Bud Selig, Major League Baseball commissioner and personal friend of Wilpon, just gave the Mets' owners $25 million of bailout money to help the team with financial woes. Based on the owners' track record and past investments, they didn’t deserve one cent of that money, especially if Selig was acting to help out a friend.
The current situation with the Mets parallels the bailout plan for U.S. banks, which were rescued after making poor investment choices and promising money that didn’t exist. Wilpon and Katz did the same thing, and they are being rewarded for poor investment choices.
Wilpon and Katz could be in hot water if a lawsuit filed from victims of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme rules in favor of the victims. They are seeking upward of $1 billion from the Mets and related business partners through trustee Irving H. Picard, according to The New York Times. The victims claim that Wilpon and Katz ignored warnings about investments made with Madoff and acted only through self-interest.
What happens if the Mets owners are asked to pay up?
The Times also has reported that the Mets are in over $400 million in debt, so they won’t be able to pay however much the lawsuit demands, but MLB will. The Mets ownership can’t keep receiving free gifts from Major League Baseball, especially if Wilpon and Katz continue to fool around with the team’s finances.
Wilpon and Katz already have blown through the $75 million allocated as general credit to teams in need of financial assistance. This is where Selig should have drawn the line, and if Wilpon was not a personal friend, Selig probably would have under.
The worst part of the situation is how long the Mets ownership continued to deny financial problems. Not until three months ago did they admit to their debt – calling it a "short-term liquidity issue" – and express interest in selling off shares of the team. At the time, the most Wilpon and Katz would reportedly sell was 25 percent, but they have recently upped that offer, as long as they still can hold majority ownership.
What the Mets' owners should do is sell the team and allow the organization to get back on its feet, instead of relying on Major League Baseball to help them out.
So far at Mets spring training, Wilpon and Katz have been mute about the situation and have refused to talk to reporters. Why? The owners know they messed up and are unwilling to admit this to the public.
The case may be that Wilpon and Katz don't have to admit their shortcomings, but the proof will be evident on the field. The Mets had a terrible season last year and signed few new players in the offseason. Generating interest from players to come to a team with no money that consistently fails to make the playoffs is difficult. Generating fan interest in a losing product might be even more challenging.
Wilpon and Katz should sell the team completely to someone who can generate revenue. That move would be in the best interest of the Mets organization and baseball. Otherwise, the team could face bankruptcy with two owners who seem to make money disappear.
Do you think Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz should sell the Mets? Leave your thoughts below.
