Why Fay Vincent doesn't want Mark Cuban to own a MLB team

Former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent is not a Mark Cuban fan.

During an interview on ESPN Radio on Wednesday morning, Vincent said his dealings with former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner make him leery of another boisterous, flamboyant owner in the game, a description that has fit the Dallas Mavericks' owner.
"I went through the Steinbrenner business. Some of the behavior of owners can be very troublesome for commissioners," Vincent said. "I don't think Mr. Cuban's been an easy partner or owner for (NBA commissioner) David Stern, and that would put me on my guard if he were to come to baseball."

Vincent banned Steinbrenner from baseball for life in 1990 after it was discovered Steinbrenner hired someone to dig up dirt on Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield. Steinbrenner was reinstated in 1993, a year after Vincent left office.

Cuban has been fined repeatedly for criticizing officials, has been involved in trash-talking matches with players and coaches and has been somewhat of a headache for Stern at times. However, like Steinbrenner did with the Yankees, Cuban has turned the Mavericks into annual contenders. The franchise won its first NBA championship Sunday.

Cuban has made failed attempts to buy the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs and has expressed some interest in buying the Los Angeles Dodgers, if they were to come up for sale.

But Vincent doesn't think Cuban is mature enough to own an MLB team.

"The rules are the rules," Vincent said during the radio interview. "I think this enormous criticism—the screaming about officials, the kinds of things that got him fined by David—those are not the actions of a sensible, responsible owner.

"I mean, winning is not everything, and I'm afraid for some of these owners. They get so carried away with winning, they believe that's the objective."

Apparently, Vincent wants owners to be "gentlemen" and not focus so much on winning—the thing that has made the Mavericks and Yankees successful.

"I think it's more important for owners to be gentlemen, play by the rules, respect the authorities, do what's good for the sport, than it is to manage a franchise into total success," Vincent said. "The subtleties make the difference. George Steinbrenner was a real problem in baseball, and I think Mark Cuban is a real problem in basketball."

Tell that to a fan base. Winning is what any fan wants from his favorite team, in any sport. Cuban might not be the easiest owner for Stern to handle, but it probably is a safe bet that Stern loves what Cuban has built, establishing the Mavericks as a viable franchise and a key part of his league.

And although current MLB commissioner Bud Selig has helped squash Cuban's bids in the past, he probably would prefer to deal with the occasional outburst from Cuban than have Frank McCourt retain ownership of the Dodgers.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2 ... ngs-in-mlb



[youtube:3j7nsmbw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk5sMHj58I[/youtube:3j7nsmbw]

Personally I would love for him to buy the Indians or any other team.

Cuban is the best owner in sports and the rants he is talking about are in the past. Cuban didn't say a peep all year at the officiating. I think he would be an awesome MLB team owner. He wouldn't be afraid to spend some money to make a great sports team.

Cuban is just a modern day Bill Veeck. He wants the game to be more successful.

Couldn't disagree more, owners who care=good for the game.

I'd love to see Cuban own an MLB team

I wish more owners were like him and not sad and pathetic like Dan Gilbert

"I went through the Steinbrenner business. Some of the behavior of owners can be very troublesome for commissioners," Vincent said. "I don't think Mr. Cuban's been an easy partner or owner for (NBA commissioner) David Stern, and that would put me on my guard if he were to come to baseball."

I may be wrong but doesn't David Stern technically work for the OWNERS... Cuban is a thorn in the foot only because he makes those of us that don't have great owners look at him and wish we had that same crazy rich guy in his smedium shirts sitting courtside calling out refs and having a good time...

The purists of the baseball world kill me sometimes. I can't think of many situations where the best answer to why we do something is "because we always have done it this way".

I don't pray for God to get involved where my favorite teams are concerned, but I'm thinking hard about breaking that rule with Mark Cuban. I would LOVE it if he was allowed to purchase the Dodgers.

I wish Angelos would sell the O's to Cuban!!! I'd love to have him in Baltimore!!!

jjj7880 said:

Cuban is the best owner in sports and the rants he is talking about are in the past. Cuban didn't say a peep all year at the officiating. I think he would be an awesome MLB team owner. He wouldn't be afraid to spend some money to make a great sports team.

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It is a myth he actually used his own money for the teams. He has stated publiclly that he wouldn't sink tons of his own money into a team. He has more than one owner of the Mavs as well and they have taken him to task for improperly usage of funds. He has spent above what the team can earn on payroll and taken out loans to do this.

http://www.businessinsider.com/ross-perot-sues-mark-cuban-2010-5

He will spend some money like for the party and parade but any baseball fan shouldn't expect a gorge of free agents if he became owner. He might take out loans hoping to pay them back with earnings from future winning teams but I wouldn't bet on it.

Fay's a moron, if Mark's got the financial means he should be allowed to purchase a team.

masonphillip said:

Fay's a moron, if Mark's got the financial means he should be allowed to purchase a team.

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I agree with this and that he would try and assemble the best talent in the front office as possible, I just doubt he would spend way above the earnings potential of any team he bought.

Vincent is an old fool. Cuban would be good for the game. He cares about building a winning franchise year to year. Heck working for him is fun compared to some of the gulags in the MLB.
There are several owners out there that have really stuck it to fans for years and years while crying that they are poor. Look at the Marlins, the owners there screwed the Expos, screwed the Florida fans & taxpayers all the while deceiving the state officials in getting funding a new stadium on taxpayers money. Owners who just collect revenue sharing money knowing that having a winning team doesn't matter as long as they keep cashing that cheque. How is shat like that good for the game?

Vincent's comments are exactly what is wrong with baseball. Teams need to be winners. That is how to drive fans away, say you are being a gentleman and losing is ok. IT IS NOT. if you are an owner, winning needs to be top priority, above anything else. Thats why teams like KC and Pittsburgh are terrible year after year and its ridiculous. Baseball needs to get back to constructing winning teams. Someone needs to be bad but not for decades.

Vincent is living in another world.

Cuban would be a good addition. Additionally, though he may not have liked it, Steinbrenner and all of his quirks was a good thing for baseball.

Since when isn't winning the purpose of ownership? The more you win, the more revenue for the team, the better MLB does. It's simple economics.

Fay Vincent lives in a world where baseball owners are all gentlemen and honorable and have a genuine love for the game. That would be Bizarro World, because this world has never seen more than a handful of owners like that in the last 125 years.

I was hoping he would buy the Cubs.

Marge Schott was a hell of a gentleman

I would have loved for him to buy the rangers.