Sunday, February 6, 2011

Financial Woes May Be Doom For Mets

Being a Mets fan isn't easy. The team takes us on a constant roller-coaster ride every season. Now that we're coming upon the beginning of spring training, we fans have something new to worry about. 

The owners of the Amazin' New York Mets, Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, are involved in a lawsuit due to their involvement with the infamous Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme. It is reported that the pair made $300 million off of the scheme and might have to pay up to $1 billion dollars to those who got swindled.

To raise some money Fred Wilpon has decided to sell 25% of the franchise. Which is a lot easier said than done. You can't just put an ad in craigslist and give a part of the Mets to the first interested buyer. Who ever buys into the organization must be approved by the MLB and must appeal to fans. Also Fred Wilpon has stated that he does not want to give up any control of the team. With all these factors involved, many believe that the chance of Wilpon and Katz accomplishing their goal is going to be difficult if not impossible. 

So what does this mean for the New York Mets? Well, if some big name celebrity doesn't come around with some cash, Wilpon and Katz are going to have to come up with another strategy. This also puts them at risk at losing the whole franchise. All of this is similar to what happened with the Texas Rangers in 2009. Tom Hicks, the previous owner, also tried to find investors when he was low on cash, with the same stipulations. Over the year, Hicks was forced to sell the team to Pittsburgh lawyer Chuck Greenberg and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz may be in the same boat. As fans we may not be as lucky as getting someone who cares about the Mets as much as Nolan Ryan does about the Rangers.

So now I'm worried how the Mets will do in 2011 and who is going to run the team in 2012. Oh the life of a New York Mets fan.