MLB Cardinals' Dewitt Defends Team Payroll Amid Criticism
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DeWitt (l) Said Cardinals's Payroll Will
Again Exceed $100M Next Season |
MLB Cardinals Chair Bill DeWitt Jr. said it is "unfair" to suggest that the team is being "cheap on payroll," according to Bernie Miklasz of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. DeWitt Friday in an interview on ESPN Radio 1380 St. Louis said, "From Day One, we've always pushed payroll. It's at a very high level. We have different financial obligations than most clubs. How many teams have privately financed their own stadiums?" DeWitt added, "Clearly we have obligations there, and to have a payroll that's been in excess of $100[M] over the last several years, in the top third of baseball. I think it speaks to the fact that we continue to push payroll. We've pushed player development, we've pushed scouting, we've pushed international (scouting and development). I think we've made a very strong commitment financially to this franchise. It kind of goes with the territory. But do I think it's unfair? Yes, I do." Miklasz noted Cardinals manager Tony La Russa on "several occasions" since the '08 MLB trading deadline has "challenged ownership-management to be more aggressive about filling roster needs." DeWitt said, "Tony has always challenged us. I say to him, 'You're worried about tonight's ballgame, or tomorrow's ballgame or the upcoming season. I'm worried about it, too. But I'm also worried about this franchise three years from now. I'm worried about this franchise five years from now.' So that's the sort of push and shove you have with someone who is on the field on a daily basis and living it." DeWitt said that the team's payroll this season again will exceed $100M, though he "wouldn't lock in on a figure." DeWitt: "We do not have a hard budget for payroll" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/3).
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