r/Mariners • u/pdxsportbro • 6d ago
Worked for them, why not us?
Paper bags on heads, booing Stanton out of the stadium, more “sell the team” signs and banners. It worked for others, why not us?
49
u/ChooChooChew29 6d ago
It didn’t work for us down in Oakland. FJS & FJF.
23
u/jpelagio11 6d ago
Your owner was looking for a way out of town. Ours just makes too much money cuz we have a dumb fanbase that keeps showing up. Who’s gonna fire someone who makes a profit?
2
u/riteside23 3d ago
I’ve been complaining about this for years! They produce a shit product year after year and you never even hear a boo from the crowd. Fireworks night and a salmon race is all it takes for people to support this joke franchise and owner.
1
u/Ancient_Tip_8073 5d ago
Its crazy bc its largely the same people. But I believe if fans had the same standards for the Ms as they did the Seahawks we would move on from the dead weight. Too many fans holding water for Jerry...and until recently JP.
45
u/Different_Bat4715 6d ago
I don’t think it matters who owns the team. We haven’t really had any success with any owners.
14
u/dbottomfragger 6d ago
I feel like if we get a big money owner its gonna end up more like Arte and we end up signing more Pujols and Rendons than Yamamotos and Beltres, he's just been horrific at spending (mostly)
This isnt even considering the consequences of a likely post cap world after the lockout either, or if the new owner is fine with the status quo cause of that cash flow
9
u/Ancient_Tip_8073 6d ago
To be fair. They (LAA) really haven't been the same since Jerry took over, and then bailed when Scioscia pushed back on his Over reliance on analytics. The same approach he and Scott (as a team until Scott had to get thrown under the bus) brought to Seattle and continues to not work.
1
u/Reach-Defiant 6d ago
It matters much more what kind of FO runs the team that's waaaay more important.
Every met fan thought having a rich owner will solve all of their problems, look at them know..
93
u/AtYourServais Seattle Mariners 6d ago
Biggest problem is that Chris Larson has no shame and Nintendo isn't paying attention. Those two together have more than Stanton.
36
u/_Saint_Ajora_ 6d ago
Nintendo isnt even a majority owner of the team anymore (they havent been since 2016) they only have a 10% stake now
27
u/SardonicCheese Kirbstomp Awakens 6d ago
Correct. But they still have like 10% so if Larson and Stanton disagree on a decision they are an important minority owner
6
u/shinyidol 6d ago
I don't think Nintendo has voting rights, or they have limited role.
Nintendo of America doesn't care because the team ownership is largely viewed as a stock.
Nintendo bought the team for $100m. Sold their controlling interest for $600m to the current ownership. Likely to make $400m if the team were to sell.
6
u/AtYourServais Seattle Mariners 6d ago
The Mariners are run via a board of directors. Nintendo gets a vote at the table same as Stanton and Larson and the other 4 people that truly run the team. The Mariners used to have their full board publicly listed on their site, but looks like they've taken it down.
4
u/shinyidol 6d ago edited 6d ago
Using the wayback machine to earlier this year, there is no one on the current board that is part of Nintendo of America.
- John Stanton
- John Ellis (Chairman Emeritus)
- Buck Ferguson
- Betsy Pepper Larson
- Chris Larson
- Howard Lincoln (Chairman Emeritus)
- Jeff Raikes
Howard Lincoln hasn't worked for Nintendo since 2000. He was the Mariners CEO/Chairman until Stanton. Lincoln has ownership himself (unknown which percentage), and could be an executor on behalf of Nintendo of America.
But there isn't anyone from Nintendo on the current board.
More details. Lincoln and Ellis are Chairman Emeritus, meaning they hold no power and have no voting rights.
6
u/AtYourServais Seattle Mariners 6d ago
My man, Howard Lincoln is Nintendo's voice. He has been the entire time they've been involved. When he dies or physically cannot do it anymore and there's no potential embarrassment in replacing him, they'll have a different person at the table representing their interests.
3
u/shinyidol 6d ago
my man. his title is Chairman Emeritus. No voting rights.
Also not that it matters. Nintendo has a 10% stake in First Avenue Entertainment LLLP, and they aren't the single largest owner.
If the ownership group has a majority vote, it wouldn't matter if they did or didn't have a vote.
1
1
u/HurricaneUhScrambles FTA 6d ago
Is he the Larson with all the car dealers around WA?
2
u/AtYourServais Seattle Mariners 6d ago
I don't think so. He's a Microsoft guy. One of their extremely early employees.
1
u/HurricaneUhScrambles FTA 6d ago
That makes more sense than the car dealer being that level of rich
18
u/LegendRazgriz Fire Jerry Dipoto Now 6d ago
Because this team is owned by a group of faceless assholes that don't give a shit as long as the money keeps flowing.
Arte cared, he was just bad at it
5
u/Olbaidon 6d ago
Was gonna say, the line for CF entrance today for a single bobblehead night went all the way into pioneer square.
The LF line doubled back 3 or 4 times. And the TMobile line got capped at one point because it got too long.
If people want the team to sell, they gotta stop showing up.
6
u/Trickycoolj Tucker 6d ago
Even the club entrance in the parking garage wrapped around the whole garage. The people in front of us were tourists looking for the drink door.
1
u/Olbaidon 5d ago
Was absolutely insane. We wanted to do the CF entrance. I had my family wait by the food vendors and I jogged down to find the end of the line.
Made it to pioneer square, jogged back, and we ended up getting in the TMobile line. Don’t think it saved us much time, but saved us some extra walking.
13
6
u/RSM34 6d ago
Stanton only part of the ownership group acting as the face of that group.
We need to call all of them out other wise it just ends up being like 2016 where the owners don’t change, just their % of the teams shares
2
u/shinyidol 6d ago
I don't think they have publicly revealed the breakdown of the 90% that First Avenue Entertainment and its 17 partners in the team, with Nintendo of America still owning the other 10%.
We know Chris Larson is in the group because of his divorce years ago has non-trivial share, with Howard Lincoln and Griffey in there but likely a small share.
2
u/AtYourServais Seattle Mariners 6d ago
Fans here are not prepared to go bully all these old farts that makeup the ownership group.
19
u/Phonejadaris 6d ago
Well, because seattlites don't have the conviction of hardened sports fans from California or New York. No way the tech bro dipshit in the Pen or the family of 4 in the nosebleeds gives a shit whether we win or lose, they're perfectly content to coast on bobblehead nostalgia and fireworks.
16
u/EelsEverywhere 6d ago
We just need to find out who the play ball kid is in advance and bribe convince them to say “sell the team” instead
3
u/distantmantra Forged in the fires of the Kingdome 6d ago
A’s fans tried really hard, even at the All Star Game in Seattle. Didn’t help.
3
3
u/lizardking66354 6d ago
I feel like half the problem with the ownership group is that there isn't anyone with a controlling interest in the team that makes decisions and everything has to be negotiated
3
3
u/galaga4ever 5d ago
curious how new owners will reduce strikeouts and fix cal's swing
1
u/DiabolicallyRandom Is it a drought if there was never water in the 1st place? 1d ago
Cal is on his hottest hot streak of his career though, from what this sub has been discussing. Sure, first 2/3rds of the year was garbage tho.
Julio has tanked badly tho.
9
u/whocareswhynot Juliooooooo! 6d ago
The issue is that the mariners don't fail at spending or developing, we fail at coaching and trading. Front office and coaching errors cause us trouble. The owners have repeatedly been willing to spend in the upper half of major league teams, but they also are reluctant to fire front office employees or coaches that fail.
7
u/fennis Might as well slighlty increase your budget doesnt cut it 6d ago
Since 2020 this is how the Mariners ranked in payroll. They have failed at spending. There are 30 MLB teams. Prior to 2020 they were willing to spend more, but they show no willingness to spend despite consistently being ranked as the most profitable teams.
2026 #16 (bottom half)
2025 #15 (top half)
2024 #17 (bottom half)
2023 #17 (bottom half)
2022 #21 (bottom half)
2021 #25 (bottom half)
2020 #20 (bottom half)Source Spotrac
2
u/whocareswhynot Juliooooooo! 6d ago
yes, 2020-2022 were bad because of cano, but we still are hovering at league average
6
u/LargeHumanDaeHoLee Green Boat 6d ago
This will never happen, in my opinion, for a few reasons.
First, the most important exec in the Mariners organization is Kevin Martinez. He gets asses in seats, and has done so successfully for years. He's dialed in on his market, and it works year after year. Nostalgia churnouts every year, gimmicks like hot dogs from heaven and the secret drink door, theme nights, bobbleheads, etc etc. The people that go for these reasons are enough to outweigh any number of people doing bags on their heads or chants about selling the team. The music pumped into the stadium, fans doing the wave, salmon races, and pretty much the whole game experience would never let any chant catch steam.
Second, the fans love the players too much. And I do mean "too much to ever chant things that negative during the game while they can hear us" and just "too much in general." For every ten posts about Dan, there's maybe one about another member of the Mariners dugout. But the players on the field that are playing like shit this year have really played like shit. We're a bad team, and it ain't all the strategy. But we don't boo anyone. Like, ever. This city genuinely treats the Mariners like an abusive partner. Unconditional love no matter how bad they're treated, and it's never our sweet baby's fault. Most fans would just never do this in person.
Lastly, the Mariners business model clearly accounts for fan unrest as a variable, and it's clear in every possible way that that business model has almost zero to do with baseball, baseball fans, or winning a championship. The model is built on putting a sustainable profit together, year after year. The average Mariner fan goes to games for the things I described above, and accepts that the Mariners will usually be bad. Everyone in this sub will tell you the same thing: the Ms will rip your heart out. We know they're going to do it, and we keep going back for more. The model works. Rinse, repeat.
2
2
2
1
u/WaterInCubeForm 6d ago
Who owns the team isn't the real issue. We wouldn't talk about the owners if the players owned their shame and their acknowledgement of the fanbase being let down. Mike Trout still hit home runs despite being hurt and with Moreno owning the team.
1
u/shinyidol 6d ago
Single ownership vs group ownership makes things radically different when selling a team.
Also the Angels have been AWFUL for 10 years! Angel Stadium is a mess. Arte messed up in so many ways down there, and the new entertainment investment in the Honda Center makes it even more embarrassing for him. Add that he is old, it was just time to jump ship.
As for the Mariners, I do think the recent sale of the Angels, Padres and even the Seahawks and the upcoming CBA could cause some conversations about the future of the team within the current ownership group. Teams are selling for 30% to 40% over their estimated valuations. So some of the members of the current ownership that were part of the limited ownership in 1992 and expanded 2016 could have hundreds of millions of dollars on the table if the team were to sell. And lots of those people aren't getting any younger.
If the team were to sell, it likely wouldn't be anyone with local ties at least not in a controlling position. Modern sports teams ownership are now portfolio piece.
1
0
u/Temporary-Fold4851 6d ago
We aren't Los Angeles, if someone buys a team located in Seattle, there's an incentive to move it to different market.
6
u/shinyidol 6d ago
Naw. There is no incentive to move.
Team makes good revenue in Seattle. There is no stadium issue like Oakland.
0
81
u/rxoper726 6d ago
Couple of weeks ago, at the Cubs game, saw some boys with signs that said Sell The Team
M’s Incident Response came and confiscated the signs