Let me be up front about one thing in this particular column; this isn't about the Orioles per se. Yes I'm still a Baltimore Oriole columnist, and yes this column is still Camden Heros! However some events rock the world to the point that they need to be addressed. As we know, the O's and Washington Nationals each took three games in the annual mid-Atlantic rivalry that wrapped up last weekend. The Nationals have had a good season thus far, and after yesterday afternoon's 1-0 win against Seattle they're one game over .500. In my opinion, a lot of that has to do with excellent leadership on the part of manager Jim Riggleman. However now there's one problem: Riggleman resigned after yesterday's game.
Again, let me be up front about this; I respect what Jim Riggleman did for the reasons he stated. In a nutshell, Riggleman signed a one-year contract with a club option for 2012. According to Riggleman, he had approached GM Mike Rizzo "a couple of times" to discuss the idea of the team picking up that club option. It appears that he wanted to discuss this during the team's trip to Chicago this weekend. Rizzo apparently refused to discuss this until the end of the season; Riggleman read the writing on the wall and told Rizzo that if he didn't agree to "have a conversation" before the end of yesterday's game, he would walk. So the Nationals' players (who were oblivious to all of this) go out and beat the Seattle Mariners 1-0 on a walkoff sac fly yesterday, and while they're celebrating on the field Jim Riggleman is tendering his resignation.
Here's the thing; over time it seems that we never cease to be reminded here and there that sports is a business in every sense of the term. The line in The Godfather II is "...this is the business we have chosen!" Riggleman was very clear in his remarks to the media yesterday when he said that all he wanted was for a conversation to take place. He didn't say he was gone if he didn't get a contract or have the option picked up, he said he just wanted to discuss it. Given the fact that he had this team playing well over their heads, I don't think that's too unreasonable. Furthermore, what kind of boss is Mike Rizzo in that he won't sit down face-to-face with his employee and discuss that person's future and/or career path? When Rizzo refused to at least discuss the option, that told Riggleman all he needed to know. Had he stayed on for the rest of the year, Rizzo would have released a statement after the season to the effect of "...Jim did a great job with the Nationals, but at this time we feel that it's best to go in a different direction."
I suppose what I'm saying is that it's very easy for teams to argue that sports is a business when fans complain about the price of tickets, merchandise, and concessions. However when the whole "sports is a business" argument comes back to bite them where the blonde sun don't shine, it can sting. In reading message boards and speaking to Nats' fans, there is an underlying sentiment out there that Riggleman quit on the team, and/or put himself before the team. Granted it may appear as such, but again...this is a business, right Mr. Rizzo? Think about it, would you stick around at a company that you knew had no loyalty to you whatsoever? Perhaps the one difference here is that Riggleman did have a contract, and in most cases if you lose your job you're in line to draw unemployment. However why do people work to begin with? For the good of the organization of which they're a part, or for the luxury of being able to own a home and feed themselves? Certainly you have to have a certain passion for what you do. But are we that caught up in our jobs that we'd put them before our own well-being? My point is that Jim Riggleman didn't quit on the team. While it may look like he quit on his players, it seems to me that "the company" quit on him. He made the decision he made for reasons that were best for him. Isn't that why we're all doing what we're doing...for us?
Ultimately I just feel that it's shallow for teams to argue the whole business side when people complain about the price of going to a game and merchandise and then cry foul when it bites them in the rear. Jim Riggleman is a good baseball man who in my opinion at least deserved the respect of "having a conversation." As I said above, if sports truly is a business then Riggleman is merely an employee. And that employee did what he felt was right for him, his career, and his family. Granted the organization was caught way off guard on this one, however odds are they would have caught Riggleman off guard in October when they would have announced that they wanted to go in a different direction. So if you're thinking that Jim Riggleman is the villan here, I suppose you're entitled to your opinion. However let's again keep in mind another classic line from The Godfather, "it isn't personal, it's only business."
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