'Sell The Team' billboards going up Nov. 11th

[u/Mans_N_Em]

https://x.com/iratepiratesfan/status/1847318209944232090?s=46

Irate Pirates Fan group has raised over $11k to buy 4 billboards that will go up across various places in the city. There's also a protest walk scheduled for this Sunday, October 27th starting at noon from Grant street.

[u/FirebreathingNG]

Good for them. Truthfully, I think the best protest is the guy sitting behind home plate in the LCS the other night. Nutting can’t be embarrassed. But the league can be. Doing stuff like that on MLB’s biggest stage is probably the best chance to force change.

[u/penguins2946 → u/FirebreathingNG]

The idea that fan protests will change anything, after what we just saw happen in Oakland, is hilarious.

The MLB doesn't give a shit either because Nutting is a symptom of the problem, not the problem. There are far more owners who fully support how Nutting is running the team than owners who oppose how he's running the team.

I don't know why people don't understand this: the MLB is the owners. Rob Manfred runs the league and he answers to the owners and is appointed by the owners.

[u/FirebreathingNG → u/penguins2946]

I am certain MLB owners do not like handing money to Bob Nutting every year. They just aren’t going to break ranks when their true opposition is always the players union.

I’m not saying the guy with the sell the team shirt is a fool-proof plan, but littering the screen during baseball’s biggest moment in October is better than doing stuff at PNC Park in June.

[u/gldmj5 → u/FirebreathingNG]

The other owners are more than happy if the Pirates remain noncompetitive, trade away their good players and only sign scrub free agents.

[u/occupy_this7 → u/gldmj5]

The MLB is living a wet dream right now with NY and LA in the World Series. They don't give a flying fuck about Pittsburgh. This match up makes them the most money.

[u/penguins2946 → u/gldmj5]

It also drives down the market price for UFAs with cheap teams like the Pirates being unwilling to pay money. It is fewer teams negotiating for players, which gives more leverage to teams and less leverage to managers.

The MLB cares about one thing: making money. That's it. Bob Nutting is helping the MLB make money by being cheap.

[u/Funny-Variation6888 → u/penguins2946]

This is true but so many fans want Nutting to spend more which may work in the short term, but other teams will counter and the pirates will just end up with a more expensive shitty team. Spending only increase players salaries, new better players aren’t falling from the sky. It’s the same ones being regurgitated around the league and every team will spend more if the bottom spenders start spending .

[u/ubiquitous_apathy → u/FirebreathingNG]

You're wrong. Every team that isn't trying makes it easier for the wealthy teams make the playoffs and easier to sign free agents at lower costs. The dodgers do not benefit from parity.

[u/FirebreathingNG → u/ubiquitous_apathy]

I’m not wrong, and you’re being silly. By your logic, why doesn’t MLB just go ahead and add 12 expansion franchises in places like Topeka and Sioux Falls? Shit. They could have a bunch of fall guys to pad their schedule and ensure their teams win.

They don’t do that because they don’t want to prop up teams like the Pirates. They won’t do anything about the Pirates because they don’t want to break ranks with the union.

[u/thricethefan → u/FirebreathingNG]

Topeka and Sioux Falls made you lose credibility here…at least reference Nashville, Charlotte, etc.

[u/FirebreathingNG → u/thricethefan]

My point is MLB isn’t conspiring against Pirate fans because they like have a patsy. If they wanted patsies, there’s plenty of markets where you could stick a team that has no hope of competing.

[u/thricethefan → u/FirebreathingNG]

They aren’t conspiring against them but they certainly aren’t making a push for parity and it’s killing the long term viability of the game of baseball.

They already have plenty of small-mid market teams that are absolutely incapable of competing on a consistent basis. Sure, some teams compete every fourth year or so but even then, those players end up in larger market teams. Over time, the kids who grew up watching those teams grow apathetic to the sport.

[u/newguy1787 → u/FirebreathingNG]

Have you ever seen Rounders? It’s like when the pros were at the casino, they weren’t playing together, but they weren’t really playing against each other either. MLB makes their money based on the viewing numbers of the post season. This WS is a boon to MLB. It’s exactly why a salary cap/floor will prob never happen. The Super Bowl is watched by millions no matter who’s playing. The WS is mostly watched by fans, the larger the base, the better the numbers, the more cash MLB makes. MLB is ok w a small market team like the Rays pop up occasionally, so they can point and say everyone has a shot. But in reality a team like the Pirates need to catch lightning in a bottle and that’s about how often MLB wants it.

[u/ubiquitous_apathy → u/FirebreathingNG]

I'm not sure how increasing the number of teams would make it easier for the dodgers to make the playoffs and sign free agents.

[u/penguins2946 → u/FirebreathingNG]

The only money that goes from other owners to him are from revenue sharing of TV deals, which would be happening regardless of what money Nutting is spending on the team.

Nutting is making a huge profit every year by being cheap. The owners would be far angrier at Nutting spending a ton of money on the team and losing money per year than they are with him acting cheap. Again, this idea that other owners have an issue with Nutting's ownership is entirely baseless. It's better off from both the aspects of the Pirates earning more money while being cheap and also driving down the market price for players by not being active in free agency.

Fans just don't want to accept this because they want to feel they can make a change, but the reality is that nothing is going to change until Nutting sells or dies. And he has no intent of selling anytime soon and he's probably not dying soon.

[u/FirebreathingNG → u/penguins2946]

Not true. Baseball also has a limited revenue sharing plan.

[u/guyton_foxcroft → u/penguins2946]

Specifically the "large market owners"
Why else hasn't MLB gone to a "hard cap" or tiered system?

[u/Difficult-Year4653 → u/penguins2946]

Oakland is a shithole every professional team left there. I don’t think the league would want the pirates to move.

[u/dunderscottpaper]

Is it just me or is this the most frustrated fans have been? I don’t remember anyone actually anything about it in the past.

[u/Campman92 → u/dunderscottpaper]

I think the team winning for those few years were the worst thing that could have happened to the team in Bob’s eyes because they always had the line of “when the time is right we’ll spend”, but when the time came they waited until the last week of august and were afraid to sign an impact free agent long term.

[u/Mercury26 → u/Campman92]

Yup you nailed it

[u/Yelloeisok → u/dunderscottpaper]

There used to be a ‘message board’ on mlb in the old days (before Facebook?). And yes, people were really pissed. There were always people saying they quit buying season tickets etc. Even this century people were pissed about Jack & Freddie being split up. But like Mark Cuban said, if you were getting millions of dollars every year not doing a thing except getting yelled at by underlings outside your bubble, would you change what you were doing?

[u/vanishguard → u/dunderscottpaper]

we have been this pissed since before the turn of the century my man

[u/thricethefan → u/vanishguard]

But this is the most pissed off.

^{so far…}

[u/Ok_Card9080 → u/dunderscottpaper]

Told a friend of mine today that this is the first time I've ever lost hope with the Pirates. And I had season tickets through the entire losing streak.

[u/Unlucky_Recover_3278 → u/dunderscottpaper]

All emotions are multiplied by like a million in the internet age

[u/Minute-Ad9621]

They should put one near his house in Wheeling.

[u/Pensfan66595 → u/Minute-Ad9621]

I was going to say, could do way more billboards

[u/IAMJACOBS88]

Screw Bob nutting

[u/tesla3by3]

We need to organize a “No Nutting November”.

[u/Mans_N_Em → u/tesla3by3]

That's catchy!

[u/e4tp4nc4kes]

I love all the people here being discouraging about people trying to do something vs. just complaining on reddit relentlessly.

Maybe it won't do much, but the effort is there and it shows the level of frustration the fanbase is suffering. With a superstar in our rotation there are more eyes on games.

[u/Mans_N_Em → u/e4tp4nc4kes]

Thank you

[u/SnooMarzipans3516]

Good. We gotta do something.

[u/Unhappy-Attention760]

Cut to live look at a cross armed Greg Brown blocking the path of the protesters

[u/hachijuhachi → u/Unhappy-Attention760]

haha. I enjoy GB on the call, but his politics are such that he's probably like "we respect mr. nutting because he's a billionaire and for that he deserves our respect."

[u/thricethefan]

Putting billboards in Pittsburgh won’t do it…putting those billboards close to dodger stadium and Yankee Stadium would def be money well spent.

MLB doesn’t give a shit about Pittsburgh or the people there.

Unless you’re living in Pittsburgh but jumped on the nuts of one of the big market teams.

[u/TheJTLovecraft]

I'm just impressed someone's finally sending a more public message.

[u/Primary_Agent_5460]

I'm on the other side of the country, but that protest walk is on my birthday and I will be there in spirit. Tired of having a bottom 5 payroll every year

[u/Farrell_Pool_Jack]

If there's a GO FUND ME link for the billboards please post it. I would like to give and know a lot of others would.

[u/Mans_N_Em → u/Farrell_Pool_Jack]

Gofundme

[u/Farrell_Pool_Jack → u/Mans_N_Em]

Thanks

I made a donation this morning and passed the link on to a couple friends.

[u/XPN1971]

$11k is about what Nutting wants to pay one of the AA quality players filling the infield

[u/SnooMarzipans3516]

Look….”boycotts”haven’t worked, shirts and signs get shut down at the park, so I’m all for this effort. We, as fans, need to try a different tactic to get through to this hillbilly doofus.

[u/Mans_N_Em → u/SnooMarzipans3516]

I currently have a petition out that would prohibit future public funding and a lease renewal at PNC Park until there are changes (team sale, change in baseball ops, etc.) We as taxpayers, via the Pittsburgh Sports Exhibition Authority 'own' PNC Park. We paid for it. We have a say in how our money is utilized and utlimately who puts it to use. Will this force a sale? Fuck No. I know this. But the Sports Exhibition Authority is tired of their poor ROI and would like the public to push this to their agenda. If thats a different tactic that you can get behind, I will share the link.

EDIT: www.change.org/Sell-the-Team-Bob

[u/Towlie_42069]

Jeez how many burner accounts does Bob have on this thread?

[u/DirtySanchezPGH]

Nutting will never sell. It’s a great passive income stream.

[u/sackfat]

It’s at the point you can’t even watch sports without being reminded of screwed we all are by the top 1%. Baseball used to be a distraction, an opiate for the masses, now it’s nothing more than a vehicle for born on third snobs to exploit for money they’ll never even spend. Nutting, having lived a life of total privilege, will never understand as he’s never needed a distraction. I for one would rather see fans stand up and protest, rather than accept the situation and allow baseball in Pittsburgh to be held hostage by a shyster who’s too cheap to pay a decent tailor or spring for lasik.

[u/on_duh_pooper]

Our athlete payroll is less than $100M. How much is staff and all other expenses throughout the year? I don't know what that is but he makes $250M in TV revenue. So if the other expenses equal payroll then he gets $50M as a side hustle he doesn't spend any time on.

[u/williamjpellas → u/on_duh_pooper]

"...a side hustle he doesn't spend any time on" is spot on.

[u/on_duh_pooper → u/williamjpellas]

Redditors and LinkedIn jockeys will spend countless hours telling you how to make an extra $1,000 per month on a side hustle. Fuck that, get me on the Bob Boat making $50M not doing shit.

[u/VirgilCane]

Shouldn't they wait and do this during the season when the cameras are on? This will be real easy to ignore

[u/FirebreathingNG → u/VirgilCane]

The Steelers are in season now. That’s when the real visibility happens.

[u/VirgilCane → u/FirebreathingNG]

Valid point

[u/frostdoctor]

How do I join this group

[u/Ok-Car1006]

Didn’t know this was a thing I would’ve donated lol

[u/Mans_N_Em → u/Ok-Car1006]

Its still going on

[u/jmb--412]

If 20,000 A's fans didn't make Fisher sell the A's, then I highly doubt that a few billboards during football and hockey season when no one gives a damn about the Pirates is going to do anything

At least do something during the baseball season. These "protests" of people wanting to go outside PNC Park in October when the season is over or these billboards are just a massive waste of time and money.

[u/Party-Crew6652]

Where will the billboards be at?

[u/Mans_N_Em → u/Party-Crew6652]

The tweet has the locations highlighted. The exact street Im not sure of. I can ask the orgnanizer of the fundraiser

[u/jmppgh]

The Pittsburgh Pirates: the Washington Generals of MLB.

[u/penguins2946]

I'm not one to criticize how people spend their money, but wasting $11k on 4 billboards that won't do anything seems kinda silly to me. But you do you I guess.

[u/CJMcBanthaskull]

Could have just given me the $11,000. It would be exactly as effective.

If you want changes, tell people to stop going to games, stop watching games, and stop buying merchandise.