The Role of Ownership

The Role of Ownership

We’re less than two weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting and the only thing we seem to all be reading about is the possibility of the Mets taking on a new minority owner.

 
I counted 147 posts on my twitter account yesterday about the Mets, and 101 were on the ownership topic.

 
As some of you know, I was a 20% minority owner in a company. I also was the President, until my “partners” wanted to expand on the company in the troublesome 1980’s and I voted against it due to our already large debt owed to the banks. They met without me (their right), voted me out as President, and told me to take a hike while still retaining a personal guarantee against the debt. A year later, they sold the company for seven figures less than we owed and I got stuck with my portion of the bill. Trust me, it ain’t that special.

 
Is ownership that important to you, the fan?

 
Ask yourself a few questions:

 
1. How many names do you know that own either a team in the MLB, NBA, NFL, or NHL?

 
2. How many of them meddle in the day-to-day operation of their teams?

 
3. And, regarding those that meddle, how many times have they won a championship in their respective league?

 
Companies run best when ownership hires an excellent leader, and then let’s that person build the company with excellent divisional managers, who then… you get the picture.

 
The best example I worked for in this category was The Hearst Corporation. William Randolph Hearst actually set up a Board of Directors that had no family members. Each division head reported to him and the board and that divisional head had 100% say in the day-to-day operation of that division. I worked one floor below the President of Hearst Broadcasting as the General Sales Manager of their Pittsburgh radio stations. I met the President on my interview, each year’s Christmas lunch, and a five-minute exit-interview a few years later. My boss, the General Manager of the radio stations, met with him daily. I met with the GM daily. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

 
Some businesses have family problems. The New York Giants were a perfect example of this. Fifty per cent of the team was owned by the late Wellington Mara, while the other half was owned by his nephew, Tim Mara. They hated each other. In fact, they didn’t even talk to each other. But, both were smart enough to hire a competent General Manager, George Young, and then let him do their job. Young hired Bill Parcells and the rest is history.

 
I really don’t care who owns the rest, I care who runs it.

 
The fans own the Green Bay Packers, but they don’t pick the players. A Japanese company owns the Seattle Mariners, but they don’t serve goiza in the dugout.

 
A company takes on a minority partner because they either need additional operating monies, or a competent operator that demands a piece of the action. The company that hired me was operating into the grave. I got my piece to run their company and they never told me how to that. We became highly profitable, sold part of the company off to retire all the old debt, and then began to buy new additions into the company. We were then hit with the recession, and went south. Their solution was to buy more and run up more debt, while, at the same time, refinance the debt we then had over our head. I didn’t like the idea. So goes my ownership days.

 

Let the Wilpons work out their own problems. None directly relate to field operations. New money will come in, old contracts will run out at the end of 2011, and 2012 will begin a new chapter in New York baseball.

 
Just root for the team. They need your support.

Q and A: – MetsBlog’s Michael G. Baron

Mack: Morning everybody. We’re talking with Michael G. Baron, Mets photographer extraordinaire and Matt Cerrone’s right hand guy on http://www.metsblog.com . Good morning Michael. Are you in camp yet?
 

Baron: Not quite yet, but we’re just over two weeks away, and I hope to be there on February 15 or 16 at this point
 

Mack: Michael, it will be nice to get back to talking about baseball rather than minority ownership. Do you think this mess will be a major distraction to Terry Collins and the team come “picture day”?
 

Baron: One can say it’s an early test for both Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson, and their ability to separate the business side of things and what goes on in between the lines. Ultimately, their job is to win, and I believe this group will have no problem creating a separation.
 

Mack: Okay… let’s talk Mets. Obviously, David Wright is untouchable, both to the fans and the “administration”. If you were the GM, would there be anyone else that you would etch in stone?

Baron: It’s hard to say anyone in the organization is untouchable, given the right circumstances. I do believe someone such as David Wright would not be dealt, but you never really know what is going to happen.
As much as I want David Wright and Jose Reyes to be on this team for the rest of their careers, at the end of the day, this organization has struggled to win consistently as of late, and any and all possibilities to improve the team have to be exhausted, including the possibility of dealing core players. I think there are ways to build around both of those players, and I feel both can be part of any winning solution, but if Sandy Alderson feels the team can be better both in the short and long term of the franchise by dealing one or both, I have to believe in that – what choice as a fan would I have?
I would think that for now, Wright along with Jenrry Mejia, Ike Davis, Wilmer Flores, and Jeurys Familia are untouchable. But again, things change, and opportunities change, and so nothing would surprise me at this point.

Mack: Talked with Jeurys today… he’s ready. Regarding Ike Davis, I love the guy, but he does have a way to go. I remember the first 100 at-bats for Mike Jacobs as a Met and he hit a .600 slugging percentage. Does Davis have to produce at the Carlos Delgado level to keep his job or will the Mets be happy with a 25-HR/80-RBI/.275 batting average?

Baron: I think it all depends. First base is in fact a power position, but Davis does have amazing power. I would think any team would like to see a higher RBI total out of their first baseman, but he’s also an above average defensive player as well which adds a ton of value. Unless they can dramatically improve via trade or in the free agent market over the next few years, having a player under control like Davis, who will come at a relative discount until the middle part of the decade is not exactly a bad option.

Mack: The Mets made a bunch of mid-level additions this year. Last year’s bonus was R.A. Dickey. Any thoughts on who might turn some heads in Flushing this season?

Baron: I think Chris Young is a key to their success, but if he’s healthy, I think he’ll be a pleasant surprise and a welcome addition to the rotation.

Mack: Michael, you’ve got one of the greatest jobs in the world. You get to walk around and take pictures of the New York Mets!!! How did that come to be?

Baron: I started taking pictures at Met games in 2002. I didn’t own a camera at the time but I had borrowed my friend’s Olympus point and shoot camera to take on a trip to Las Vegas, and still had possession of the camera for an extra day so I decided to take it to Shea Stadium and shoot a game between the Mets and Phillies. From then on, I was hooked, went out to get my own point and shoot, and I’ve been taking pictures at games ever since.

In Spring Training of 2009, I sent Matt some live photos from Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, but at the time I didn’t intend for them to reach MetsBlog – I was there, at Spring Training, and I figured he might be interested in the photos, and the next thing I knew, he posted them to MetsBlog and they were an instant hit.
Around Opening Day that same year, Matt and I met at Citi Field and we once again talked about me writing for MetsBlog. Again, simply wanted to provide the pictures for the site, but he wanted me to write and act as a backup to him when he would be unavailable. I decided to give it a shot, although I was uncertain how it would go because I’m not a writer, but here we are, almost two years into writing regularly for MetsBlog, and I love it, and don’t regret a minute of it.
As you said, being able to follow the Mets as closely as I do now is truly great. But most people don’t realize it’s not a full time job for me. As a matter of fact, I don’t get paid at all for what I do with the Mets. I genuinely enjoy writing, and spending the time writing, and going to games and photographing. It’s not easy to manage at times, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world.

Mack: Michael, I’m a big fan of your Flicka site… (here comes the shameless plug…)
Could you fill everyone in on how they can both view and purchase some of your great shots…

Baron: I upload all of my photos to flickr, and they can be viewed at anytime by visiting the following site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelgbaron . In addition, those galleries are fed into www.MichaelGBaron.com  at http://www.michaelgbaron.com/pictures , which will serve as the new MetsPhotos.com, and that gives me a platform to blog not just about my experience with the Mets, but all teams from all sports.
Mack: Michael, thanks for spending a few moments with us.. .last question… any prediction for the Mets in 2011?

Baron: I think this team will be better coached, and in turn they will have better execution on a more consistent basis. I think it’s possible they could contend for a Wild Card, and if things go right, I expect them to contend. However, I think a more realistic target for this group of Mets is 82-86 wins.

Q and A – CL/SP – Ryan Fraser

10-5-10 interview:

 
Mack: – Hey folks, today we’re talking with the 16th round draft pick in the last draft, closer Ryan Fraser. Hey Ryan, thanks for participating. Ryan, you were the 16th round pick by the Mets in the last draft. I ask this of all the guys… take us back and tell us what that day was like for you….
 

Fraser: – I am down in Ft. Myers, working on my craft. it feels good to be back in the sunshine state again. Not too many people know that I was born up Interstate 75 in Bradenton. I was eight when we moved to Tennessee, but I still have family that lives down here. They are excited to watch me play having played up north all year.
Draft day was a great experience. I knew that I was gonna get a chance but I had no idea what round or team would decide to take a chance on me. My dad and I had the draft pulled up on the Internet but I tried to stay away from it. Being a college senior, I didn’t want to see my name slip towards the later rounds. My girlfriend and I were in and out of the pool, just enjoying life. When my name was called by the Mets in the 16 round, my dad, who had been following it like a hawk, started freaking out and going crazy. My girlfriend and I were in the living room watching TV. I thought my dad was joking until I saw my name on the computer screen. Then I got the call from Erwin Bryant, who liked me enough to draft me that high. That day was truly eventful and one that I will never forget.
Mack: – So, you sign, and the Tennessee boy winds up in Coney island eating eight dollar hot dogs… what was that all about… ?

 
Fraser: – Its weird that would send me all the way up to Brooklyn instead of placing me on the Kingsport club. I know my parents would have rather me play there because it would have been a lot easier for them to come watch. I guess Erwin liked me enough to send me up to the higher level, that and Wally needed another back end pitcher. I’m glad that I was a good fit to play there. NYC was a completely different atmosphere from anything that I have ever experienced. I believe playing in front of so many fans every night is about the closest you can get to playing at Citi Field than any other of the Mets affiliates, or at least that’s what I have heard. I had a blast and couldn’t ask for a better summer.
Mack: – Ryan, I can’t tell you how much it helps to play in front a crowd like that early in one’s career.
Anyway, all you go and do is pitch in 26 games, go 3-3, 1.44, strike out 39 in 31.1 innings, and become the top closer prospect in the organization. Ryan, how far back do you go as a closer?

Fraser: – Well, to be honest, this summer was the first time that I have pitched in that role. I was always a starter or middle reliever. I only closed one game at Memphis this year. We snapped a 13 game losing streak to our rival Ole Miss. I liked being a closer up in Brooklyn, but the rumor is that they might turn me back into a starter next year, so we will see.

Mack: – I hope that happens. Right now, the system is a little short on power starters (just wrote about that, and you, earlier today…). Let’s bring everyone up to date with what you’re throwing and the mph range you played with this season.

Fraser: – I don’t throw anything special. I have three pitches: fastball, slider, and change-up. I think I can get my fastball up to 95, slider about 79-81, and my change-up is a bit stiff around 83.

Mack: – I’d say a 95mph heater is something special… Ryan, that’s about it for now. Thanks for the time spent.
10-5-10: – 2011 Forecast: – Fraser seems to be a very confident young man who has the world ahead of him. It will be interesting to see how the Mets handle him in the Intruction League this month. This would be a good time to stretch him out if they have plans to return him to a starting role next season. Where would he start? It’s pretty crowded from Lucy to Brooklyn, so who the heck knows? My guess, if he’s a starter: a return to Brooklyn. If a closer: Lucy.