruca Salt. I'd rather not get flushed down the Golden Egg shoot. Patience is truly a virtue.
--Erica Morales BYB Senior Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @e_morales1804
In 1943, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was formed. Men 18 and over were drafted and sent off to war. This caused the minor league teams to be disbanded. Leaving a serious need for baseball. A couple of big wig businessmen got together and came up with the concept of women playing baseball. I wrote about this a little over a year ago in "AWAKENING THE DREAMERS, MAKING HISTORY."
The teams were set up for failure, being put in small, out of the way towns. Once the war was over, and the men started returning to the field, the AAGPBL had no chance at survival. No one would travel to these small towns to watch women play, when they could go to local cities and watch "real" baseball. The AAGPBL lost ticket sales, and eventually had to be completely disbanded.
Growing up both a girl and a baseball fan, one of my most tragic childhood dreams were of becoming a ball player. A Yankee, preferably, but I would've been happy to play in any major league team. I just wanted to play. My dream, of course, ended way before it ever could become anything. Girls did not play baseball. My dreams shattered, I kept hope alive that maybe one day, when the world was a more accepting place, some other little girls dream would come to fruition, and she would take the field, and blow us all away with her incredible talent. Well, it's 2016. The San Diego Padres just called up their next big pitcher. A prospect with a ton of promise. A pitcher with a lethal screwball, who happens to be a woman. Kind of.
"PITCH" airs Thursdays at 9pm on FOX
Last week, Fox premiered a new show "Pitch," set around the concept of the first woman to play in the Major Leagues, and I am absolutely addicted to it. Kylie Bunbury plays the very talented screwball pitcher, Ginny Baker. The show tackles gender politics in the sports world, and it's everything I expected it to be. Ginny has to handle the pressure of being the first female in the major leagues, all the expectations, and bias that comes along with that while learning where she fits in with her teammates, and her place in history in general. From the sexist comments made, the focus on her appearance, the belief that she is not as talented as the men, and the little girls hold up "I'm Next" signs, the show does an incredible job of presenting exactly what I think would happen in the event that the day ever came when a female would grace the field.
Look, I'm not good at mincing words, so I won't sugar coat this... sports is a male dominated field and females are almost never taken seriously. Just look at the 2016 Summer Olympics. The USA Women's Gymnastics team was incredible! The Final Five performed beautifully and managed to win the gold in the Team All-Around competition.
During the ceremony, Gabrielle Douglas stood at attention while the National Anthem played. People absolutely lost their collective minds. The outrage was absolutely ridiculous! People were calling her unpatriotic and a slew of other names. Douglas who was standing on the podium after receiving a gold medal for helping her team in the All-Around. Meanwhile, the most decorated Olympian of All-Time, Michael Phelps laughed during the National Anthem, and people were quick to rationalize it away. To be fair, I'm not upset over either of these, but if I had to call one of these unpatriotic, it certainly wouldn't be the young lady who stood at attention.
Katie Ledecky of Team USA's Women's Swim Team is a complete phenom. I'm almost convinced the woman is really a mermaid. Ledecky set a world record of 8:04:11 in the 800-meter freestyle, a full 11 seconds faster than the silver medalist. Commentators and the media were seriously impressed with the "Female Michael Phelps." Conner Jaeger, a 2012 Olympian, commented that "Her stroke is like a man's stroke." He qualified that by saying "I mean that in a positive way. She swims like a man." As if her talent is directly related to her ability to emulate her male counterparts.
When it comes to women in sports, they have to work 10 times harder than their male counterparts to be taken even slightly as seriously. They are laughed at, ridiculed, almost never taken seriously, and often sexualized. And this isn't exclusive to athletes. Female sports commentators and writers also have to face these issues. The great Suzyn Waldman is often described as annoying. I once asked someone why they disliked her so much, and his response was because she wouldn't stop talking long enough to let the men speak. I was surprised and a little sad. Very few people actually realize how intelligent and well spoken she is. She truly is a pioneer for women in the field, and she very rarely gets seen as such. But she is not the only victim of these such mentalities. Back in April a video surfaced of men reading mean tweets about sportswriters Julie DiCaro and Sarah Spain. You can watch it below, but be warned, if you have not yet seen it, it will make you angry.
The tweets in the video were very real. The reaction of the men in the video is very real and raw. Just imagine being the woman those tweets are aimed at. It is absolutely ridiculous, and really heartbreaking.
Now I will say this, I have been incredibly lucky. At Bleeding Yankee Blue, and in my life in general, I am surrounded by men who appreciate smart, sports savvy women. But I am under no delusion that the everyone is like that. Last year, when I wrote about Melissa Mayeux, the first woman to be added to the MLB's international registration list, a reader pointed out that it was unlikely she would become the next Jackie Robinson. I do not think it was malicious, just a simple point of fact on how things unfortunately work. But in recent years, women have been making more and more strides in sports, and it gives me a glimmer of hope.
(In Photo: Justine Siegal)
Justine Siegal was the first female coach of a professional men's baseball team in 2009, when she worked with the Brockton Rox. She became the first female to throw batting practice to a MLB team in 2011, with the Cleveland Indians, and became the first female MLB Coach in 2015 when the Oakland A's invited her on as a guest instructor for their Instructional League Club.
(In photo: Becky Hammon)
Becky Hammon became an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, Jen Welter was a training camp intern coach for the Arizona Cardinals, and Nancy Lieberman as assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings. I'm almost certain I am missing a few but my point is simply that there is progress being made. It's incredibly slow going, and sometimes that is very frustrating, especially for fans like myself. But it is happening.
"Pitch" takes all of this into account. It is very real in its approach. What would happen when the first woman takes the field to play in the MLB? The same thing that happened when Jackie Robinson broke the color lines. I wish I could say that people wouldn't care, but that is untrue. There will be many who cheer her on, myself included. Many, many young girls will be overjoyed and run to get her jersey, because representation matters, and seeing a woman on the field is like seeing themselves out there. People will hang onto her every word, her every action. And some will absolutely oppose it. They will look for any reason to say "See, this is why women shouldn't play pro sports." She will have to be strong, and dedicated with an immense love of the game, and herself because she will face scrutiny that has not been seen since the Dodgers placed a black man in uniform on the field to play for them.
I feel a little romantic watching "Pitch." Even knowing all of this, I still look forward to the day it becomes a reality, and I only hope it happens within my lifetime. To live to witness the first female MLB player would be an incredible dream come true.
To the Ginny Baker's of the world, the Melissa Mayeux's, we're rooting for you. We believe in you. You can do it!
--Erica Morales
BYB Senior Staff Writer Follow me on Twitter: @e_morales1804
The Yankees have seen quite a few changes this season. We've got the Baby Bombers- Tyler Austin, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez. We now know that this will be Mark Teixeira's last season, and we've seen the exit of Alex Rodriguez. Most interesting to me, and honestly the most gratifying, is the rise of Dellin Betances as closer.
I'm not even going to pretend to be neutral in this. I am a huge Betances fan. It was just over two years ago when I dubbed him THE NEXT HOMETOWN HERO. I have been rooting for him for a long time. He's the boy from Washington Heights, that achieved what many New York City boys, and girls, have only dreamed about. So, yea... The Brooklyn Girl in me, who grew up with the unrealistic dream of playing for the Yankees, is rooting for him extra hard.
This season started with the big three out of the bullpen - Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman. The trio started the season as the three best closers in the league. But, it left a lot of questions, at least for me. I really enjoyed the set-up man/closer rhythm that Miller and Betances had worked out last season. The addition of Chapman made it undoubtedly more threatening, but really, we had three closers on the roster. Someone, at some point, had to be moved.
To me, it was always obvious that Betances would eventually be our permanent closer. He has more than risen to the occasion since Miller and Chapman were both traded away. In 14 save opportunities, Betances has 10 saves, with a 2.41 era over the entire course of the season, thus far.
The September 9th game against the Rays is possibly one of my favorite shows of his talent and determination. After a long rain delay, Betances insisted on being given the opportunity to get the last out to win the game. The Yankees were up 7 - 4, with two on, and Brad Miller had a 2 - 2 count. The umps called for the rain delay. 51 mins later, Betances came in to strike out Miller. He gave up one run, before getting the last out to win the game. Of that situation, Betances said"I wasn't coming out of that game. It was going to be pretty hard for me to come out. I got myself into that situation, so I'm trying to do whatever I can to stay loose and make sure that I'm ready to go."
Again, I'm completely bias when it comes to Betances. So it makes me really happy that he is getting a shot to prove his chops as closer. I'd like to think that given the chance at closer for the entire season, his era and saves would be much more impressive. When Mariano Rivera left, we all screamed that there would never be another, and there won't be. Mo was absolutely one of his kind. An icon and a treasure. But, maybe we don't need another Mo.
Betances is phenomenal in his own right. He has the ability, the talent, and the grit to be an incredible closer. If given the chance, I could easily see him pulling 30 or 40 saves a season. I might be underselling him on that estimate, honestly. Betances is that good.
Erica Morales BYB Senior Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @e_morales1804
The Yankees recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the 1996 World Series. Among the guest present were the Core Four, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada. It was a great day, but how many people noticed that a key person to that team was missing? Probably not many of you. It's strange that a name like Bob Watson isn't more common.
So, who is Bob Watson? If you're an Astros fan, you'll remember him as a former power-hitting first baseman. This was back in the late 60's, when hitting homers out of the Astrodome was an incredible feat, considering how difficult it actually was. He played in Houston for 14 years, before being traded to Boston in 1979. He went on to play for the Yankees, and the Braves, ending his 19-year career in 1984.
Watson also became the player to score MLB's one millionth run. The New York Daily News had a write up about it for the 40th anniversary (HERE). On May 4th, 1975, he ran home, and into a bit of obscure baseball lore. He was the first player to hit for the cycle in both the National league (with the Astros in 1977), and the American league (with the Red Sox in 1979). He later became the first African-American General Manager in Major League Baseball, when Drayton McLane of the Astros gave him the position. And, in 1996, he became the first African-American General Manager to win a World Series, when he did it with the Yankees.
We all remember Gene Michael as the man behind the Core Four and Bernie Williams (because Bernie was in a class of his own READ HERE). And it seems like Brian Cashman has been General Manager since the dawn of time, some days. But Watson is the man responsible for trading for Tino Martinez, and Joe Girardi. He also brought on Cecil Fielder. Most ironically, Watson is the man who told us to trust that we would come to love "Clueless Joe," Joe Torre, when he made Torre Manager.
"I can understand why Yankee fans are upset because Buck (Showalter) was a popular man," said Bob Watson in November 1995. "But Yankee fans also should give Joe Torre time to prove what he can do."
"Believe me, he'll win them over."
The New York Daily News remembered their 1995 interview with Watson this week. Watson, who told us to give Torre a chance, and who revamped the face of the Yankees from 1995 to 1996, making us the unlikely underdog in the 1996 season played a pivotal role in what was our first Championship in 18 years. He went on to serve as MLB vice president in charge of discipline and vice president of rules and on-field operations. He stirred the pot a little in 2007 when, what he called, "The Francona" rule was put in place. Basically, MLB managers would no longer be able to wear team pullovers to games. They would have to wear their team uniforms. A style Terry Francona was known for.
He is also battling stage 4 kidney failure.
"I really wanted to be there," Watson told the New York Daily News,"but my health won't allow it. I am battling Stage 4 kidney failure. Not too many people know about it."
All the baseball stats seem moot. A man is battling for his life. But, I don't know... I feel like if I mention Bob Watson's name, I shouldn't get a blank stare in return. Baseball fans, especially Yankees fans, should know who he is. I don't expect people to prattle off stats at the drop of the hat. But... I mean, c'mon guys! He was the first to hit for the cycle in both leagues and MLB's 1 millionth run! He was the first African-American General Manager in MLB history and the first African-American General manager to win a World Series. At least give me that. Maybe I'm a little bit sensitive about it. The Dynasty Era was my era. And yes, Gene played a hand in that too. But give Watson his credit. He earned it!
Watson is very ill. He does 7 hours of dialysis, 3 times a week. He has kept it private, until now. And while it's important to take that into consideration, and send him well wishes, it's also important to remember the man for his accomplishments. After all, long after we are gone from this earth, all there will be left of us is the stories. And if you get to leave behind a legacy like Watson's, it should not be forgotten, and buried under the mounds of baseball lore.
The Bleeding Yankee Blue writers and family send our thoughts and well wishes to Bob, and his family during this time.
Erica Morales BYB Senior Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @e_morales1804
I spent a great deal of time in 2013 and 2014 covering Alex Rodriguez, the Biogenesis ordeal, and his record-setting season long suspension. There was a lot that I had hoped people, and players would take away from the result of it. Mostly, what is done in darkness always comes to light.
I grew up in the Yankees Dynasty era. This also happened to be the Steroid Era in baseball. Everyone was using, and no one cared because it was selling tickets, and lining the pockets of good old Commissioner Bud Selig, and all the other higher-ups in the MLB. The integrity of the game be damned, so long as they were getting paid. But...I digress.
In 2012, Marlon Byrd was suspended for PEDs. He received a 50-game suspension after testing positive for Tamoxifen. He issued an apology for the usage but said that it was an error due to a medication he was taking for a surgery he had, unrelated to baseball. Basically, the same spiel we get from every player ever caught using PEDs. They'll do better. They'll be more vigilant.
Byrd has just been suspended for 162 games without pay, after testing positive for a growth hormone. He released a statement on the matter.
"When I learned that I had tested positive for Ipamorelin, I retained the services of private counsel and an independent chemist to determine the origin of the Ipamorelin test result because I never knowingly ingested Ipamorelin. After an extensive investigation by my lawyers and an independent chemist, it was concluded that the most likely source of the Ipamorelin was a tainted supplement.
I alone am responsible for what I put into my body, and therefore, I have decided to forgo my right to an appeal in this matter and accept the suspension. I apologize for any harm this has caused the Cleveland Indians, Indians' fans, my teammates, and most importantly, my family."
Honestly, the entire PED usage in professional sports has become more than a slight annoyance. And I don't want to assume that Byrd is just like every other repeat offender, but we've heard this apology time and again. It's the same regurgitated nonsense we hear every time a player gets caught. It no longer has a ring of sincerity. It's disingenuous, and a bit insulting in my opinion.
I'm not behind the idea of 1 and done, like a lot of fans are. Only because I know that people can and do change. But I happen to agree with Casey. PEDs HAVE DESTROYED THIS GREAT GAME OF BASEBALL. He wrote about it in 2013, and we've referenced it here time and again. If you violate the Joint Drug Agreement... if you used steroids and cheated... man up, publicly take responsibility, and do it without the protection of lawyers, and unions and so forth.
I've always maintained that the PEDs issue was created, at least in part, by the MLB. It was allowed to flourish until it became convenient to attempt to put an end to it. The decision to clean-up baseball came too late. And now there is no real accountability. There are a few, like Alex, who can and have turned things around for themselves. But until players have to take the full weight of their actions, there will never be any real shift in this PEDs issue.
In April, Yankees made a lot of fans happy by signing Nick Swisher to a minor league deal. It was cheap, and would give us a little extra coverage at first, and a solid bat. It's a move that made sense for the team. But it's inching closer to June, and there has been no sign of Swisher in the Bronx yet.
There are a few things we know about the Swisher deal. He was signed to the minor leagues, with an opt-out date of June 15th, if he was still in Triple-A. Swish had a less that appealing last two seasons. After having arthroscopic surgery on both knees in 2014, 2015 also seemed to plague him with injuries. He finished the season only playing 76 games, and the Braves released him in March, despite owing him $15 million for the season.
Swish started strong in the minors. In April, YESNetwork.com reported that after 10 games with the RailRiders, Swish held the second highest batting average on the team at .368. That has since changed, however. It seems his hot streak has cooled off a bit. Swish is now batting .260, with 32 hits, 13 RBI's and 4 homers.
So what does this mean? Well, not much really. Remember the purpose of the signing was to have a backup at first base. Mark Teixeira is now in a slump, batting .195 with just 2 RBI's and no homers in May, and it's likely due to an injury. Or at least that is what I suspect. He now has to have an MRI for a neck injury and meet with team doctors.
This seems like the perfect opening to call up Swish, but Joe Girardi's options aren't limited and I see Dustin Ackley who is hitting .212 in May, manning the position instead. Of course, we'll have to wait on the findings from the MRI to be able to know for certain if the Yankees will have to call someone up or not.
(Photo Credit: Stephen D. Cannerelli)
With the Opt-out date only three weeks away, and Swish's bat fizzling out after a strong first few at-bats, I don't really see a scenario where the Yankees will call him up. It seems much more likely that Ackley would take over in in case of an absent Teixeira. They still have Ronald Torreyes at their disposal as well, although that would probably be a last ditch effort on their parts.
Because I am a biased Swisher fan, I'd like to say that he'd get the call-up, but realistically it's highly unlikely. The deal made sense for us, and for Swish at the time. We'd get insurance at first, and Swish could get one more shot at the majors, but the pieces just don't seem to be coming together like that for us.
It's well known that the Tampa Bay Rays, and owner Stuart Sternberg, have been trying to get themselves a new stadium. Tropicana field is, to put it nicely, a nightmare. With its catwalks that often disturb airborne plays, it's in need of a serious facelift. And in Florida, the sunshine state where baseball should be a big deal, it just doesn't seem to be happening.
The Rays are the youngest team in the league. They took over Tropicana field in 1998 when the team was established. It's gone through a number of renovations, including being the first major league facility to use FieldTurf. They have also seen the lowest attendance in major league baseball. Back in February the Rays released an outline of what they hoped to get out of a new stadium, and sat down to discuss it with Hillsborough officials. The entire thing was well thought out, with the stadium being easily accessible being a priority, and modeling the new stadium after Camden Yards. It is logic for the Rays to look for a new home. The Trop has not been very kind to them. It would also make sense for the Tampa to invest in a new stadium for the team. It would bring in jobs, and more revenue to the city, while keeping the game of baseball alive there. That is not the case, though. At least not for the Rays.
The city of Tampa recently worked out a $40 million deal with the Yankees, to keep them in Tampa through 2046. The $40 million will go into updating Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. The enhancements include new concourses, a new fan greeting area and a new fan gathering area with 360-degree views. This extends their contract that was set to expire in 2025. It's great news for the Yankees organization. But what does it mean for the Rays, and baseball in Florida?
This seems oddly familiar. Brief history lesson:
When Walter O'Malley became the primary owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, he started looking for a new home for the team. There were attendance issues and a number of other problems that could not be resolved. The city turned him down twice, refusing to give him another space in Brooklyn, or the then unoccupied land in Flushing, Queens. At the time, the Giants were also looking for a new home. The state of the Polo Grounds was deplorable. New York City was even less willing to re-home the Giants. The Giants had a less than memorable time in NY. They began looking into moving to Minneapolis. O'Malley wanted nothing more than to keep the Dodgers in New York City, but Ebbets field could not home the team any longer, and the city was unwilling to even consider moving them from their Flatbush home. So he did what any good owner and businessman would do. When he heard that LA was looking to move the Washington Senators to the West Coast, O'Malley sent word that he was interested in moving his team. He convinced Horace Stoneham, Giants owner, to move to San Francisco to keep teams on the west coast. The team did well but the fans in Brooklyn and New York mourned the loss. Seeing how the loss of revenue from the teams affected the city, they decided to allow a stadium to be built in Flushing, Queens... the same location where O'Malley had wanted to rehome his Dodgers.
Now I'm not saying that Sternberg will move the Rays out of Florida. They are trying their hardest to keep the team in the area. But at what point does he give up? Let's be honest for a moment, the Yankees are not Tampa's team. The Yankees is New York's team. Having an updated facility for spring training is great, but is it logical for the city to pour $40 million into a training facility when they could easily give that money to their Major League team? It would certainly bring in more revenue and jobs to Tampa if they gave the Rays the money, and land, to build a new stadium. It could possibly increase attendance for the team. It seems like a win for both Tampa and the Rays if they have a new stadium. But that's not what Tampa did.
By giving Yankees money, and extending their contract, they gave the Rays a subtle sign. Florida is the perfect place for baseball. The major league teams should be more than welcomed. But that is not what is happening with the Rays. They are delegating the team to a facility that no longer works for major league baseball. The team is floundering. It makes me wonder how much longer the organization will wait until they take a page out of O'Malley's playbook and start looking for a new home.
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