We were all heartened by the incredible run of the Tampa Bay Rays and their $40 million payroll this September. But it all came crashing down in October, and their owner, Stuart Sternberg, is worried for their future:
“We replicated last year and our numbers were down. The [television] ratings were down. The rubber has got to hit the road at some point. We’re four years into winning. We’re getting to the point where we don’t control our own destiny. This is untenable as a model. (…) It won’t be my decision, or solely my decision. But eventually, Major League Baseball is going to vaporize this team. It could go on nine, 10, 12 more years. But between now and then, it’s going to vaporize this team.”
Now Sternberg is a Mets season ticket holder and was a fan of the team growing up. So how about this: Sternberg moves the Rays to New York so that the team can draw more than it does there, and … here’s the best part … since he grew up a Mets fan, the new stadium he builds is a shrine to Shea Stadium! Complete with a Tom Seaver Rotunda, a statue of Gary Carter, and pictures of Walt Terrell, Evan Longoria, and Skip Lockwood playing poker together all over the stadium!
Well with that exclusive territory clause that the Mets have no problem using, I guess that would only happen in an alternate universe … the same universe where the Tigers pick Phil Humber second and the Mets take Justin Verlander third, Armando Benitez gets a save in a big situation, and Rey Ordonez is a power hitting right fielder who calls Mets fans the best and smartest fans on earth.
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