Former Marlins exec explains why 'Miami is not a baseball market'

The former president of the Miami Marlins firmly believes that trying to have a successful baseball franchise in the city is a lost cause.

On a Wednesday edition of the “Front Office Sports Today” podcast, former Marlins president David Samson gave a pair of theories on why it is extremely hard to have a successful baseball team in Miami.

“I think it’s a very misleading market because first of all, you think of Miami, you think of it as this great, amazing city that’s so full of diversity and everyone’s trying to move there and everyone’s trying to be a part of it. But the funny part is that baseball is a summer sport. And what I found is that all of the wealthy individuals didn’t spend their summers in Miami. They would go North for the summer. So they would be around there during the winter and they would be there for six months and a day for tax purposes. And so trying to convert them to season ticket holders was very difficult.”

– David Samson

The former executive also claimed that a lack of corporate support, something many other small-market teams receive, has been a big hindrance in a city that doesn’t have a strong median income for average Miami fans.

“The demographics of Miami would indicate that it’s a wealthy city, but it’s got one of the lowest incomes of any of the major league cities. .. It’s possible that Miami is simply not a baseball market,” Samson added.

The Marlins are one of the more curious franchises in MLB. Since its inception in 1993, the organization has mostly had losing seasons and has an overall record that is nearly 400 games under .500. Yet, despite of history of losing the team has had some surprising success, winning World Series titles in 1997 and 2003.

Certainly, there have been poor decisions made by the franchise’s management during its history, but the organization has a long and impressive resume of identifying and developing young stars. However, the Marlins are often unable to keep them because of the limited financial resources they have. That is a surprising fact for the team despite being in a state with a rich sports history and major American city.

While Florida has popular and successful sports teams like the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Heat and Tampa Bay Lightning, baseball has always had trouble raking in big bucks despite a pair of teams — including the Tampa Bay Rays — that have done some special things during their short histories.