Miami Marlins: Why Signing Albert Pujols Would Be Worst Thing for MLB

Albert Pujols, one of the best hitters in the history of the game, is a free agent. Okay, that's not exactly news. 

What is a little surprising is one of the suitors: The Miami Marlins. 

The Los Angeles Times is one of several outlets to report that the Marlins have made an offer to the future Hall of Famer. 

Okay, that news bothers me a little. Actually, that news bothers me an awful lot. 

In my life, I have come across a lot of people who hate the Yankees, and to a lesser extent, the Red Sox, for "buying championships" and ruining the sport. 

What exactly did the Marlins do in 1997? They bought a championship. How is that different than what the Yankees or Red Sox have done? Well, it's much different. 

The Yankees and Red Sox keep their players. As a matter of fact, they sign those players to terrible contracts and end up stuck with them for too long. So, while they may take full advantage of the fact that they have big payrolls, their teams generally look pretty similar from one year to the next. 

That is not the case with the Marlins. Their 1998 team was almost entirely different than the 1997 champions. While they didn't build the team in quite the same way, the same thing happened between their second championship in 2003 and 2004.

I am tired of it. While I grew tired of watching games in front of crowds that it seemed like you could count on one hand at Sun Life Stadium, I was actually disappointed to hear that they were going to get a new stadium for the 2012 season.

Why was I disappointed?

This is a team that needs to be contracted. This team has done more to hurt the sport of baseball than any team in any sport ever has.

Don't give me a "small market" argument. Frankly, I don't like it when people from places like Kansas City use it, I sure don't want to hear it from Miami. 

This is the same small market that signed Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the same offseason. The logic does cross sports lines.

Miami is a huge market and a great place to play and live. It has great weather and great tax laws. Big name players can certainly be brought there if the people bringing them in had any interest. Heck, we saw that with this team in 1997. 

But now, after another several years of doing everything possible to avoid spending money, the Marlins actually have the nerve to offer one of the best players in the history of the game a contract?

I am a San Francisco Giants fan. I would rather have Pujols sign with any National League West team than the Marlins. 

This is not bitterness about Buster Posey getting hurt, nor is it bitterness about the Marlins beating the Giants in 1997 and 2003. 

No, Scott Cousins was just doing his job, and the Giants didn't deserve to win in either of those seasons. 

No, this is bitterness about a team that has completely disgraced the sport twice in less than 20 years. 

If Pujols goes to the Marlins, I am really going to have a hard time following the sport. Also, if they sign Pujols, I never want to hear anyone complain about any big market teams bullying the small market teams out of contention and ruining the games.

Whatever "damage" those teams have done to the game doesn't compare to what the Marlins have already done. Signing Pujols wouldn't make it any better.