Oh yeah, someone who’s writing the checks.
Bob Simpson, co-chairman of the board of the Texas Rangers, says that he would rather have Josh Hamilton over Prince Fielder. Why you ask? Well, read his comments on the subject:
“We’ve got guys, frankly, like Josh Hamilton that I would love to see re-signed. My personal preference, at this moment, would be to re-sign him instead of having Fielder. But we could all debate that.”
“Everybody dreams about having both. Sometimes you can’t have both at some level. If they came around to something we’d do, we’d look at him. But we don’t think it’s likely.”
“We’re writing checks to make this stuff happen, but at some point it’s got to sustain itself and we understand that. Winning comes first and then support comes. You can’t ask fans to come to every game while you’re losing and have them help you increase your revenues. You’re trying to take it to a new level, a sustainable level, where it is a dynasty franchise like the Dallas Cowboys achieved. Then in the off-years, and inevitably you’ll have some, they still support you.”
“Money can’t buy it. Silly guys get in with big egos and a lot of money and make a mess. I don’t believe that’s going on here. You’ve got thoughtful spending behind superb management. That’s a different model.”
And that last quip. He knows that you can spend all the money you want, but you’ll end up like Jerry Jones or the Yankees–with little to show for it. Yeah, the Yankees won five titles since 1996, but when they started spending huge money, they won one. The Cowboys can’t do anything, and he’s in a town where everything is bigger. But, he knows he’s can’t just spend money “because.” He has to have a purpose like Mark Cuban.
Thank you, Bob, for showing me that the Rangers truly do have superb management. That’s some really well thought-out stuff there. This is promising.
