This long piece from Forbes about major-league teams and huge debt focuses mostly on the Mets and Dodgers, and doesn't tread particularly new ground. But this passage caught my eye:
Do MLB Teams Routinely Flout Debt Rules?
↵↵Insiders attribute the lack of oversight to the laissez-faire culture of MLB executives and the independence and fiscal feistiness of team owners. Others are more cynical and say that as long as you toe the line with Selig, supporting his revenue-sharing plans and labor negotiations, you get what amounts to a free pass when it comes to oversight of your business practices. The Wilpons are well-known friends of Selig. The McCourts have always supported the commissioner’s initiatives. Both got in way over their heads.
↵↵The Commissioner runs Major League Baseball not by fiat, but by consensus. And for the most part that’s worked pretty well for a number of years. But there probably is a cost associated with getting everyone on the same page. The question is whether the favors Bud Selig has done for various owners will ultimately come back and bite him.
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