Tuesday, October 28, 1997
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 5
Champion Marlins' owner threatens to gut payroll
The Associated Press
MIAMI—Built to finish first, the Florida Marlins might not be built to last.
Billionaire owner Wayne Huizenga is threatening to break up the team, complaining he lost $34 million this year even though the Marlins won the World Series.
Unless taxpayers build a new ballpark for the world champions, Huizenga said, the team payroll will drop below $20 million next year from $54 million this season.
That means Gary Sheffield and Alex Fernandez, who have notrade clauses in their contracts, could be the only millionaire players returning next season. And Fernandez, who is scheduled for surgery today on a career-threatening torn rotator cuff, may be unavailable in 1998.
Only one major league team — the Pittsburgh Pirates — was below $20 million this year. If the Marlins drop to that level, salaries for Sheffield ($10 million in 1998) and Fernandez ($7 million) would leave less than $3 million for the other 23 players.
Kevin Brown? Moises Alou?
Bobby Bonilla? Jeff Conine? Robb Nen? Devon White? Al Leiter? All would be gone if Huizenga follows through with his threat.
The manager might be gone, too. Jim Leyland, who fled Pittsburgh because of the tight budget there, has said a drastic payroll reduction could prompt him to leave the Marlins after only one season. He doesn't plan to work elsewhere in 1998.
"If I'm managing, it's going to be in south Florida." Levland said.
The prospect of Huizenga dismantling the Marlins probably will be applauded around the country. Widely viewed as a checkbook team rather than a storybook team, the 5-year-old Marlins are unpopular champions beyond south Florida, particularly in cities that have waited decades for a World Series title.
Just ask fans in Boston and Chicago. Or Cleveland.
The Marlins finished off the Indians in dramatic fashion when Edgar Renteria's two-out, bases-loaded single in the 11th inning completed a 3-2 victory in Game 7.
Although the Series was hampered by sloppy play and dismal TV ratings, it was a smashing success in Miami, drawing crowds of more than 67,000 for all four games.
Huizenga has committed $175 million to long-term contracts since the end of the 1996 season. Now he wants to cash in on the euphoria of Miami's first professional sports championship since the 1972-73 Dolphins won back-to-back Super Bowls.
Huizenga put the Marlins up for sale in June, but he said Saturday he would keep the franchise if taxpayers build him a new ballpark that could cost $350 million or more. A stadium with a retractable roof to eliminate the threat of rain would improve attendance, increase team revenue and allow the Marlins to remain competitive, Huizenga said.
"If we get a new stadium, then we can have a higher payroll," he said.
Huizenga said he would meet with local politicians in the next two or three weeks, but his chances of winning their support are uncertain. And with the expansion draft just three weeks away, decisions about the team payroll must be made soon so the Marlins can plan their 1998 roster.
browski will swallow hard if there are severe cutbacks.
"Some things you don't control," Dombrowski said. "I've never been in a position where I've set our payroll budget. Everybody knows your chances of winning with a $45 million budget are better than winning if you have a $15 million payroll. But you work as hard as you possibly can with the $15 million payroll to get the most out of your organization. It's a challenge."
General manager Dave Dom
The challenge next year will likely include doing without White, 34; Leiter, 31; Darren Daulton, 35; and Conine, 31, who has been with the Marlins since its first game in 1993. Bonilla and Brown could also be gone. Less likely to depart are Alou and Nen.
Among those certain to return are Game 7 hero Renteria, Gold Glove catcher Charles Johnson and rookie pitcher Livan Hernandez, the most valuable player in both the World Series and the National League championship series. All three players are relative bargains because of their youth.
"I think this is going to be a real solid club for the next five years," Leyland said. "We got pretty good reviews in the minor leagues this year. This organization looks real healthy to me with the combination of what we have and the guys ready to step in."
more youngsters are on the way because one of baseball's best farm systems will be expected to plug some gaps next season.
But what the Marlins have may not be around much longer. In the glow of the noisy postgame celebration early yesterday, players drenched in champagne shrugged when asked about an uncertain future.
"I couldn't care less right now," said rookie Craig Counsell, who scored the winning run in Game 7. "We just won the World Series. I'm going to enjoy this until somebody tells me not to."
Soon enough, Huizenga may give the word: The party's over.
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