It appears that San Antonio’s flirtation with the Florida Marlins is dead, according to this My SA.com article. Apparently, the Marlins’ management has been ignoring San Antonio officials since mid-April after Bexar County Judge Nathan Wolff set a May 15th deadline for the Marlins to commit to relocation.
Meanwhile, Maury Brown over at the Hardball Times chimes in with this analysis in which he concludes that current financial conditions strongly mitigate against relocation of any Major League Baseball franchise:
Relocation only comes with a stadium tied up in a shiny bow. Given the fact that more and more municipalities are latching on to the facts that I outline, they see that providing heavy public subsidy as not favorable, nor possibly needed. With that, MLB clubs will, most likely, continue to reference relocation in one manner or another, and work to try and get funding in their current markets, the relocation threat ever present.
So, for you fans of the franchises that have been discussed here today, remember: your team, at least for the time being, isnít going anywhere. Not, at least, when markets are, for the time being, not offering up enough to make it attractive. As I said, clubs may be threatening, but the gunís not loaded.
As a fan of minor league baseball and especially the San Antonio Missions, all i have to say is, “YES!”. My kids will get to run the bases with Henry the Puffy Taco, the best mascot in sports.
I feel that San Antonio was used as a pawn to get a higher bid on the Marlins. Their loss since San Antonio, Texas is growing. As for the Puffy Taco I agree best mascot in sports.