David Samson Claims Low Attendance Due to Time of Games

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

At this point I almost feel bad. It seems like every time Marlins president David Samson opens his mouth, something more ridiculous comes out. A few weeks after his reality show sequel went down in flames, Samson is again making headlines, this time on ESPN.

In another fascinating attempt at alienating his baseball player employees, Samson has decided to target the Marlins that don’t contribute to a quickened pace of play.

"“Pace of game is about our fans,” Samson said. “It’s very much a TV issue and an in-game-experience issue. No one is complaining about pace of game where it goes 12 innings and it’s 3 hours and 20 minutes and it’s a 5-4 game. That’s not the issue. If it’s a 3-1 nine-inning game that goes 3 hours and 12 minutes, that’s not enjoyable.”"

To show just how out of touch Samson is, the Marlins were one of the three teams with the fastest average games last year. Obviously Samson doesn’t seem to be aware that there is another team that also helps dictate the pace of play in each game. Rather than attempt to bring about positive change to baseball, he is naive enough to think that players running in faster from the Marlins bullpen is the answer.

I find it amusing that he completely ignores the elephant in the room of actually spending money for longer than half a season to attempt to build loyalty. Anybody who studies marketing and business knows that brand loyalty is born out of years of treating the customers in a positive manner. That lesson is obviously lost on Samson and his step-dad Jeffrey Loria.

Had they continued to have an increased payroll rather than pocket the revenue sharing money that they receive each year, it would certainly bring in more fans in the long-run. I am not saying that they shouldn’t have made the massive trade with the Blue Jays, that actually looks like a smart move now. I am saying that they could still spend roughly 15 million more a year and get a couple of

talented

serviceable players to go along with their young prospects and actually compete year in and year out.

For Samson to be so naive that he thinks shaving a few minutes off the game time will entice more people to come to the ball park just goes to show you what type of executive the Marlins have running the team. It is yet another embarrassing moment for Marlins’ fans who have to deal with the shame of ownership that is moronic.

I have another theory though. I believe that Samson is looking to end the games quicker so he can have longer press conferences. Longer press conferences mean more camera time, and really, that is all that Samson is interested in. One thing we can all agree on is that.