Orioles owner completely contradicts Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr.'s infamous claim

Major League Baseball owners have mostly been radio silent ahead of this winter's intense collective bargaining agreement negotiations, but Baltimore Orioles' owner David Rubenstein's recent statements just came in direct contradiction with St. Louis Cardinals' Bill DeWitt Jr.'s infamous proclamation that owning a baseball team is "isn't very profitable".

Rubenstein, on the other hand, recently stated alongside other sports team owners at a forum that "A lot of my friends were buying teams, and I realized they're making money. They're making more money than I'm making in private equity." I'm guessing Commissioner Rob Manfred and other MLB owners are not very happy about that one!

Bill DeWitt Jr.'s comment on Cardinals profits has never sat well with fans

DeWitt's comment on how profitable owning a Major League Baseball team came back in 2020, in the midst of players and owners disagreeing on how to move forward with the COVID-shortened season and ahead of what would be a mini-lockout following the 2021 season, when players and owners continued to disagree on the finances of baseball. This offseason, the owners are pushing hard for the implementation of a salary cap, something that players have held a hard line against for quite some time.

To be clear, DeWitt's comments are nothing out of the ordinary for most MLB owners. That's what makes Rubenstein's statement so interesting - because you just do not hear MLB owners go out of their way to express how much money they are making, and their whole argument ahead of this next CBA is trying to convince the public that small-market owners cannot compete without a salary cap, rather than finding ways to ensure that those who do own MLB teams are actually investing in their product.

The Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Cleveland Guardians are proving this season, as all three have done now for about a decade, that it is indeed possible to succeed at a high level even with the Dodgers spending over $400 million on their payroll. That's not to excuse owners who do not spend on their big league rosters, but rather, it shows that no matter what market size you are in, you can win if you run your team the right way.

All three of those organizations are extremely smart and at the cutting edge of player development, scouting, and player acquisition. There is not much data available to the public regarding clubs' spending on areas like that, other than staff sizes, but the Brewers, Rays, and Guardians all invest heavily in those areas to maximize their success.

What the players are arguing, and I'm sure fans of those clubs and other small markets are saying as well, is that teams like the Brewers, Rays, Guardians, and this applies to the Cardinals too, should be encouraged to invest in all of those things and their payroll. Do they all need to spend $400 million a year on salaries? No, but there is enough money in the game to support higher levels of spending than most owners want to admit.

I am very interested to see how comments like these play this winter, as I anticipate really rough negotiations ahead.

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