August 2, 200620 yr by Tom Verducci- 9. Wayne Huizenga and the 1998 Marlins Huizenga was the Florida Marlins owner who dismantled his 1997 world championship team before the champagne had dried on the clubhouse carpet. The team was poised to contend for at least several more seasons and possibly generate the kind of momentum, as had happened in Seattle, to raise enough community enthusiasm to get a publicly financed retractable-roof ballpark. Huizenga never gave the team or community a chance. He cut the payroll from $53 million to $13 million, sinking the team to 108 losses in 1998 and placing the franchise on a slippery slope toward relocation. Oh, and by the way, Huizenga sold the team after that '98 season. Not by coincidence, the sale came just as the standard five-year player amortization allowance had expired for him, losing a significant tax benefit. You can read the full list here: Baseball's Most Embarrassing Moments
August 2, 200620 yr Wayne is a giant tool, but that was nowhere near the #9 most embarrasing moment in baseball history. It wasn't even the worst fire sale in history. How about 61*? Like Marris didn't deserve it the record he earned. Or the all star tie, or the 1981 strike where the best record in baseball didn't make the playoffs, or the contraction threat, or the entire existance of the Cubs since 1906?
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