Not making the postseason in four straight years obviously puts a bigger spotlight on everyone, but Tom Ricketts has sucked for a while, even before he cried "biblical losses," in 2020. Now, Ricketts has once again opened his mouth and did what he does best, piss off Cubs fans.
While on 670 The Score Saturday morning, Ricketts addressed criticism over the team not spending more in the past few years compared to other clubs in MLB. His answer? Well, take a look for yourself.
Tom Ricketts on fans calling for Cubs to spend more:
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) January 18, 2025
"They think somehow we have all these dollars that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the Yankees have and we just keep it. Which isn't true at all. What happens is we try to break even every year, and that's about it."
You know what, sure. Yeah, the Ricketts' family while extremely wealthy, does not have the same deep pockets as Dodgers and Yankees ownership or Steve Cohen in New York. Fine, but stop with the bullshit and blowing smoke up our ass, Tom.
Wrigley Field remains the highest game-day experience in baseball. The Ricketts get money from concerts hosted at Wrigley Field. They have a DraftKings sportsbook attached to the ballpark. They have a hotel by Wrigley Field along with other real estate property.
Maybe there's pushback that they have spent money on these projects, but guess what, they're going to be profiting from those ventures too. We don't have to act as if they're never going to recoup their investment.
The Cubs continue to build value year after year and guess who the big winners are going to be the day they're sold? The Ricketts. How about this thought, Tom, maybe you sacrifice a short-term loss every once and a while to build a no-doubt, championship caliber team. Maybe you'd get more guaranteed revenue every October that would actually net you a gain.
Yet, as much as fans will complain, we're left at the mercy of ownership's whims. We can go back and forth arguing about what the team's financial situation actually is, but we'll never know the truth because the Cubs don't release those numbers to the public. The Atlanta Braves, a publicly owned team, is the only data point fans have when it comes to a club's finances.
Regardless how accurate Ricketts' comments are or not, they come off condescending, talking down to one of the most loyal fan bases in all of sports. Fuck off, Tom.
