Dear Miami Marlins Organization, 

Let’s start with a simple pop quiz about Miami baseball. What is significant about the year 1982 as it relates to Miami baseball?  

I was waiting to ask this question. You had just swept the Rockies and were heading to Oakland with a chance to start a streak and correct the hole that the team created. There was optimism and belief, but now you have decided that this season is over, and we must start again. 

I have been a fan since the major league baseball announced that Miami was given an expansion team. I have gone through multiple fire sales as a fan, hoping the last one was the last. But again, it appears history is repeating itself. Since it seems history is repeating itself, here are my questions: 

• What is the vision of the team? Define Marlins culture. Besides the athletic attributes, what other characteristics are you looking for besides “asset value” in a player? Are you looking for players who have grit and determination? Do we have players who lead by example and players who are vocal and will hold other players accountable when the team is mired in mediocrity?
• Are you looking for players who will teach the younger players how to win? Are those players on the roster right now? Will you trade those players or keep them as part of your plan to rebuild the team? The problem with fire sales is that it creates a culture of losing and mediocrity. There is no player accountability. Why? Because upper management does not care about excellence. I challenge your analytics department to explain why my thesis is wrong and provide me with examples. Please find me a team that is continually in fire sale mode that creates a culture of excellence.  If I am right, why do we repeatedly do the same thing? The economics of the game is only a narrow part of analyzing a team. If the economics of the game is all that you value, then Mr. Sherman, please get more investors or sell the team to an ownership group committed to winning. 
• What revenue range should the Marlins need to be competitive in the free-agent market? I am sure that the organization has a number.  Please share that range. 

I ask these questions because we expected this ownership group not to conduct fire sales. Teams go through growing pains, but this is getting ridiculous. Do I expect you to be the New York Yankees? No. The Yankees have history and tradition. But here’s what you have that very few major league baseball teams have-you are sitting on top of a culture of baseball excellence found in South Florida’s high schools and colleges. Put another way, you are a beggar sitting atop a gold mine and do not realize or appreciate it. 

Now, to answer the question, “What is the significance of 1982 in Miami baseball?” It was the year that the University of Miami won its first College World Series. From the years Ron Fraser coached to now, University of Miami baseball and excellence were synonymous. Besides that, multiple high schools, both private and public, have won state titles or were considered the elite in the state of Florida. If you are unaware of this history, then I suggest that the organization learn it well. If you need names, please let me know. This is the natural history of Miami baseball. Miami is more than a destination spot, the gateway to Latin America, or a spring training tradition. Our true history is in excellence and not being flashes in a pan. 

So, I look forward to reading your response. Silence is not optional. 

Sincerely, 

Arthur M. Freyre