Reinsdorf Quotes

[Tony]

4 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

While I shook my head at most of what he said, all those rumors about him walking around not knowing what day it was were proven false. He's still sharp. Whether his heart is truly in it we don't know. I don't wish him ill health. I'm happy he's healthy.  I do wish he would sell the team.

By most accounts and from what I know, I don't think Jerry is a bad guy at all, incredibly loyal, sometimes to a fault, but as you said, he's still 100% with it, still very sharp. He's a very good businessman. Bad owner. 

[Paulie4Pres]

3 hours ago, JoeC said:

As bad as JR is, there is NO comparing him to Bill Wirtz IMO.

 Try to find and read Career Misconduct. Wirtz was a crook who stole from his own niece for his own gain.

I think you're naive to believe he's not just as bad. None of the truly terrible stuff will come out until he's dead. It never does with super rich owners like this. A lot of people that "know where the bodies are buried", so to speak, are too afraid of the repercussions to say anything while he's alive. The stories we are going to hear will shock people, I'm sure.

[Kyyle23]

1 hour ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

In JR's mind they are only dumb because they ignore successful business models for making money ( JR's way) and spend money like crazy to win. Any time JR talks about winning being so important is all BS compared to the way other owners "put up" the cash to back up how important winning is.

Message for JR: Put up or shut up.

Clearly he was talking about Cohen and doesn’t like the guy at all.  Maybe professional jealousy or whatnot but it really sucks that Jerry has found his sweet spot for making the most amount of money and doing the least amount of spending, and he sticks to it and none of us can do a damn thing about it

[Kyyle23]

8 minutes ago, Paulie4Pres said:

I think you're naive to believe he's not just as bad. None of the truly terrible stuff will come out until he's dead. It never does with super rich owners like this. A lot of people that "know where the bodies are buried", so to speak, are too afraid of the repercussions to say anything while he's alive. The stories we are going to hear will shock people, I'm sure.

I find it hard to believe that we will find a story that will be close to as bad and antagonistic as dollar bill was.  I’m not discounting the possibility, but even when the guy was alive people didn’t like him at all and talked about how much he sucked, and while we all don’t like how Jerry runs this business, he doesn’t have a line of people talking about how terrible of an actual person he is like Wirtz did

[4uckOffCommieScum]

23 minutes ago, Paulie4Pres said:

I think you're naive to believe he's not just as bad. None of the truly terrible stuff will come out until he's dead. It never does with super rich owners like this. A lot of people that "know where the bodies are buried", so to speak, are too afraid of the repercussions to say anything while he's alive. The stories we are going to hear will shock people, I'm sure.

That’s ludicrous. Just because a wealthy owner cares more about turning profit than winning doesn’t mean he is hiding “truly terrible stuff.” Do you have any evidence of such a thing? I seriously doubt or else we would already know it since no one has any problem trashing him. Sure it sucks for us that he doesn’t care about winning but its not an actual crime

Edited May 3, 2023 by FourEyesShottenhoffer

[4uckOffCommieScum]

If anything, it is naive to think that because there are powerful people in the world involved in heinous activities, that you can be sure that a particular individual is hiding truly terrible stuff solely based on the fact he is wealthy. No different that assuming a poor person living in an area of high criminal activity must be some degenerate lowlife.

[Paulie4Pres]

The things he says out loud are bad enough. I can only imagine what he's like behind closed doors.

It has nothing to do with him being rich and powerful, and everything to do with his behavior as an owner.

IMO, he has avoided major controversy thus far because he literally BUYS loyalty by giving people jobs for life. 

[4uckOffCommieScum]

12 minutes ago, Paulie4Pres said:

The things he says out loud are bad enough. I can only imagine what he's like behind closed doors.

It has nothing to do with him being rich and powerful, and everything to do with his behavior as an owner.

IMO, he has avoided major controversy thus far because he literally BUYS loyalty by giving people jobs for life. 

Right. You can only imagine. Yet you are “sure.” That is in fact the definition of naivety.
 

Sure its possible, but you have nothing to go on other than your stereotyping. You say it has nothing to do with wealth or power, then claim he is using wealth and power to buy loyalty for some apparently nefarious purpose that you have zero evidence of other than he is more concerned about making a profit than winning.

The fact you are willing to make these leaps shows your analysis is not based on anything credible whatsoever

[joejoesox]

seriously, playing devil's advocate to defend this guy, wow

[4uckOffCommieScum]

To me, JR is a villain of the sports world because he doesn’t care about my team winning. That does not equate to real life villainy 

[Kyyle23]

3 minutes ago, joejoesox said:

seriously, playing devil's advocate to defend this guy, wow

Nah, I think we are just pointing out that the guy is a shitty owner but that doesn’t make him a criminal with skeletons on his closet.  

[4uckOffCommieScum]

2 minutes ago, joejoesox said:

seriously, playing devil's advocate to defend this guy, wow

Is there an actual accusation that I am defending here? Some body claiming he is sure he is hiding something terrible isn’t an actual accusation. He doesn’t have an actual claim or else he would have stated it by now

[Lip Man 1]

23 minutes ago, FourEyesShottenhoffer said:

Is there an actual accusation that I am defending here? Some body claiming he is sure he is hiding something terrible isn’t an actual accusation. He doesn’t have an actual claim or else he would have stated it by now

Like with every individual there are some things that do raise concern about character. I did a 75 page 'biography' of JR so that I'd have research material on hand for the future many years ago. This was one item:

Wound up selling Balcor to American Express for 53 million dollars (although others have claimed it was for much more.) After the sale, rumors surfaced of American Express being upset at some of the things they had supposedly found in the company books, however these ‘charges’ were never followed up or proven and must be considered a myth.

[4uckOffCommieScum]

27 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Like with every individual there are some things that do raise concern about character. I did a 75 page 'biography' of JR so that I'd have research material on hand for the future many years ago. This was one item:

Wound up selling Balcor to American Express for 53 million dollars (although others have claimed it was for much more.) After the sale, rumors surfaced of American Express being upset at some of the things they had supposedly found in the company books, however these ‘charges’ were never followed up or proven and must be considered a myth.

75 pages and your example is some “rumors” that “must be considered a myth” according to your own statement. Come on now

Edited May 3, 2023 by FourEyesShottenhoffer

[JoeC]

2 hours ago, Paulie4Pres said:

I think you're naive to believe he's not just as bad. None of the truly terrible stuff will come out until he's dead. It never does with super rich owners like this. A lot of people that "know where the bodies are buried", so to speak, are too afraid of the repercussions to say anything while he's alive. The stories we are going to hear will shock people, I'm sure.

This goes beyond the "he's a bad guy because he's greedy."

Reinsdorf is a horrible owner, but Wirtz was on a whole different level. It's not even close... like saying that both Hank Aaron and Daniel Palka were home run hitters.

[Lip Man 1]

3 minutes ago, FourEyesShottenhoffer said:

75 pages and your example is some “rumors” that “must be considered a myth” according to your own statement. Come on now

That is just one thing and the fact that the point was even raised is at least an indication someone had a concern.

[Lip Man 1]

5 minutes ago, FourEyesShottenhoffer said:

75 pages and your example is some “rumors” that “must be considered a myth” according to your own statement. Come on now

Here's another one that shows JR plays the hardest of hardball:

“In 1988, Frank Morsani had tried to prevent Jerry Reinsdorf from getting American League approval for moving the White Sox to Tampa. He contacted several team owners, including the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Edward Bennett Williams -- who in 1960 mounted a legal challenge to Calvin Griffith's relocation of the Washington Senators to Minnesota. Reinsdorf heard about it and became royally pissed off. 

Morsani tried to block our move to St. Petersburg, Reinsdorf says. He fought us in the [Florida] legislature. And he went to see Edward Bennett Williams, who at the time owned the Orioles, and asked him to vote against the White Sox move to St. Petersburg. If baseball came to St. Petersburg, [Morsani] wanted to be involved. He had invested several million dollars trying to get an expansion team and if we came in; his money was going down the drain. But him going to see Williams was like someone who is not a member of a country club going to a member of the country club and asking him to vote against the admission of a third person. Ed Williams and I were members of the same country club and Morsani was not. I didn't think that was right. 

Later in the same year, when Morsani attempted to buy the Texas Rangers, it was widely believed Reinsdorf was the man who stood in his way. Reinsdorf opposed the sale of the Rangers to Morsani; he also objected to broadcaster Ed Gaylord as owner. For blocking Morsani and Gaylord, the American League told Reinsdorf to find a qualified buyer for the Texas franchise. This made Reinsdorf even madder at Morsani, because he believed the price agreed upon by Morsani and Rangers owner Eddie Chiles was too high, making it tough to find an owner. However, Reinsdorf is generally credited with creating the George W. Bush ownership group. 

Reinsdorf never forgot or forgave Morsani's actions, giving the Tampa car dealer a powerful and vocal opponent among baseball owners. Of Reinsdorf, Morsani says, I am not crazy about a lot of things that he did. In the spring of 1990, Allen Keesler took Morsani to the White Sox spring training camp in Sarasota to try and patch things up between his friends. The trio sat in Reinsdorf's box, ate lunch and talked. Allen was trying to patch things up between Morsani and me, Reinsdorf says. I was very angry because I felt, number one, he should be more civic-minded. Reinsdorf believed that despite Morsani's personal investment, he should have supported any baseball team that came to Tampa Bay, whether he owned it or not.” From the internet story, ‘Stadium for Rent: Tampa Bay’s Quest for Major League Baseball’ by Bob Andelman. Chapter 10. Published 1993.

 

[4uckOffCommieScum]

Just now, Lip Man 1 said:

That is just one thing and the fact that the point was even raised is at least an indication someone had a concern.

Ok then how do you explain that he was retained as president of Balcor by AmEx for years after the sale, if the rumor was that American Express was “upset” about it

[4uckOffCommieScum]

Just now, Lip Man 1 said:

Here's another one that shows JR plays the hardest of hardball:

“In 1988, Frank Morsani had tried to prevent Jerry Reinsdorf from getting American League approval for moving the White Sox to Tampa. He contacted several team owners, including the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Edward Bennett Williams -- who in 1960 mounted a legal challenge to Calvin Griffith's relocation of the Washington Senators to Minnesota. Reinsdorf heard about it and became royally pissed off. 

Morsani tried to block our move to St. Petersburg, Reinsdorf says. He fought us in the [Florida] legislature. And he went to see Edward Bennett Williams, who at the time owned the Orioles, and asked him to vote against the White Sox move to St. Petersburg. If baseball came to St. Petersburg, [Morsani] wanted to be involved. He had invested several million dollars trying to get an expansion team and if we came in; his money was going down the drain. But him going to see Williams was like someone who is not a member of a country club going to a member of the country club and asking him to vote against the admission of a third person. Ed Williams and I were members of the same country club and Morsani was not. I didn't think that was right. 

Later in the same year, when Morsani attempted to buy the Texas Rangers, it was widely believed Reinsdorf was the man who stood in his way. Reinsdorf opposed the sale of the Rangers to Morsani; he also objected to broadcaster Ed Gaylord as owner. For blocking Morsani and Gaylord, the American League told Reinsdorf to find a qualified buyer for the Texas franchise. This made Reinsdorf even madder at Morsani, because he believed the price agreed upon by Morsani and Rangers owner Eddie Chiles was too high, making it tough to find an owner. However, Reinsdorf is generally credited with creating the George W. Bush ownership group. 

Reinsdorf never forgot or forgave Morsani's actions, giving the Tampa car dealer a powerful and vocal opponent among baseball owners. Of Reinsdorf, Morsani says, I am not crazy about a lot of things that he did. In the spring of 1990, Allen Keesler took Morsani to the White Sox spring training camp in Sarasota to try and patch things up between his friends. The trio sat in Reinsdorf's box, ate lunch and talked. Allen was trying to patch things up between Morsani and me, Reinsdorf says. I was very angry because I felt, number one, he should be more civic-minded. Reinsdorf believed that despite Morsani's personal investment, he should have supported any baseball team that came to Tampa Bay, whether he owned it or not.” From the internet story, ‘Stadium for Rent: Tampa Bay’s Quest for Major League Baseball’ by Bob Andelman. Chapter 10. Published 1993.

 

How is that evidence of him hiding “terrible stuff”?

[Lip Man 1]

On his part in trying to stop Nintento from buying the Mariners: “Meanwhile the ownership committee fumed. One member was Jerry Reinsdorf, and he felt strongly that this committee and not the commissioner– were empowered to act upon ownership applications. And this idea of the Japanese...he didn’t like it and he wrapped himself in the flag. To one committee meeting Reinsdorf even brought a clip from ‘Field of Dreams’ in which James Earl Jones rhapsodizes on America and baseball. (The real reason for Reinsdorf’s stance, though some skeptics, was his resentment of a sad-sack franchise being bought for top dollar by a deep pockets owner. How would the union ever be convinced of baseball’s economic peril? Invoking the yellow peril was the only answer.) In the end, Reinsdorf couldn’t stop Nintendo but he could hold the buyer to strict conditions. Nintendo’s voting stock in the franchise would be less than 50 percent and the Mariners operating chief would have to be a local hand. It turned out to be a Seattle utility executive named John Ellis. “– From the book ‘The Lords of the Realm’ by John Helyar. Pg. 509. Published 1994.

 

 

[Lip Man 1]

1 minute ago, FourEyesShottenhoffer said:

How is that evidence of him hiding “terrible stuff”?

I'm not getting into the parsing of 'terrible stuff" or not. I'm simply giving examples that like all of us there are many sides to this guy.

[4uckOffCommieScum]

Just now, Lip Man 1 said:

I'm not getting into the parsing of 'terrible stuff" or not. I'm simply giving examples that like all of us there are many sides to this guy.

Ok well it was confusing since you were responding to my comments on whether there was anything credible about claiming to be sure he is hiding terrible things

[Kyyle23]

31 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

I'm not getting into the parsing of 'terrible stuff" or not. I'm simply giving examples that like all of us there are many sides to this guy.

All I’m saying is I don’t believe he has significant criminal action that will be unearthed when he is gone.  Shrewd and spendthrift owner but not a illegal activity type guy

[Quin]

2 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

All I’m saying is I don’t believe he has significant criminal action that will be unearthed when he is gone.  Shrewd and spendthrift owner but not a illegal activity type guy

To me, Jerry's in the tier of "probably a decent guy, but God please sell the team" owners.

Meanwhile, you have Fischer, Nutting, and James Dolan (Cleveland Dolan is cheap, but let's his FO do it's stuff).

And while Snyder is on his way out, he Sterling and Sarver were truly the worst of the worst when it comes to sports ownership.

 

[almagest]

At this point all I wish is that Reinsdorf would realize his way doesn't work. Unfortunately, I assume Hahn's complete failure to rebuild is an "I told you so moment" for Reinsdorf.