In Miami, Craig Mish noted new Marlins GM Peter Bendix recently spoke about the team’s poor start to the 2024 season. The Marlins entered Thursday with a 4-15 record. When asked was he under any financial restriction from owner & Chair Bruce Sherman in any way -- payroll, free agency, staffing etc., Bendix said, “Bruce has provided me with every resource I’ve asked for.” Bendix: “We continue to invest in this team on and off the field, with the goal of building sustainable success. That doesn’t happen overnight and many of the investments we’ve made so far are behind the scenes, in areas that we expect will pay off in the future. Bruce has not said no to any recommendation I’ve made, in any area.” The Marlins’ current payroll is $93.8M, which is the “fourth lowest in baseball” (MIAMI HERALD, 4/18).
GET YOUR HOTDOG: In Minneapolis, Brian Stensaas wrote admission tickets at Target Field's new Legends Landing area for sections S, T, U and V, located on the Club Level down the left-field line “come with access to an all-you-can-eat selection of classic ballpark fare.” The roped-off concession area comes with “four portals stuffed to serve.” Concession items includes canned Pepsi products, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, chicken tenders, and “mountains of shelled peanuts.” Stensaas noted there is “no set face value” for Legends Landing access as prices “vary between day games (more) and midweek night games (less), holidays and opponents.” Most games are “listed between $40 and $55” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/18).
SAFETY CONCERNS? WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Alison Sider wrote the Federal Aviation Administration and United Airlines are investigating how a person traveling with an MLB team “was seen sitting in the captain’s chair of the cockpit" during the team’s flight from Denver to Toronto. People familiar said that the incident "occurred during a charter flight operated by United on April 10” for the Rockies. In a video posted to social media and later removed, a man “appears sitting at the controls of a Boeing 757, mimicking pushing the plane’s yoke and giving the thumbs-up” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/18).
