Astros owner Jim Crane, speaking at Dusty Baker's retirment announcment, says team will spend when it's smart with an eye on another World Series.
Jim Crane finds the pocket-watching humorous. But he recognizes it comes with the territory.
When you own an entity like the Houston Astros, a beloved baseball franchise that in the past decade has been transformed from an also-ran into a dynasty, you know fans are going to care about every aspect of the operation.
My guess is Crane would rather y’all just come to games, purchase all the Astros’ gear you can afford — from baseball caps to boxer shorts — and attend a yearly championship parade.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Were it only that easy.
There are too many Counting ’Stros fans to ignore.
So, in every “State of the Astros” interview with Crane, I ask him how he is going to spend money, as if he were a politician managing taxpayer funds.
Then I say, “OK. Stop laughing.”
ALSO SEE: Why you shouldn’t bet against Astros with Jim Crane at the helm
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Valentine’s Day next week. Crane is well aware that many whose hearts belong to the Astros have called him cheap.
“I don’t know where they get that from,” Crane said. “We try to make good decisions when the time comes. You always try to keep a little powder dry.”
Legend has it that Oliver Cromwell, a 17th-century British statesman and military commander, once told his troops to, “Put your trust in God, my boys, but mind to keep your powder dry.”
A higher being is nice to have on your side, but wet gunpowder renders a musket useless.
Methinks, Crane was saying he prefers not to waste financial ammunition. He would rather hold some back for the right time.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The Astros fired a shot two weeks ago, signing reliever Josh Hader to a five-year, $95-million deal, the most money the team has ever offered a free agent since Crane took over the team in 2012.
A full $36.5 million more than first baseman José Abreu signed for a year ago.
“(Hader’s) one of the best in the business, if not the best right now,” Crane said. “And he’s young. He’s still only 29. So, we didn’t think there wasn’t a ton of risk.
“Five years is a lot of years for a reliever, but he’s been stable and pitched well and doesn’t have any arm problems. So again, knock on wood, I think he adds a dimension we didn’t have.”
The Hader signing doesn’t mean Crane is about to go on a wild shopping spree. But the luxury tax isn’t the hard line it seemingly has been in the past.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
“We’ll have a payroll over the competitive balance tax this year,” Crane said. “People said we would never do it. I never said we would never do it. I said we’d do it at the right time when we think the circumstances warranted that.
“We’ve got the revenue to do it.”
Crane said he’ll get updated numbers at an upcoming staff meeting, but the Astros have already sold nearly 22,000 season tickets, a team record. In Crane’s first year as an owner, the team averaged less than 20,000 fans per game.
As wins have gone up, attendance has risen (37,683 per game last season) and so has the payroll.
The Astros’ payroll in 2013 was under $25 million. According to spotrac.com, the team’s money on the books for 2024 payroll is the third highest in MLB at more than $246 million.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
“We’ve moved it up there, top five on the top line,” Crane said. “We probably can’t catch some of those big teams, but, again, we spend our money wisely.
“We’ve got a great fan base that supports the team. It’s really about the revenue to be able to keep the payroll up.”
Ah, with revenue through the retractable roof at Minute Maid, that leads to the question of will second baseman José Altuve, who is entering the final year of his contract, be a one-team Astros legend?
“Oh, we hope so,” Crane said. “Yeah, we’re definitely in discussions now, and we’d certainly like to keep him here. That’s going to be up to him.”
Alex Bregman, another veteran star who has one year remaining under his current deal, is a different story.
Not that I’m psychic, but my read is Crane sounds a bit more optimistic that a deal can be worked out with Altuve, who turns 34 in May and made his debut in the Astros’ farm system in 2007.
Bregman, who turns 30 next month, debuted in the majors in 2016 and became a full-time starter at third base the next year, when the Astros won their first World Series and began their record run of seven straight ALCS appearances.
“He’s another good one,” Crane said. “A little younger, a little different circumstance. It depends on whether he wants to test the market, or he’ll sign a deal with us, but we’ll definitely make him an offer.
“The guys that have gotten away — the big names (Carlos) Correa, (George) Springer and (Gerrit) Cole — there were various reasons why we didn’t sign those guys. Some of it was money, some of it was age, some of it was career path and that sort of thing, and what they wanted to do to test the market.
“Look, you’re not going to be able to sign ’em all, but we’ve made some big signings. And we’ll continue to balance that with the guys coming up. The objective there is to put a winning product out there every single year and be in contention. And we’ve been pretty consistent with that.”
There isn’t a method to Crane’s madness, because there is no madness in the method.
There is management. And there is math.
Most importantly, Crane starts and ends every State of the Astros interview with his mission.
“We’re shooting for another World Series,” he said. “You can go down the line and plan, but the bottom line is we’re focused on ’24 and trying to win the World Series.
“The ultimate goal is to win the World Series. So that’s what we’re focused on now. And I think we have a good chance this year.”
That’s a message for the trophy watchers.
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Mort Laitner
Donald Low
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
visit website
