The Cubs announced earlier this week that they will be keeping their Spring Training home in Mesa, Arizona. The announcement comes after several weeks of listening to proposals being made by both Mesa and Naples, FL.
The proposal from the City of Mesa includes an $84 million, 15,000 seat stadium and state-of-the-art training facilities. It also includes a mixed use commercial development.
The agreement between the Cubs and Mesa gives the Mesa City Council and the Arizona legislature approximately one year to find a suitable location (three are currently being considered) and approve funding for the project, being dubbed “Wrigleyville West.” If Mesa cannot secure the funding necessary, the Cubs are free to engage other locations, including Naples.
I wouldn’t say this is a slam dunk, but it’s pretty close. The City of Mesa and the Arizona legislature understand the huge economic impact the Cubs have in Arizona. The total economic impact of the Cactus League is estimated at $128 million, and the Cubs account for about $50 million of that amount.
One stumbling block may be a public referendum scheduled for November. Once the funding mechanism is put into place, citizens have the opportunity to vote on it. Indications are that a referendum in Mesa will pass, but it’s not automatic. Odd things happen in elections.
By and large, the sentiment in Naples was one of disappointment. However, there also was a feeling of betrayal expressed by some citizens; feeling like the Cubs used Naples in order to negotiate a better deasl with Mesa. That’s probably not true, since the Cubs would have likely gotten what they wanted from Mesa with or without Naples involvement.
Then there was the vocal minority who didn’t want the Cubs or any other team coming to their community. I followed the drama as it unfolded in Naples through the electronic version of the Naples Daily News and the comments to the stories they ran. I was amazed at some of the opinions being expressed. Almost without exception, those vocal commenters opposed to bringing the Cubs to town were completely uninformed about the issues. In most cases, they were purposely ignorant of the facts so they could continue to spew their nonsensical views. Although I don’t believe these uninformed commenters represent the views of the average Neopolitan (citizen of Naples), I do think they would have thrown a monkey wrench into the proceedings had Naples actually landed the Cubs.
As I stated previously, I was hoping for the Cubs to choose Naples primarily because it would have benefitted me. But aside from my own selfish agenda, I think Naples had a rather steep uphill battle. The Cubs are the big fish in the Cactus League pond. Had they relocated to Florida, they would have taken a back seat to the Yankees and perhaps the Red Sox. Even more importantly, the Cubs have a 57-year relationship with the City and citizens of Mesa. That by itself should not have been the deciding factor, but it is a very important element.
Arizona would be crazy not to get this deal done. They have a one-year window to get the funding in place and lock-in the Cubs for another 25 years. If they stumble, I’m sure Naples will be more than willing to jump back in with both feet.
**********
The Baseball Hall of Fame announced that Andre Dawson will enter the Hall wearing a Montreal Expos hat. I think this is one of those issues out of which we make too big of a deal. What we are talking about is the hat Dawson will be wearing in the bronze plaque that will be displayed at the HOF.
Even so, the hat a player wears on their plaque stirs a lot of emotion. Initially, I said that it would be difficult to justify having Dawson wear a Cubs hat. After all, The Hawk broke in with Montreal and he spent the first 10 full seasons with the Expos. He was only with the Cubs for six years. It could also be argued that Dawson’s best years were spent in Montreal.
However, the Hall of Fame (not the player) chooses the hat the player will wear “based on where the player makes his most indelible mark.” Andre Dason was a great player in Montreal, but I don’t think there can be any argument but that he made his “most indelible mark” while playing for the Cubs. Not only did he come to national and international prominence while playing in Chicago, but he also won his MVP Award and earned five of his eight all-star appearances as a Cub.
In addition, I think there is an arguement to be made that Dawson’s years in Chicago were at least as good, if not better, than they were in Montreal. For instance, Dawson hit more homeruns as a Cubs, he had more RBIs as a Cub, and his batting average while in a Cubs uniform was higher than his batting average had been in Montreal. He also had a higher OPS+ as a Cub than he did as an Expo. Dawson led the league once in homeruns and RBIs, both as a Cub (and both in 1987).
All I’m saying here is that it is not clear cut where Dawason had his best “performance” years. So if the HOF looked exclusively at performance stats, there is an argument to be made for both teams.
But the HOF does not (and should not) look exclusively, or even predominately, at performance numbers. In the Hall’s own words, they chose the hat the player is going to wear “based on where the player makes his most indelible mark.” There’s also one other thing the HOF should consider when choosing the hat a player will wear on their plaque, and that the Hall’s own mission.
What good does it do to enshrine a player for all time while wearing a hat for a team that no longer exists? Expos fans were small in number to begin with and their numbers continue to dwindle as the years go by. Some will argue that the Expos do exist in the guise of the Washington Nationals, but do Nationals fans really consider the National as the reincarnation of the Expos? No, certainly not. As far as Nationals fans are concerned, the Nationals might as well have been an expansion team with no prior history. We’re not talking about the beloved Brooklyn Dodgers moving to Los Angeles here. We’re talking about the underappreciated Expos being moved in order to salvage the franchise from an almost certain death in Montreal.
On the flip side, the HOF could have benefitted greatly from having Dawson enshrined in a Cubs hat. How many Cubs fans would have cheered the decision? How many Cubs fans would still be cheering the decision 50 years from now? 100 years from now?
Many years into the future, there will still be Cubs fans. But how many Expos fans will make the pilgrimage to Cooperstown in 50 or 100 years? Today, fans can connect with players who wear hats from the Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and other teams we recognize. But how many of us connect with Candy Cummings who is enshrined as a member of the Hartford Dark Blue or Dan Brouthers who represents the Buffalo Bison?
Getting back to my oroginal point, this probably isn’t that big of a deal. Even so, there’s good reason to think that the HOF made a mistake by choosing to enshrine Dawson wearing an Expos cap. I’m pretty sure that Dawson will correct this error by donning a Cubs cap during the HOF induction ceremonies. It would be the right thing to do.
