ESPN Baseball Insider Jeff Passan is one of the best reporters in the sport. He is always the first or one of the first reporters to break news on a situation and rarely is he wrong.
But Passan is also known to be untamed on Twitter, whether it’s to fans (who often are welcoming of his roastings) or to other people in the baseball world. And sometimes, it’s to people that he is very willing to call BS on. Case in point: Former Miami Marlins President David Samson claiming that Passan’s “narrative” is false in that the Atlanta Braves and every other MLB is not making tons of money.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan completely destroyed former Miami Marlins President David Samson on Twitter over the Atlanta Braves finances
It all started when ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on the Atlanta Braves and their financial situation. The Braves are owned by Liberty Media, which is a publicly owned company. Therefore, their financial records are public record.
Passan reported that Liberty Media made a profit of $104 million in 2021 and $6 million in revenue (not profit) per home game (79 regular home season games because they had two doubleheaders and eight home playoff games). This was also down since attendance was limited in the first part of the season.
Do not believe the lie that baseball teams are not extremely profitable ventures. They are. And the financials of the Atlanta Braves, as @EricFisherSBG noted, illustrate that. A $104 million profit in 2021. A $6 million-per-game revenue stream. As a business, baseball is superb. pic.twitter.com/OXlMCdOKNn
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 25, 2022
Former Miami Marlins President David Samson quote tweeted Passan and said, in part, that “Many many teams lose cash every year. And that is a fact. Because unlike the media who may claim to know (speculate), I actually know.”
These financials say nothing about real profits. Teams appreciate for sure but annually are not nearly as cash positive as people think. Many many teams lose cash every year. And that is a fact. Because unlike the media who may claim to know (speculate), I actually know. https://t.co/jQonNhrei6
— David P. Samson (@DavidPSamson) February 25, 2022
Passan, never one to back down, rebutted with this tweet.
I'd love to know which teams lose cash. Since you actually know, by all means enlighten us.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 25, 2022
Samson backed down because Passan’s “narrative would be lost.”
I could enlighten you all day but your narrative would be lost. Let me know when you have spent one day actually running a team. Name the day and the platform. You already turned down offer from @LeBatardShow. #waittosee
— David P. Samson (@DavidPSamson) February 25, 2022
Then Passan went in with the dagger.
David, you ran a team because your stepdad owned it.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 25, 2022
Samson first got into baseball in 1999 when he was named Executive VP of the Montreal Expos. The Expos were owned by his then-stepdad Jeffrey Loria. Samson came from Morgan Stanley as an investment advisor.
Loria sold the Expos and Samson jumped ship with him to the then-named Florida Marlins, which Loria bought in 2002. Samson was their team President until new CEO Derek Jeter dismissed him in September 2017, less than one month after Jeter and his fellow investors bought the team.
Samson claimed that he will discuss it on Monday on his daily podcast called “Nothing Personal with David Samson.” The podcast is part of the CBS Sports Network.
Unless Samson can back up his claims (which it doesn’t look like he can), he will be taking another loss. The first one came from challenging Passan in the first place.