MLB News: Bud Selig Says San Jose Territory Belongs to San Francisco Giants
According to an article in theย New York Daily News, Major League Baseball is ready to announce that the much-ballyhooed San Jose territory, coveted by the Oakland Aโs, belongs to the San Francisco Giants.
On Saturday, Daily News columnist Bill Madden wrote that the ruling is all but finalized.
Aโs owner Lew Wolff has grown increasingly impatient with baseball commissioner Bud Seligโs lollygagging in making a ruling on the issue.
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Madden said that there are basically two reasons why Selig is procrastinating:
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- The Giantsโ territorial rights to San Jose are part of the MLB constitution as a result of former Aโs owner, Levi-Strauss heirย Wally Haasย agreeing to cede them in 1989 to Giants ownerย Bob Lurie, who, frustrated in his efforts to get a new stadium in San Francisco, was looking to relocate the team.
- Even if Selig did invoke his โbest interests of baseballโ powers and allowed the Aโs to move to San Jose, he probablyย doesn'tย have the votes.
I guess some of the owners are worriedย thatโif the South Bay territory were to be given to the Aโsโa precedent might be set and the same thing could happen to, say, the Yankees, Mets or Phillies if a new team were to move to New Jersey.
On Sunday, Selig told theย San Jose Mercury Newsย that a decision has not been made.
The San Jose issue has been going on for years and the Aโs desperately want to resolve their attendance issues.
After seven straight years of declining attendance, Oakland still averaged just 18,232 fans per game last season, the worst attendance record in the American League. Nobody reading this post would argue with me that the Oakland Coliseum has outlived its use as a baseball venue.
Maybe the Aโs should move to Sacramento.
The capital city is alreadyย home to the Aโs Triple-A team, and the Rivercatsโ current park, Raley Field (which sits along the Sacramento River, just a few short blocks from the steps of the state capitol), was originally built to be expandable to major league dimensions.
The Rivercats have consistently beenย one of the highest-drawing minor league teams in baseballย and with theย Sacramento Kingsโ new NBA arena dealย almost finalized, how sweet would it be for Sacramento to revitalize the downtown area withย twoย new buildings?
