{"id":94360,"date":"2025-01-22T18:32:03","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T23:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=94360"},"modified":"2025-01-22T18:32:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T23:32:03","slug":"bob-nutting-not-selling-pirates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/01\/22\/bob-nutting-not-selling-pirates\/","title":{"rendered":"Owner Bob Nutting Not Selling Pirates (and Other Morsels from PiratesFest)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s official: Despite outcries from a portion of the fan base, owner Bob Nutting is not selling the Pittsburgh Pirates. That was the biggest \u2013 and only \u2013 news from last weekend\u2019s PiratesFest, a two-day event held at the 1.5 million-square-foot David L. Lawrence Convention Center on the outskirts of downtown Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Pirates owner Bob Nutting has no plans to sell team, says club executive: &#8216;He cares about winning&#8217; <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SpqzMQRTpd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/SpqzMQRTpd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CBSSportsMLB\/status\/1881728466481193312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Bob Nutting Not Selling Pirates, Wants to Win<\/h2>\n<p>Otherwise, fans coming to PiratesFest hoping for meat were instead treated to massive portions of word salad. Although Nutting strolled around the massive edifice and engaged with fans, he was not present at the fans\u2019 Q&amp;A, which he left to general manager Ben Cherington and team president Travis Williams, with broadcaster Greg Brown moderating. At the time that the management team was assembled, it brought a glimmer of hope to Pirates fans. Cherington held the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/11\/15\/ben-cherington-to-be-the-next-pittsburgh-pirates-gm\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">same position<\/a> with the Boston Red Sox from 2011-15, winning a World Series in 2013. Williams had been the Pittsburgh Penguins\u2019 Chief Operating Officer from 2011-18. The Penguins won two Stanley Cups during his reign.<\/p>\n<p>The vague non-answers were a type normally served up at Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin\u2019s press conference. To wit: Despite not winning, the team is committed to winning. It just hasn\u2019t worked out, but the effort is there. Despite a relatively <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/01\/06\/pirates-trade-rumor-wish-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">quiet offseason<\/a>, it\u2019s expected the roster will be improved by spring training. The Pirates aren\u2019t opposed to signing a free agent to a multi-year contract. The right match just hasn\u2019t happened yet.<\/p>\n<p>One fan asked whether there were plans to extend stars <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/skenepa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-01-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Skenes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/cruzon01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-01-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oneil Cruz<\/a>, or would the Pirates follow their usual tradition of trading them for \u201chot garbage\u201d before their contracts are close to expiration? Cherington said sometimes the Pirates and a player find common ground, sometimes they don\u2019t. They\u2019ll keep looking at creative ways to be competitive. (Given the subzero temperatures in Pittsburgh this week, diving into a pile of hot garbage sounds pretty good right about now.)<\/p>\n<h3>&#8220;Where is Bob?&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p>Inevitably, the question came up, \u201cWhere is Bob?\u201d The question came from a fan who has been behind a series of \u201cSell the Team\u201d billboards throughout the city. Williams said that Nutting had sent the Pirates&#8217; brain trust there to speak for him. According to several news sources and social media posts, Williams said, \u201cBob\u2019s not going to sell the team. He cares about Pittsburgh, cares about winning, cares about us putting a winning product on the field and we\u2019re working towards that every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It confirmed what anybody familiar with Nutting, the Pirates&#8217; principal owner since 2007, knew already. His family has a history of holding onto valuable assets for the long term. Nutting is now a fourth-generation president and Chief Executive Officer of Ogden Newspapers, Inc. in his hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia. He held several ski resorts for 15 years before selling them in 2021. He is now a part-owner of two whiskey distilleries.<\/p>\n<h3>On Nutting and Payroll<\/h3>\n<p>The Pirates have consistently sat toward the bottom of the major leagues in payroll during Nutting\u2019s time as principal owner. There have been vague promises to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/01\/21\/pirates-different-kind-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">increase payroll<\/a> when appropriate. Nutting\u2019s estimated net worth is in excess of $1 billion. A February 2024 article in <em>The Athletic<\/em>, citing several unnamed sources, accused Nutting of frugalness. Upgrades to the Pirates spring training facility to the tune of $8 million in 2014 came from the baseball operations budget, which impacted payroll. A trade was delayed by one day to save $30,000.<\/p>\n<p>A July 2024 story in <em>Pittsburgh Baseball Now<\/em>, again drawn from anonymous sources, said that front office employees were \u201cfurious\u201d with public statements by Nutting to the effect that the Pirates had money to spend at the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/31\/pirates-2024-trade-deadline-grades\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">trade deadline<\/a>. Those employees said that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/09\/pirates-no-room-to-increase-payroll\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">no extra money<\/a> was available.<\/p>\n<h3>Business 101<\/h3>\n<p>Of course, personal net worth is irrelevant. After a 40-year career working with businesses, I can say two things with certainty. First, business owners generally want their businesses to sink or swim on their own. They don\u2019t move profits from successful businesses or their personal funds to other, less successful businesses. Whether that should be done in the Pirates&#8217; case is a different question. But generally, it&#8217;s seldom done. Second, anybody who believes that any baseball team owner would rather win games than make a profit is seriously delusional. If there are exceptions, they&#8217;re rare.<\/p>\n<p>Nutting has been accused of taking tremendous profits from the Pirates. Of course, the Pirates don\u2019t make their financial statements public. Without evidence, it\u2019s irresponsible to print any speculation as to whether the Pirates are turning a profit and how much that might be. That\u2019s why you won\u2019t see that here. There are plenty of other outlets going down that path. No reader is being starved of that sort of content.<\/p>\n<h3>Psychology 101<\/h3>\n<p>While Nutting\u2019s frugality has been an obstacle to the Pirates competing, it\u2019s not the only one, nor is it the chief obstacle. I\u2019m talking about baseball\u2019s stupid economic system, which lacks revenue sharing, salary floors, and salary caps, relying on an ineffective payroll tax to create a competitive balance. Yet this system is rarely blamed for the Pirates&#8217; inability to compete.<\/p>\n<p>Psychologists say our values are either \u201cintrinsic\u201d or \u201cextrinsic.\u201d People with intrinsic values are more inclined toward empathy. In a country like the United States, which values success and \u201cwinning,\u201d more people have extrinsic values, and it makes them more reluctant to blame the winners for the very problems that they\u2019ve caused. Perhaps the Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 recent <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/01\/21\/dodgers-land-reliever-kirby-yates\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">spending spree<\/a> will ultimately cause a reversal in baseball\u2019s system and a change in perspective for the likes of pitcher and self-proclaimed competitive balance expert <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/flaheja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-01-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jack Flaherty<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A certain team is not ruining baseball<br \/>\nA lot of other teams are just doing very little<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jack Flaherty (@jflare_) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jflare_\/status\/1881829907548017142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p>None of this is intended to absolve Nutting, who is his own worst enemy in terms of poor public relations, a largely self-inflicted wound. He is rarely visible, showing up only to take a bow when Pirates Charities is acknowledged for its good works or when a Pirates player is honored. In those settings, he\u2019ll decline to answer questions about the team, citing a desire to not overshadow the event. He\u2019s rarely available for interviews. He might also make the Pirates&#8217; financial statements public. His team plays in a largely public-funded ballpark.<\/p>\n<p>His predecessor, Kevin McClatchy, was also criticized for lack of spending on payroll during his tenure as the Pirates managing member. McClatchy also made his fair share of gaffes. (Who can forget the press conference when he held a hoagie aloft and declared, \u201cThis is enough food?\u201d) Yet he wasn\u2019t hated by a large swath of the fan base. He could be seen seated right behind home plate nightly, wearing his Pirates cap, cheering and yelling at umpires. Similar visibility and outward passion by Nutting may go a long way to improving his perception among the fans.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s official: Despite outcries from a portion of the fan base, owner Bob Nutting is not selling the Pittsburgh Pirates. That was the biggest \u2013 and only \u2013 news from last weekend\u2019s PiratesFest, a two-day event held at the 1.5 million-square-foot David L. Lawrence Convention Center on the outskirts of downtown Pittsburgh. Pirates owner Bob [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5010,"featured_media":94378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1071],"tags":[3215,6208,3207,3434,6371,3170],"class_list":["post-94360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pirates","category-mlb","tag-ben-cherington","tag-bob-nutting","tag-jack-flaherty","tag-oneil-cruz","tag-paul-skenes","tag-travis-williams"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94360"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94379,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94360\/revisions\/94379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}