Now that you’ve gotten over the shock of the league taking over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, get ready for the conspiracy theories.
The Dodgers takeover, because over owner Frank McCourt’s gross mismanagement, is the third time that Major League Baseball has seized control of a team in the past 10 years. The first time was the Montreal Expos, who were taken over in 2002. Then the Texas Rangers last season.
If you recall, the 2002 takeover of the Expos came at the same time as MLB was considering contracting from 30 to 28 teams. In a rough economy with attendance down all over baseball after one month, wouldn’t it be easier to contract two teams this time now that MLB is running the Dodgers?
Don’t get me wrong. The league would never contract the Dodgers. They are one of baseball’s flagship franchises in the nation’s second biggest market. But conspiracy theorists out there will tell you that this opens the door for slight of hand by Commissioner Bud Selig and economic relief for baseball while resuscitating the Dodgers.
A month before MLB made this move, Monte Poole of the Oakland Tribune speculated that sort of action could cause a domino effect in baseball. He said the Dodgers could be taken over by the Oakland Athletics owner Lewis Wolff, who is a former frat brother of Selig. The A’s, who have been drawing badly for under owner Wolff and can’t get approval for a new ballpark, would be contracted. The Tampa Bay Rays of the American League would also be sucked out of the league. You might have noticed all of the empty seats they play in front of as well.
Also involved in Poole’s scenario is Rays owner Stu Stemberg taking over the New York Mets. That gets rid of the Wilpon family, who have been a stain on baseball for their heavy involvement with convicted ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff.
Far-fetched? Not at all. This plan gets rid of two of baseball’s ugliest stadiums — Oakland Coliseum and Tropicana Field — and worst-drawing teams while shoring up the game’s finances. That would leave 16 National League teams and 12 American League teams, but Selig can easily fix that by moving the Milwaukee Brewers back to the AL along with, possibly, the Washington Nationals, who are formerly known as the Expos.
It all comes full circle.
You can say I’ve been watching “Fringe” too much, but Wolff asked Selig three years ago for permission to move A’s to San Jose. He has yet to hear one word from Selig’s committee on such a move.
Maybe Wolff won’t have to worry about getting a new stadium if he owns a team playing in Dodger Stadium.
MLB assumes control of Dodgers [ESPN]
