Fred Wilpon has been an owner or the owner of the New York Mets for 40 years, and now he is selling the team. It’s a baseball story and despite it being baseball, The New York Times had to publish it. The Times, many readers of this website have complained, has abandoned baseball coverage. But this development the Times couldn’t ignore. What the newspaper did, though, was publish the worst article about a major baseball development in 50 years.
Appearing under the bylines of four – count ‘em four; one used to suffice – reporters, the article was more a biography of the prospective purchaser, Steve Cohen, a hedge-fund billionaire, than it was a report of the sale of the Mets.
It could be speculated that the article might have been more thorough and more authentic had one of the four reporters been the Times’ national baseball writer, Tyler Kepner, but his byline appeared on an “On Baseball” piece about piece about free agency. That article, of course, could have been written the next day or two days later, but an editor or Kepner himself must have decided not to have Kepner work on the Mets’ sale because that was a news story and Kepner is apparently allergic to news.
I have no problem with the Times telling readers who Cohen is, how he made his billions, how he built his multi-million dollar art collection and how his hedge-fund firm pleaded guilty to insider trading and agreed to a $1.8 million payment. All of that is appropriate in the article.
Nowhere in the 1,250-word article, however, is found an explanation for why Wilpon is selling the Mets. For years Wilpon has pledged his eternal loyalty and blessing to his son, Jeff, the Mets’ chief operating officer. Why has he now abandoned that idea?
Did any of the Times’ four reporters ask or at least try to ask either Wilpon why that plan has been abandoned?
Did the elder Wilpon change his mind after watching his son in action for years and deciding he had overrated Jeff and further decided that executives from other clubs who had no respect for the younger Wilpon were right?
Several years ago I took an informal survey, asking executives of other clubs who they thought was the worst major league executive. Jeff Wilpon was an easy winner.
I think Fred would be hurt hearing that, but it wouldn’t be the first time the son of a wealthy owner fell short of expectations.
As far as I know, Wilpon, who is 83 years old, has not commented on the sale. That leaves us to speculate about the reason. One person I talked to told me he believes it’s about estate planning. If the Wilpon dies before he sells the team the potential estate tax would be enormous.
I think that could be part of the reason, but I think there’s another factor. Wilpon was the victim of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme 10 years ago, and I don’t think he ever recovered financially.
Wilpon was never a big spender on players’ salaries. When Nelson Doubleday was his partner, it was Doubleday who encouraged Wilpon to spend. That’s what happened when Mike Piazza was traded to the Mets in 1998. Wilpon was reluctant to make trade because the Mets would have to sign the catcher to a huge contract, but Doubleday said do it and Wilpon did.
The Madoff swindle financially devastated Wilpon, who was willing to spend less than previously or had less to spend. Wilpon always insisted that Madoff didn’t hurt him, but that was his pride talking.
Wilpon initially thought he would be getting money back from the court-appointed Madoff trustee, Irving Picard, but Picard sued him and Wilpon gave up $162 million in return for Picard’s dropping the lawsuit. Wilpon denied knowing that Madoff was a fraud, but Picard claimed that Wilpon was “willfully blind,” meaning Wilpon knew Madoff was perpetrating a fraudulent scheme but closed his eyes to it because he was making money.
Madoff barely made it into the Times story. The Times spent all of one sentence in a 1,250 word story about the Madoff effect. However, because of it, Wilpon’s financial situation deteriorated so badly that he was forced to seek minority investors for the Mets, and that’s how he came to Cohen. Under terms of their reported deal, Wilpon will remain in control of the Mets for five years, and his son, Jeff, 58, will continue as chief operating office during that time.
Certain aspects of the deal remain unclear. For example, if Cohen likes a free agent, say Gerret Cole, the best pitcher on the free-agent market but $35 million a year for five years is more than Wilpon wants to or can spend, will Cohen tell Wilpon, “Sign him and put him on my tab?”
It also wasn’t immediately clear how Major League Baseball will view Cohen. As a minority owner initially, will he need approval by Major League club owners, or will that requirement await the time in five years when he will have complete control?
How will other owners view Cohen, who will become the majors’ wealthiest owner – more than three times as rich as the current wealthiest owner, Charles Johnson, the owner of the San Francisco Giants? Will they be concerned that he will explode the salary structure?
Not surprisingly, news of the Mets’ deal with Cohen was not initially reported by the Times. That credit goes to Bloomberg News.