A Steve Cohen & Peter Seidler Appreciation Post
A Steve Cohen & Peter Seidler Appreciation Post
The Mets and Padres owners are disrupting the long-standing economic structure of baseball, and I’m here for it.
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That [spending] puts a lot of pressure [on us]. . . . But it’s not just the Padres, it’s the Mets, it’s the Phillies. This has been an interesting year.
What the Padres are doing, I don’t 100% agree with, though I know that our fans probably agree with it. We’ll see how it works out.— Dick Monfort
"I've heard what everyone else has heard: that they're [owners of lower-revenue teams] not happy with me," Cohen said. "I hear things from people who are maybe more neutral -- that they're taking a lot of heat from their fans. I kind of look at that like, you're looking at the wrong person. They're putting it on me. Maybe they need to look more at themselves.
"I'm not responsible for how other teams run their clubs," he added. "I'm really not. That's not my job. And there are disparities in baseball. We know that to be true. I'm following the rules. They set the rules down, I'm following them." — Steve Cohen
“I kind of like spending money . . . You can’t take it with you.” — Peter Seidler
For Rockies fans, it’s generally not good when Dick Monfort is making headlines, and since his comments to reporters two weeks ago, he has definitely been in the news and not in an especially good way.
To be clear, his comments about the Rockies’ potential to perhaps play .500 ball aren’t wrong — no one thinks the 2023 Rockies are going to be a very good baseball team. Rather, his remarks are just so artless. If nothing else, he couch the message in a positive way: “We’re going to be a young team this year, and there will be a lot of new faces at Coors Field, but I think this is going to be an exciting team. You know what else? I think we’re going to surprise some folks.” Nope. He just said that maybe the Rockies can break even.
On one hand this beats the 94 wins “interpolation” comments of 2020 because his goals are at least realistic. On the other, who’s getting excited about watching .500 baseball?
(Incidentally, this conversation between Patrick Saunders, Manny Randhawa, and Mark Knudson struck me as an even-handed analysis of the situation.)
But I’m less interested in Dick Monfort’s comments about the 2023 Rockies than I am in the extent to which baseball has been disrupted by two owners: Steve Cohen (New York Mets) and Peter Seidler (San Diego Padres).
That Steve Cohen, one of the richest men in the US, was willing to spend a lot of money this season became immediately apparent as the team re-signed players like Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Díaz while bringing in Justin Verlander and other players who will improve the Mets. (They even flirted with adding Carlos Correa on a pricey contract, but that deal fell through.) In 2023, the Mets have a projected payroll of $355 million, which marks a substantial increase over their 2022 payroll of $299 million. They will also incur a luxury-tax penalty of $98.6 million, which is higher than the payrolls of five MLB teams.
And — just because he can — Steve Cohen bought a Super Bowl ad, and, reader, it is delightful.
I love everything about it: The enthusiasm, the star power, the wit, the commitment to fans (and, obviously, to selling tickets).
Consider, too, Padres owner Peter Seidler, who said back in October, “I kind of like spending money . . . You can’t take it with you.” He added, “We’re seeding great fans for life . . . And now from our standpoint, we’ve always had an obligation, and it’s at a higher level now. That’s good.”
During the offseason, he was true to his word. In 2023, the Padres will have a projected payroll of $261million, which would be the fourth highest in MLB. The Padres began this World Series run by signing Manny Machado in 2019; they traded for players like Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Juan Soto, and Josh Bell; and then they signed Xander Bogaerts and Nelson Cruz. And they also happen to have Fernando Tatís Jr (14 years, $340 million) on their roster. Oh, and they extended Darvish yesterday (six years, $108 million).
The Padres have pushed their chips to the center of the table, and fans have noticed. Check out Padres Fest from last weekend:
Seriously, I get chills.
As for Dick Monfort’s comments about the Rockies being a “small-market team?” Here’s Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune in rebuttal:
The San Diego media market stands in MLB’s bottom five, making Seidler’s top-5 spending a topic of speculation throughout the industry.
For the likes of Monfort, whose franchise occupies a mid-tier media market, Seidler’s Padres are inspiring uncomfortable questions from fans and media.
“Uncomfortable questions from fans and media” — that pretty much gets at what’s happening.
Moreover, the Padres’ investment is paying off. As Krasovic also notes, “This season will set franchise records in attendance and merchandise sales, one year after the Padres finished fifth in home attendance and raked in additional revenues from home playoff games.”
Finally, Krasovic sticks the landing: “Peter Seidler may in fact be a problem for the Rockies, but he’s not the biggest obstacle for a franchise that’s never won a National League West title.”
Where’s the lie? Owners like Steve Cohen and Peter Seidler have called into question the stories owners have been telling fans about their teams’ performance.
The years since 2018 have been tough for Rockies fans: No post-season appearances; Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, and John Gray left the franchise; losing teams; and just a lot of un-fun baseball. Signing Kris Bryant isn’t helpful (or distracting) if he only plays in 42 games.
Moreover, the Rockies have gotten worse at fan engagement. While the Padres, Dodgers, and Giants were posting on social media their awesome fan fest photos, Rockies fans were . . . watching those other fans celebrate. Well, and they did get customized wallpaper.
Apparently, there’s a remodeling project at Coors Field, but that seems a poor excuse given both the size of Coors Field and the availability of McGregor Square. When Rockies fans could have used some hope, they got “maybe the Rockies will play .500 baseball this year” and “I really think the Padres have some holes.” It’s not encouraging.
Monfort’s comment “I know that our fans probably agree with it [the Padres’ spending]” makes clear that he’s aware of fan sentiment and simply does not care.
Both Cohen and Seidler have committed to fans and winning. Monfort has said those things, most recently in his 2022 letter to season ticket holders (“Excuses serve no purpose, and we are committed to devoting all our efforts this off-season to improving this team for 2023”). But there’s been no real no action to back up those words, no sense that he feels the same obligation that Cohen and Seidler do.
@303toNYC had an insightful take on this topic:
Hopefully, owners like Steve Cohen and Peter Seidler, who have brought a different mindset to MLB, can continue to disrupt baseball in a way that improves the game for fans.
Down on the Farm
Case Williams is headed to Spring Training. Thomas Harding has the details.
Kiley McDaniel ranked the MLB farm systems. (Spoiler: The Rockies are 16th.)
The folks over at Blake Street Banter have begun their prospect rankings — and they’ve included interviews with a number of players, which is very cool.
Old Friends
Michael Baumann makes the case for Sam Hilliard as an everyday center fielder. (Really hope Hilliard can sort things out in Atlanta.)
Speaking of Fan Fests . . .
World Baseball Classic
Rosters were announced yesterday. Here are the Rockies who will be participating. (Not sure what happened to Kyle Freeland, but he was left off the US team’s roster.)
What I’m Reading
Sean Keeler’s “Please Buy Our Rockies, Rob Walton” (Denver Post) — Keeler gives voice to the plea of Rockies fans everywhere.
Jack Etkin’s “Behind the Dish —Garneau To Help Guide Rockies’ Minor League Catchers” (Rockies Magazine) — The Rockies do have a tendency toward the familiar.
Danielle Allentuck’s “Five Colorado Rockies Players to Participate in the World Baseball Classic” (Denver Gazette) — Yes, but where is Kyle Freeland?
Jake Mailhot’s “FanGraphs Power Rankings: Spring Training Edition” (FanGraphs) — This strikes me as about right on all counts. (It’s also weird to see the Dodgers out of the top tier.)
Weekend Walk-off
February is Black History Month, and this is a very cool thing MLB The Show is doing this year:
I’m not a gamer, but if I were, this would be at the top of my list.
Thanks for reading —
Renee
@ReneeDechert (Twitter) ★ @ReneeDechert (Mastodon) ★ @Renee.Dechert (Instagram) ★ @ReneeDechert (Post)