In Boston, Peter Abraham noted the A’s opened the season with a luxury tax payroll of $61.9M -- $21.3M less than the 29th-place Pirates. Another 100-loss season is “coming in front of small crowds in what will be their last season at Oakland Coliseum.” Abraham wrote the real disaster could be in Miami, where the Marlins started 0-8 and were outscored by 30 runs in that stretch. He added after finishing 84-78 last season, the Marlins lost GM Kim Ng when she “turned down a mutual option to return after learning she would have less power” (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/6).
PROPERTY MONEY: In Milwaukee, Tom Daykin reports the Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District -- which oversees the Brewers' American Family Field -- will “spend an additional” $275,000 for its share of the annual property insurance premium under a proposal approved by its board Friday. That comes on top of $515,000 set aside for the premium in the district's 2024 budget. That $790,000 expense is “around a 55% increase” from the 2023 insurance premium of $511,169. Daykin adds that is “just the stadium district's share of the premium” -- accounting for its roughly 64% ownership of American Family Field. The Brewers pay a “portion of the premium” to reflect the ballclub's roughly 36% ownership stake in the ballpark. Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District Exec Dir Pat Goss said that the risk of flooding from the Menomonee River “is a major factor in driving that premium increase” (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 4/8).
