Profitgate: Marlins Issue Official Statement Regarding Leaked Financials

[kylekash]

My favorite part is how Samson is now saying something along the lines of: we never denied making big profits, but it was all for the new stadium.

I kind of half expect him to say something like, we knew we had a star in Hanley the second we traded for him so we started saving up to keep him for the long haul.

[tjfla]

So we made a PROFIT of 49 million. I agree tho gotta love Samson,We needed money for the stadium. Someone should tell Loria that now adays u can pay monthly or yearly instead of making 50 million dollar payments.

Just imagine if we took some of those profits and put it back into the team. Better draft picks,better IFA,sign a FA or 2(Not Wes Helms)



http://baseball.realgm.com/src_wiret...small_payroll/

[Swifty]

u NO it !!?

[kylekash]

So we made a PROFIT of 49 million. I agree tho gotta love Samson,We needed money for the stadium. Someone should tell Loria that now adays u can pay monthly or yearly instead of making 50 million dollar payments.

Just imagine if we took some of those profits and put it back into the team. Better draft picks,better IFA,sign a FA or 2(Not Wes Helms)



http://baseball.realgm.com/src_wiret...small_payroll/

Well they estimate it was actually like 100 million over 4 years, although we only have the financial statements for 08 and 09. What about the year when the payroll was 15 mil (06?) They probably made 50 mil profit for that season alone!

[MiamiHomer]

Major League Baseball is investigating the leak of five teams' recent financial statements to media outlets, some of which showed teams with baseball's smallest payrolls turning a profit while taking revenue-sharing dollars from the sport's more profitable clubs.

The New York Times on Monday reported that MLB has narrowed its search for the leaks, citing an anonymous baseball executive. Baseball officials declined to comment on the probe, according to the report.

On Monday, Deadspin.com published recent financial documents from the Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels. The Associated Press obtained and reported the Pittsburgh Pirates' recent financial statements on Sunday.

"It's a breach of confidential information," Tim Mead, the Angels' vice president of communications, said Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times. "We're going to let it run its course and the appropriate people are looking into it."

Marlins team president David Samson called the leak "a breach of fiduciary obligation and duty by the leaking party."

"It's a crime, and it will be followed up intensely by Major League Baseball and its member clubs," Samson said Monday during a conference call.

The Marlins and Pirates numbers showed that despite having among the smallest payrolls in baseball, both teams turned a profit and received revenue-sharing money from MLB. The Rays also showed a profit and received revenue sharing funds, while the Angels and Mariners both paid into the revenue sharing pool, according to the figures.

• Team financial statements acquired by Deadspin.com show the Marlins netted $49 million during 2008 and 2009, with operating income of $37.8 million in 2008 and $11.1 million in 2009. Samson didn't dispute the figures.

"It was critical for us as a team to make sure we had enough money to put into the ballpark," he said.

The Marlins had the lowest player payroll in the major leagues both seasons -- $22 million in 2008 and $37 million in 2009. Last winter, they reached an agreement with the players' union to increase spending in the wake of complaints team payroll had been so small as to violate baseball's revenue sharing provisions.

• The Rays received a combined $74 million in revenue sharing in 2007 and 2008, while posting $11.1 million in profit in 2007 and $4 million in profit in 2008, according to the documents. The team declined to comment on the reported figures, according to Tampa-area media outlets.

• According to the documents, the Angels' net income was $10.7 million in 2009 and $7.08 million in 2008. The Angels paid $16.4 million into the revenue-sharing pool in 2009 and $14.7 million in 2008.

Angels officials confirmed the documents were authentic, according to the Los Angeles Times.

• According to the documents, the Mariners paid a little more than $24 million in revenue sharing in 2007 and 2008. The team made a $17.9 million profit in 2007 but lost $4.5 million in 2008.

• The Associated Press reported the Pirates made nearly $29.4 million in 2007 and 2008, according to team financial documents, years that were part of a streak of futility that has now reached 18 straight losing seasons.

MLB seeking source of finance leaks

Samson is angries. He'll be on the LeBatard show tomorrow wonder how much he'll actually answer about this.
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Samson said if we gave the Money to Cabrera there would be no stadium.

In the season after citing finances to dump slugger Miguel Cabrera, the Marlins made a cool $37.8 million profit.

"The [financial] statements show what we've always said,'' Samson said in a conference call with media.

Samson said they were saving this money to fund a new ballpark. He insisted he's said this for years, even when Cabrera wasn't re-signed.

"It's very easy,'' he said. "We could've had Cabrera and no ballpark. We always made our decisions based on the long-term viability of the franchise. Always."

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Documents show Marlins skimped on players, not profit

[Goodfella]

Man, if we had Cabrera still, I wouldn't care about a stadium.

[Swifty]

Yeah, I'll trade Detroit the stadium for Miggy. I'd even throw in Maybin and Miller.

[FishFanInPA]

Yeah, Cabs would be super please.

[geemoney]

Really? As awesome as it would be to have Cabs back...I think I'd rather have a new stadium. Or at least get a chance to re-do the Cabrera trade.

[Swifty]

Stadium's only awesome if it leads to spending.

I'd rather sweat in the heat and watch a winner than the knickle-and-dime special we'll get in the air-conditioning.

[MiamiHomer]

I'd guess we'd still get the stadium if we kept Cabs.

[Beef]

I guess if the Rays build an open-air stadium on the water, you could sweat and watch them?

[Swifty]

I guess I could.

I also guess I couldn't.

[Beef]

Either one, but I'd guess you couldn't do it in the Dolphins Stadium (unless winner = Dolphins)

[Bobbob1313]

So according to official documents, they made $29,462,000 in 2008 and $3,900,000 in 2009 and that's taken their accumulated deficit from $173,661,000 to $140,292,000.
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Beef, please read these documents and then prepare a presentation for us.

Thanks.

So has anyon figured out what these documents mean and want to explain it to the rest of us in some sort of detail?

I'm intimidated by numbers.