Neukom, Wolff Talk About Economy Impacting MLB Free Agents

Despite Economic Concerns, A's Assume Matt Holliday's $13.5M Contract After Trade

MLB Giants Managing General Partner Bill Neukom and A’s Owner Lew Wolff spoke at the Associated Press Sports Editors West Regional meeting in Sacramento Monday, where Neukom said the economy “ought to reflect itself in terms of free-agent signings this year.” Neukom: “Whether it will, we shall see, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t because that’s just the reality -- that there are fewer dollars there. I think it going to reflect itself on season-ticket holders.” He added the team is aware of the current economic situation and is responding to that by trying to keep “prices across the board pretty much flat.” Wolff said the A’s are “not planning any layoffs of personnel.” Wolff: “We have a fairly tightly run ship.” However, he did say the club believes the "prime free agents will still be recession proof, or at least Scott Boras and other agents will feel that way." But Wolff added there “may be some opportunities” with second-tier free agents. Wolff: “We have also seen a few clubs build up large salaries and have not made them work the way they were hoping for, combined with the dislocation of the economy, may have some opportunities for the A’s” (SACBEE.com, 11/11). The A’s yesterday agreed to a trade for LF Matt Holliday, who is repped by Boras and is in the final year of a contract paying him $13.5M next year (THE DAILY).

QUASI PUBLIC TRUST: Neukom called investing in an MLB team part of a “quasi public trust.” Neukom said, “It’s a business and none of us has invested in the enterprise expecting to lose money, but nobody should be an investor in this baseball club if they think it is their strategic investment of the year or of the decade.” Neukom: “Nobody invests expecting to lose money, but I don’t think anybody should be investing in the Giants thinking they’re going to make the kind of money they might make in some other smart investment. That’s not why you invest. You invest because you want to be a part of baseball. You want to be a steward of a franchise, make it better and put good baseball on the field so that baseball becomes part of the fabric of that community” (SACBEE.com, 11/11).