Jeffrey Loria Officially Got the Marlins for Free

Remember this moment the next time you hear Jeffrey Loria whining about how much he needs a new stadium to keep the Marlins profitable. Remember it next year, when Loria sells off Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, Josh Johnson, and any other Marlins player who might command more than a few...

By Tim Elfrink

April 23, 2009

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Remember this moment the next time you hear Jeffrey Loria whining about how much he needs a new stadium to keep the Marlins profitable. Remember it next year, when Loria sells off Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, Josh Johnson, and any other Marlins player who might command more than a few mil as a free agent.

Loria, in essence, bought the Florida Marlins for zero dollars and zero cents.

So says a new study by Forbes, which involves some very basic mathematics. Follow along: In 2002, Loria swapped his ownership in the Montreal Expos to Major League Baseball for $120 million and then picked up the Marlins for $150 million. The Marlins' sales price dropped to $143 million when the Fish didn't get a new stadium in his first five years as owner.

Subtract $120 mil from $143 big ones and you get a net purchase price of $23 million. As of this year, baseball's revenue sharing system has now officially sent more than $23 million into Loria's pockets.

Add it all up: Free baseball team. Riptide would take that deal in a heartbeat. Are you listening, Jeffrey?

In less surprising news, Forbes' study also shows the Marlins remain the most worthless franchise in baseball.

So maybe Loria got what he paid for after all...

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Tim Elfrink is a former investigative reporter and managing editor for Miami New Times. He has won the George Polk Award and was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.

Contact: Tim Elfrink

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Twitter: @timelfrinkmia