HHP: MASN/Nats/Orioles case (Inside the Courtroom)

[Mondo Trasho]

There was no good way to do it because they've already divided up the country. Some team has a claim to every last square inch of the United States. Of all of the options Washington was one of the least complicated. Move them to Vegas and they'd have had to pay off six different teams. Move to San Antonio and they're dealing with both the Astros and Rangers. Charlotte is currently split between the Orioles, Reds, and Braves (but curiously not the Nats). Oklahoma City is split between four teams. And probably the most lucrative market, NYC, is already split between two very rich teams that will fight to the death to keep their advantages. Only Portland seems on par with Baltimore-Washington, you'd only have to pay off Seattle. But Portland's political environment was and is not at all inclined to build a free stadium for a baseball team. They actually kicked their AAA team out of town in favor of an MLS team.

Weirdly enough, if you were looking to move or expand baseball today the best market might just be Montreal. If you could find a place to play.

They were also looking at San Juan. Though I'm not sure how seriously. They did make the Expos play a good portion of their "home" games there in 2004.

[Redskins Rick]

They were also looking at San Juan. Though I'm not sure how seriously. They did make the Expos play a good portion of their "home" games there in 2004.

Baseball Prospectus doesn't think MLB is looking at San Juan as a permanent home base.

9. San Juan, Puerto Rico

2010 Census Population (data): 381,931

Distance to Nearest MLB Market: 1,038 miles (Miami)

MLB Television Territories Impacted: None

Median Household Income: $27,017

Television Information: An estimated 1.1 million households exist in Puerto Rico, 98 percent of which have at least one television set (source Museum of Broadcast Communications)

Radio Information: N/A

Number of Major League Teams: 0

Interim/New Facility Location: Hiram Bithorn Stadium (seating capacity: 18,000)

Population Base per Franchise (including MLB team): 2,450,292

Number of Fortune 500 Global Companies: 1

Pros

Hiram Bithorn Stadium wound up being “home” to the Montreal Expos for parts of two seasons (2003 and 2004, during which they played a total of 44 games). It has also been used to host the World Baseball Classic and an Opening Day game in 2001 between the Blue Jays and Rangers. MLB has been quick to pull San Juan into discussions anytime that relocation has been the subject. No team claims Puerto Rico as their television territory. To the best of our knowledge, television deals in Puerto Rico are centralized across MLB.

Cons

The biggest issues with San Juan include upgrades to Hiram Bithorn to get it anywhere near MLB-ready, the low median income, and the lack of a corporate base. Add in travel concerns (it would be the furthest south of any MLB team), and San Juan becomes a great location for MLB events but is unlikely to be a permanent home.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18886

[DrungoHazewood]

They were also looking at San Juan. Though I'm not sure how seriously. They did make the Expos play a good portion of their "home" games there in 2004.

It's hard to see San Juan being as good a fit as Washington. Income there is much, much lower. Travel is crazy (it's 1000 miles from Miami). Stadium only seats 18,000, and I'd assume they'd have to have huge crowds to make up for lower ticket costs. San Juan, Monterrey, Mexico City, they're all interesting to consider. But once you leave the continental US you introduce a whole host of complications.

[TonySoprano]

Only after the Nationals had made it official. The Unanimity was only as a show vote after the official one.

It's always unanimous at the end but it wasn't unanimous in the beginning. Once he got the amount of votes he needed, it became unanimous.

At what point did the following happen?

Since the Nationals cast the deciding vote today for new commissioner Rob Manfred, will this have any impact on the dispute?

[weams]

At what point did the following happen?

After the Rays and the Brewers switched votes. The Nationals were the 23rd vote after two ballots at 22.

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2014-08-14/rob-manfred-new-baseball-commissioner-vote-election-selig-werner

Among other sources.

[weams]

THURSDAY, 5:58pm: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Manfred?s support vacillated between 20, 21 and 22 voters over the course of the day. The Brewers and Rays pushed the vote to 21 and 22. Of the final eight holdouts, the Nationals were the team that eventually changed their vote and put Manfred over the top, Heyman adds.

[TonySoprano]

THURSDAY, 5:58pm: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Manfred?s support vacillated between 20, 21 and 22 voters over the course of the day. The Brewers and Rays pushed the vote to 21 and 22. Of the final eight holdouts, the Nationals were the team that eventually changed their vote and put Manfred over the top, Heyman adds.

O.K. thanks. So then back to your question

Since the Nationals cast the deciding vote today for new commissioner Rob Manfred, will this have any impact on the dispute?

Assuming Heyman's reporting is correct, and further assuming Manfred was the type to play favorites (which I don't think he is), would he favor the team who supported him all day (Baltimore) or the kingmaker (Nats)? Similarly, will the " sox, blue jays, diamondbacks, angels, a's and reds," be rewarded for their party unity in the end?

No, this won't have an impact on MASN.

[DrungoHazewood]

O.K. thanks. So then back to your question

Assuming Heyman's reporting is correct, and further assuming Manfred was the type to play favorites (which I don't think he is), would he favor the team who supported him all day (Baltimore) or the kingmaker (Nats)? Similarly, will the " sox, blue jays, diamondbacks, angels, a's and reds," be rewarded for their party unity in the end?

No, this won't have an impact on MASN.

Maybe the Nats agreed to vote for Manfred if and only if he'd give them all of the MASN money. Yea, probably not.

[weams]

O.K. thanks. So then back to your question

Assuming Heyman's reporting is correct, and further assuming Manfred was the type to play favorites (which I don't think he is), would he favor the team who supported him all day (Baltimore) or the kingmaker (Nats)? Similarly, will the " sox, blue jays, diamondbacks, angels, a's and reds," be rewarded for their party unity in the end?

No, this won't have an impact on MASN.

Good answer. Thanks.

[weams]

Do we know for sure, 100%, that the Orioles weren't one of the 8 holdouts?

Yes. Let me get you that list.

[weams]

Do we know for sure, 100%, that the Orioles weren't one of the 8 holdouts?

So the 7 votes against were both sox, blue jays, diamondbacks, angels, a's and reds. Before the official 30-0 vote anyway

7:00 PM - 14 Aug 2014

[TonySoprano]

Do we know for sure, 100%, that the Orioles weren't one of the 8 holdouts?

That's not what Heyman reported. The real answer to your question comes down to whether you believe Heyman knows "for sure 100%."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>So the 7 votes against were both sox, blue jays, diamondbacks, angels, a's and reds. Before the official 30-0 vote anyway</p>— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) <a href="

">August 14, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Support vacillated betw 20, 21 and 22 votes for manfred. Brewers and rays eventually voted yes, and nats pushed it to 23.</p>— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) <a href="

">August 14, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Redskins Rick]

I didnt think the Orioles would take a stand against the naming of the new commish.

They badly want the 2016 All Star Game and they already did something Bud told them not to do, and that was take the dispute to court.

[Malike]

Wasn't Manfred the guy on 60 minutes who admitted to socializing with some bad actors and paying for evidence to put on A-Rod? Maybe I'm misremembering, but if not, solid choice for a Commish. Solid.

[weams]

I didnt think the Orioles would take a stand against the naming of the new commish.

They badly want the 2016 All Star Game and they already did something Bud told them not to do, and that was take the dispute to court.

No no. That wan't the Orioles who went to court. That was MASN. And of course the Nats. Orioles are clean there.