Miami Marlins Rumors: Why “tanking” is a good thing
Could “tanking” in the MLB actually become a good thing for the game? Especially the Miami Marlins?
Miami Marlins rumors have been swirling with trade activity this whole off-season. The “fire sale” that they have been on has coined the terminology of “tanking” and its effects on the game of baseball.
I am not here to say that tanking is happening in the Major Leagues. However, the blueprint for having a successful team for poorly functioning franchises does require a form of “rebuild” process.
My biggest counter to the idea that there is abundant tanking is that there are only a select few teams that are actually doing this or have done this, and they were already bad, to begin with.
Take for example the Chicago Cubs leading up to their championship 2016 season. Theo Epstein took over as President of Baseball Operations in October of 2011. They were already a terrible team at that point trending even further down with a depleted farm system.
In 2012, the Chicago Cubs won only 61 games on a continual downward trends from years before of 83 wins, 75 wins, and 71 wins before Theo Epstein. Regardless of how bad that was, they were not “tanking,” rather restructuring their business model to make themselves better in the long-run. Without a farm system in place or proper management that was lacking for years, they were destined to go boom and bust as they were for decades. Ultimately that limited their chances of winning the World Series.
Now in the present day after their restructuring, they have developed a system to make themselves competitive in the long-term. My point is, the Cubs did not “tank,” they were already bad but found it necessary to provide a continuously good team on the field. To do so, they had to reorganize themselves.
Their most prominent competitor, the St. Louis Cardinals, have a business model that has led to over a decade of great success. That is the model everyone wants because once teams get through the restructuring process, they no longer have incredibly bad years. The Cardinals had a down year last year, but their “down year” was 83 wins and being knocked out of the postseason race in the final week.
MLB Draft is not the reason for tanking.
Not every team has a system in place to be successful. I sort-of eluded to this earlier by saying “tanking” is a blueprint for consistently bad teams. Big market teams and other already well-performing teams have no reason to tank like the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers among others, but they may have a few slightly down years. Due to their payroll, they never cease to have terrible seasons.
The “tanking” or restructuring, which is the word I prefer to use, is not a model where teams are losing to gain draft picks as we see in the NBA or NFL for example.
The draft of the MLB has been and still is a shot-in-the-dark process. Look at the numbers and see for yourself how few of top draft choices make it to MLB, as well as find their way to having spectacular careers.
One example is Mike Trout. He got passed by 21 teams falling to the 24th overall pick. He will eventually be a no-doubt Hall of Fame player. Bryce Harper, on the other hand, is an anomaly with his success being the number one overall pick. Sure, I will concede higher picks yield a greater probability of making it to the Major Leagues, but by no means is it a guarantee. Let alone becoming great.
Chipper Jones just recently became the second number one overall pick to make it to the Hall of Fame following Ken Griffey Jr.
The Miami Marlins come to mind because they are restructuring themselves. As we have seen with the so-called “fire sale.” Not because they want to, but because their team is in severe financial trouble. They had terrible contracts alongside a very low-quality farm system to develop players.
They key here is not “draft players,” but “develop players.” Drafting is important, but not as important as squeezing every ounce out of each player as well as trading for known talent in the minor leagues. Precisely the point of trading their key players away.
Competitive edge in the long-run.
Restructuring their teams business model is the whole process. They have to sell players to receive minor league players, possibly get new ownership, and also change how they spend money all across the board not just on the field.
We saw this same thing happen with the Houston Astros and Jeff Luhnow. He completely overhauled a lousy system that was already failing. By the time he came over and restructured the Astros in 2012, they were coming off a 56 win 2011 season.
Same as the Cubs and Theo Epstein, they were already bad before.
Also, this is precisely what we are about to see with the Miami Marlins. When have the Marlins been good recently? Your answer: they have not been over .500 since 2009. Also, a failing organization.
To say that tanking, restructuring, or reorganizing their baseball business, whichever term you see as best, is hurting the MLB, I mean take a look around. Teams that are bad are trying something different.
The game is getting smarter, and teams want to get better long-term like the St. Louis Cardinals. Even the sound teams are using the same ideas the “tanking” teams are using in the analytical department. Which is an argument for another day regarding the market slowness?
However, bad teams have to have a model to compete for long-term and even it is a competitive way small market teams can create great teams for a long window of success, giving them a competitive edge in the long-run.
Winning Cures Everything.
So how can tanking, which makes the bad teams worse and good teams slightly better be good for the game?
Baseball over the years has had teams full of have’s and have-nots. Teams with money and teams without.
Right now, the teams that are restructuring themselves are doing so in a way to make themselves competitive in the long-run, that is good for baseball. In the long-run for Major League baseball that will make all teams better off after their businesses get better. The Miami Marlins are most definitely one of those teams.
No one can argue how great it was for the Chicago Cubs to break their curse and win the 2016 World Series. Not even a Cardinals fan. The only way that was possible was to sell players that would make a mediocre team, to gain a long-term dominant team that has now had 92 or more wins in three straight seasons.
This not only reinvigorated their fan base but inspired the St.Louis Cardinals who have always been ahead of the curve. They now have someone to chase again. It also ignited their rivalry which is also amazing for the sport.
The Houston Astros also had great success from their restructuring. They gave their fan base their first World Series ever! It brought so much more attention to the game of baseball as well. The World Series this season was incredible to watch.
The irony of all the tanking is that those two teams the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs are now stacked and prepared for long-term success. Their product on the field is much greater than what it was, and they both have huge fan bases to draw revenue from which is also great for the game.
For the Houston Astros, and what we see now with the Miami Marlins, is the poor attendance in the midst of the restructuring process. However, if they can break over the hump, fans always come back to support their winning ball clubs.
Winning cures everything Miami Marlins fans. I guarantee you will come back and support your franchise in the coming years. Give this process time to succeed.
The proof will be in the Miami Marlins.
No, tanking is not good in the moment, but I argue that teams that are doing it are already wrong, so what is the point of complaining if they are trying to get better by taking another step backward?
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An ultimate example is if Derek Jeter and the new ownership can fix the Miami Marlins whole business operation. The game will grow even more. They will shine a light on what could be a phenomenal baseball area within Florida. It would draw huge crowds of the Hispanic population that would be super fun to watch.
That is great for the game of baseball with how beautiful their stadium is as well as how enthusiastic Latin America countries are about the game. Who could be against an already failing team fix their problems and make themselves successful for multiple years in the future?
Lastly, and I will end at this point. I cannot think of but maybe two other teams other than the Miami Marlins that “tanked” to be better. They are the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox, which both are expected to turn around in the near future.
Next: Trevor Hoffman’s emotional Baseball Hall of Fame selection
Baseball is in great shape and tanking in the short term does stink for that team in particular, but in the long-run, it will make the whole MLB more competitive.