John Fisher is a pathetic embarrassment to all A’s fans
The multibillionaire owner of the Athletics decided that the burden of paying minimal wages and salaries to critical rank and file employees and A’s minor leaguers was too much for him to bear.
Oakland A’s fans have almost no idea who John Fisher is. He’s literally owned the team for 15 years, but most A’s fans would not be able to pick him out of a lineup. For a number of years he let his minority partner, Lew Wolff, be the public cheapskate and inept and uninspiring stadium nonbuilder. After unceremoniously shoving Wolff aside a few years ago, he declined to step up to the fore and instead appointed the affable cheerleader Dave Kaval as the front man (fall guy?) for ownership and the rebranding of the franchise in its effort to build a new stadium in Oakland.
All the while, we still were wondering who was the seemingly anonymous money behind the team, the $2.7 billion man, the 8th richest owner in MLB, who never risked any small portion of those riches on the team. Did the man even watch baseball? Why did he even own the team?
The only thing we thought we knew about him was that he was cheap, because the A’s were always cheap.
And now, the depths of his cheapness have been confirmed in a pair of public letters. Well, I shouldn’t say confirmed, because I suppose he could always go lower, but this feels like rock bottom.
The first letter unfairly made David Forst the bearer of bad news to minor league players, news that wasn’t caused by him, in which he had to convey that Fisher decided to stop paying minor leaguers their meager $400/week. The total cost savings by that shrewd move is estimated at under $1 million. Or in other words, less than what they paid Brandon Moss to show up for a couple weeks of Spring Training for the “privilege” of acquiring Ryan Buchter.
The second letter was shockingly from Fisher himself, and sent directly to the fans. It was notable because it’s the first substantive communication from the owner that I can remember, ever. I want to break this down because it’s such a devastatingly awful letter, and I have no idea how it was greenlit other than probably Fisher’s ego telling him this was a good thing to send out. Here we go!
To our friends, family, and colleagues,
We’re not your friends, family or colleagues. We’re fans. And definitely not your friends.
I hope each of you and your families are safe and sound during this challenging period.
You say as you bring a hammer down that ensures that they won’t be safe and sound. Spare me the condescension.
I am writing to you personally today because you are our fans, employees, and members of our A’s family. This has been a tremendously difficult day and I wanted to share some important updates with you. While I normally stay behind the scenes, mostly because I believe in the leaders who run the team day-to-day, I felt that you should hear this news directly from me given the extraordinary nature of these times.
How else can you write besides “personally”? And wow this is a pretty impersonal letter. Also thank your highness for taking the “extraordinary” step of writing an email, and magnanimously gracing us with your presence. Should we be floored that you deigned to write a form letter to your customers?
I am very saddened to let you know that we have implemented a significant temporary furlough of staff positions, and reduced compensation for staff members who are not furloughed. We are also suspending compensation for the A’s minor league players.
I love how you subtly switch to “we” when you talk about cutting everyone. Let’s be real, these are all the decisions YOU made. There’s no “we” in this — but far be it from you to take ownership of the decision.
Our first priority is to those who are being impacted by these decisions, and we will do everything possible to support them during this time.
“We will do everything to support them.” Wow! That sounds great! Oh wait...you meant Everything other than ACTUALLY SUPPORTING THEM.
Many of those affected by these decisions have been loyal to the A’s for years – some even decades. I want to apologize to every person impacted.
Wow your apology is super helpful to someone who was trying to get by on $400/week and now doesn’t even have that.
Baseball is more than a job – it is a way of life.
It’s neither a job or a way of life for you, John Fisher. It’s a toy you bought with your parent’s money, and sadly you don’t even play with the f’ing toy.
People who work for our team are our family – our very foundation — and they work tirelessly to help the A’s compete in this most precious game.
I agree, Which is why you should figure out a way to pay these people. Furloughing people in key positions will not be forgotten, and there’s no way to buy that trust back. The A’s are the first team to announce this; want to bet that the top talent in the A’s organization will be looking to move somewhere they are respected? These are people who in many cases have been committed for years, if not decades. With respect to minor leaguers, these are people you want invested in competing for you at the highest level and keeping the team competitive. You think they will forget being abandoned in this highly stressful time?
COVID-19 has brought a tragic loss of life and sickness to so many in our community, and it has impacted us all in ways we could have never imagined. Our organization, like so many others across the country, has had to make tough and painful decisions. We all miss baseball, and we want it back as soon as possible. We want the season to get underway soon, and we believe that the healing power of the game will help bring our community here at home – and across the nation — together again.
While this is an impressive litany of excuses, the bottom line is no other team in major American professional sports has taken this step amidst this crisis. You are on an island, at least for now.
I know that many of you will wonder why the A’s are cutting costs now. Nobody knows how this pandemic will evolve over the long term. What is clear is that our revenues will be dramatically reduced this year.
Ah, now we get to it. Revenues will be reduced. But you the owner has benefited from nearly a billion dollars in franchise appreciation and hundreds of millions in year-over-year profits. That’s the benefit of owning. The plebes you’re furloughing didn’t get any of that upside. But when it comes time to take a small loss (the total wages of the minor leaguers and furloughed employees is estimated at $2 million), you put that on the employees that can least afford it in the time when it hurts the most. You’re despicable. Why not view that $2 million as an investment in the organization, in goodwill, in the community, especially when you’re trying to engender support for a new stadium? No, it’s all about saving a buck. And not even much of a buck in the grand scheme of things!
None of this diminishes the pain of today’s actions, but it is an honest acknowledgement of the circumstances of the moment.
Bullshit. It’s patently dishonest. If you want to be honest, show us how much your franchise has appreciated, and how much in profits you have pocketed since 2005. Then show us how much these burdensome employees are costing you. Give us the numbers. Be transparent so we can see your “honesty.” Lay out the numbers so we can see how much “pain” you’re going through. You disgust me.
I became involved with the A’s because I love the game of baseball. I love the drama that can unfold in a few innings, or even a single pitch. I love rooting for our team.
Yes we gathered that from the zero times in 15 years we saw your face at the Coliseum.
I want our employees and fans to know that we remain deeply committed to the long-term future of the Oakland A’s, including our new ballpark, which we know can be a positive force for the City of Oakland and the East Bay. With this said, above all else, my concerns today are with every single person in our organization who is being personally affected. Through no fault of any of our staff, today’s actions are hard.
Again with the fake concern! Get out of here with that shit!
We look forward to welcoming employees and fans back to the game as soon as possible.
Listen, I know most owners are probably scum, but at least when I support the A’s I am not thinking of the owner, I’m thinking of my own enjoyment. I’m not sure I can separate the owner in the future, knowing my money is going to line the pockets of the man who did this. We all know it’s a business, we’re not naïve, but that business has been so good to you over the years. Yet when there’s some adversity, you pass the hit to everyone else. It’s totally embarrassing as a fan who has spent tens of thousands of dollars on this franchise to continue supporting this.
I applaud Dallas Braden who put his job on the line speaking out against this. I applaud Susan Slusser for her incisive commentary, particularly her observation that longtime scouts were used for the draft and are getting cut immediately after (seriously how much does that save compared to the damage that it does?). Anyone else that depends on the A’s to make a living and has spoken out against this has my highest respect. My only hope is that will have some impact in changing this decision, but I don’t expect it will. He obviously doesn’t care about how A’s fans perceive him if he wrote this sad excuse of a letter and actually thought it was a good idea to blast it out.
I didn’t know much about John Fisher before this week, but now I have a visceral hatred of the man. Not just for his actions this week, but for making me question even bothering to be a fan of team I love.