For better or for worse, Dave Kaval was brought in to be the face of the Oakland A’s ownership. He is the one who has to justify John Fisher’s cheapness and attempt to sway public opinion. It is often a thankless job, and one that opens him to a great deal of criticism.
It is also a job that leads to some interesting moments on social media. One of those moments came on Monday, when Kaval claimed that the A’s needed a new stadium to break their cycle of shipping their top players away once they become too expensive.
Dave Kaval’s claims about Oakland A’s payroll dubious at best
In theory, this makes a degree of sense. A new ballpark would provide more revenue which would allow the A’s to keep those players. It is entirely possible that their star players could end up “Rooted in Oakland” as the old motto for the team went.
And it is possible that the A’s do spend once the new ballpark happens. For a year. And then, they are likely to follow in the footsteps of the Miami Marlins, who vowed to spend once they received a new stadium. They did for one year, then shipped all of those players away and rebuilt once more.
It would fit with Fisher’s track record. Not only has he proven to be allergic to spending on the A’s, but the same can be said of his ownership of the San Jose Earthquake. They received a new, state-of-the-art stadium, which was supposed to lead to more revenue and a higher payroll. Instead, they rank at the bottom of Major League Soccer with Fisher considered to be the worst owner in the game.
That is the case in the majors as well. Fisher’s steadfast refusal to spend any money on his roster, and protracted battles with the City of Oakland about how much he would spend on the stadium and surrounding infrastructure. The idea that he will open his wallet for an extended period of time is utterly laughable.
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Dave Kaval claims that the Oakland A’s will spend money on their roster when they have a new stadium. There is no reason to believe those claims.