Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Dear Drayton,
First of all, as a life long fan of baseball and especially the Houston Astros, I’d like to thank you for putting a competitive team on the field since you took over the reins from John McMullen several years ago. I think sometimes I lose sight of what it was like to be a fan of a franchise where winning happened about as often as one of your current pitchers going more than an inning without giving up a homerun.
When you first bought the team, you were looked at as somewhat of a savior for baseball in Texas. To your credit, not resting on the “Texas-boy buys local team” fanfare that surrounded the purchase, you signed a couple of high-priced, high profile free agents in Doug Drabek and Greg Swindell. Hindsight can be a bitch, but it was a bold, decisive move at the time, and if most of us ticket buying drones had to be honest, we were all for it at the time.
Also, if I recall correctly, when you first bought the team, you also trumpeted the Astrodome as a grand show palace that just needed sprucing up. You hired people to go to Wal-Mart and buy a couple of garden hoses, some washtubs and scads of fake flowers. You made smiling a requirement of the sometimes frighteningly rude Astrodome concessionaires and you tried for about a year to improve the food.
Evidently, somewhere along the way, you finally got around to listening to your accountants, or more likely the other owners you became so chummy with during the strike, because it wasn’t too soon after that that you started crying poor. Not enough revenues, not enough fans, not enough luxury boxes, not enough anything. Within about 15 months the Astrodome became an albatross for all that was wrong with this little empire you had imagined. I realize this was probably hard for you, as you weren’t used to failing in other business ventures, or probably any other aspect of life as us ticket buyers would understand.
So, you threatened to move the team if we didn’t “Step Up to the Plate” and start buying season tickets. And then when we did, and you still weren’t making enough money, you threatened to move the team if we didn’t get you a new stadium. Frankly, I was glad to vote in favor of that referendum, as it would guarantee the Astros stay in Houston for at least the next 30 years.
And to reward us, you added significant amounts of payroll in a very short amount of time and put teams on the field that won division championships. And all was right with the world.
But now, during a season that should be a celebration for the baseball fans in Houston (not just the people involved in your personal finances) you’ve kept the budgeted payroll the same and actually lowered the real payroll. You’ve had Mike Hampton and Carl Everett traded away for younger (read: cheaper) players and recently, rather than filling needs on the club (which by the way isn’t doing really well in any area other than showing up in the correct uniforms) you’ve had your front office give away 2 players for cash.
I do understand borrowing against future earnings. I am an American after all… I also understand that you don’t seem to know how build a long-term fan-base, or at least you can’t afford to build one. You were in Houston, or at least Temple, when the Rockets won their pair of NBA championships. You had to notice how absolutely nuts the town went for that franchise (and anything that had their logo, colors, player sweat, et al on it). What you may fail to realize is that if the Astros ever actually won a World Series, it would be like Carnival in Brazil around here. But, that’s not really the point anymore.
So I’m writing to ask you a favor. Please sell the team. Sell the team to someone who thinks winning is about more than throwing around clever catch phrases and changing uniforms. Sell the team to someone who understands being a baseball fan, and what it’s like to die with each loss their favorite team. Sell the team to someone who isn’t as concerned about how much money he or she may be losing now, because they understand the concept of franchise appreciation, and how much quicker winners appreciate than losers. Hell, sell the team to someone who wants to beat 29 other owners into submission on the field, rather than by comparing the size of pocket books.
You did what we wanted of you. You saved baseball in Houston. You can be proud of that. But, like dating, sometimes even
when two parties have the best intentions, things just don’t work out. We always knew we wouldn’t marry you, but you were great to have around, even with your faults. It’s time for you and The Astros to part ways before things turn ugly.
Things will be better for everyone when you leave.
Sincerely,
Andyzipp