MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred once again proceeded to step on his own dick by saying the Oakland A’s fans reverse boycott doesn’t change a decade of inaction. That is wrong. And that is rich coming from someone who’s sport let a team spend years purposely losing games and then cheat its way to winning the World Series.
Now let’s talk about the Houston Astros. Can we talk about the Houston Astros? I’ve been dying to talk about the Houston Astros with you all day.
Before we jump into that, a little disclaimer. I don’t have an issue with what the franchise did by and large. Look, it wasn’t morale, but the wins still count. We aren’t talking about Andre the Giant handing Ted DeBiase the WWF Title. Houston’s championship is very real. You can disagree with that sentiment, and rightfully so, but this is how I see it.
From 2009 to 2014, the ‘Stros lost nearly 600 games. At no point in time during this stretch was there any attempt to field an even remotely competitive team. It was a blight on baseball and MLB as a whole. What the A’s have spent a season and a half doing, Houston did for six years.
And what did Bud Selig and others in charge of MLB do at the time? They let it happen. The standard set is literally that owners don’t have to try to win games or be a form of entertainment and if fans and cities don’t like it, well, tough titties. The league will relocate its special brand of Three-Card Monte somewhere else.
There is a subplot here that needs to be addressed. During this stretch of putrid baseball in Houston, no one around town supported the ballclub. Nor should they have been expected to. If ownership and the front office aren’t going to try, why should fans?
Interestingly, those pesky Oakland A’s managed to bring in more fans than the Houston Astros in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Now, both sides were still in the bottom third of the league when it came to attendance, but one played in a relatively new stadium and the other was housed in a facility being purposely neglected—no prizes for guessing which situation belonged to what team.
However, the Astros’ woes weren’t simply limited to people in the stands. No one, actually no one, was watching their television broadcasts. They pulled in 0.0 Nielsen ratings on multiple occasions during this time. The Cosby Show reruns were pulling in more viewers. I suppose in Houston’s defense, it was before Bill Cosby’s allegations became widespread.
Let’s take a moment to recap everything so far. The Houston Astros ownership was trying to lose games on purpose which made fans stop attending and caused the worst possible television rating possible. What did Rob Manfred’s former boss, Bud Selig, do about all this? That’s right. nothing. The commissioner did absolutely nothing about any of this.
Today countless teams now copy the Astros’ tanking technique with varying degrees of success. And sometimes, the goal isn’t even to field a competitive side one day. As we saw with John Fisher and the Oakland A’s relocation, he made his team terrible to justify a move.
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The truth about MLB inaction
Incredulously, Manfred has, on multiple occasions, tried to deny tanking happens in MLB. Who can forget this gem from the man who is supposed to be the shepherd of America’s pastime:
“This narrative that our teams are not trying is just not supported by the facts. Every single team wants to win. It may look a little different to outsiders—the way people think about the game, the way a winning team is put together. That doesn’t mean teams are not trying.”
Get out of here with that noise. You can’t be serious. The Houston Astros were trying to win by losing as much as possible over a period of several years. Since then, you have let numerous teams follow Houston’s lead by losing games on purpose and chasing away fans in the process.
As for the ‘Stros, they eventually tried, and succeeded, to win by stealing signs. Just because you weren’t in charge when it originally happened doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or that you aren’t letting it continue to let it take place under your watch. The only thing not supported by facts is every single claim or argument you’ve made over the past 15 years.
Do you want to talk about inaction, Rob Manfred? Why has your inaction allowed baseball to slip further and further behind the NBA and NFL? Why is it that every decision you seem to make isn’t in the sport’s best interest?
At no point has MLB made a decision that benefits players, fans, cities or stakeholders other than owners. Okay, that’s not entirely true. Pitch clocks have been good. But even that was implemented in the most ham-fisted way imaginable.
I fully understand that all sports owners want a commissioner who will let them do whatever the hell they want without repercussions. Manfred’s actions and words are a smokescreen for the awful behavior of his bosses.
From the archives: (Please don’t) Move the Miami Marlins
A Final Word
For the commissioner of baseball to go after fans about inaction when he is guilty of some of the most severe violations of inactivity would be laughable if it wasn’t so frustrating. If the commissioner’s office is willing to allow teams to spend six years losing on purpose, fans and cities deserve the same leeway. And they certainly shouldn’t be asked to fork over their hard-earned money for a new stadium.
Of course, it doesn’t and will never happen that way. Manfred is a serial liar who seems content with the special place in hell he’s carved out for himself. But for anyone pissing on Oakland and A’s fans, here’s an important question for you:
What would have happened had Astros ownership demanded a new stadium be built during the team’s six-year tank-a-thon? How would that have gone down?
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