Most destructive team owners

[wicked]

The fact that Dan Duquette got those Orioles teams to the playoffs was a miracle.

I'm convinced one of the reasons MLB never seriously considered relocating/expanding to D.C. in the 1970s and 1980s is because the Orioles were such a successful franchise. The Angelos family ran things into the ground so quickly that it became easier to relocate the Expos.

As for Nutting, I think he was indeed part of the money behind the original deal. McClatchy was a frontman for the others in the group, and he always took the fall.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

I want to say Nutting was part of the original group and then took control when Chip Ganassi sold his shares of the team.

Speaking of shirtty Pittsburgh owners, I guess we can add Howard Baldwin to the list.

 

[Hermes]

Cleveland fans and the Dolans re: "We'll spend when the time is right" vs. "We'll fill Progressive Field when the ownership starts spending"

 

[MileHigh]

The Monforts can go to heck.

 

[Batman]

I'm convinced one of the reasons MLB never seriously considered relocating/expanding to D.C. in the 1970s and 1980s is because the Orioles were such a successful franchise. The Angelos family ran things into the ground so quickly that it became easier to relocate the Expos.

There was the attempt to move the Padres to Washington in 1973-74, which gives us another candidate on the list of destructive owners — C. Arnholt Smith.

The Padres' problems were exacerbated by unscrupulous money handling of their majority owner.
Smith had paid the $10 million expansion fee to launch the franchise, but he wasn't willing to spend the money needed for player development. The younger Bavasi, whose first role with the Padres was farm director, worked under Smith for more than five years and says he never even met the man.
"He was a crook and a convicted felon who siphoned off the ballclub's homestand ticket deposits," Bavasi says of Smith.

Padres nearly became the Washington Stars

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

Cleveland fans and the Dolans re: "We'll spend when the time is right" vs. "We'll fill Progressive Field when the ownership starts spending"

Pretty impressive considering the sellout streak the Tribe had in the 90s when the Jacobs brothers owned the team.