Jeffrey Loria Won't Let Micky Arison Buy the Marlins

Micky Arison 

Every few weeks or so we see people in our Twitter timeline calling for Miami Heat owner Micky Arison to purchase the Marlins from Jeffrey Loria. It turns out Arison is pretty warm to that idea...

Going back to last year, Heat owner Micky Arison has expressed interest in buying the Marlins from Jeffrey Loria, according to a Major League Baseball official close to the situation.

But Loria isn't interested in selling to Arison, Jeb Bush or anyone else who has inquired.

That was from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jackson mentions that Loria has no intention to sell, and why would he? He got a sweetheart of a deal from MLB when he bought the team (getting the Montreal Expos off his hand in addition to an interest-free loan to cover the portion of the Marlins sale price that wasn't offset from the sale of the Expos), not to mention the albatross of a stadium deal that local governments awarded him years ago. It costs him literally nothing to own the Marlins (there's a reason he's considered such a villain in these parts: his ruthless efficacy).

What would it take to convince Loria to sell the Marlins? Jackson notes that he likes being a baseball owner, and despite the team's struggles he plans to stick around (indeed, his oft-reported stubbornness probably plays a role in this: wouldn't you keep this team long enough to see it succeed and vindicate your own vision?).

The answer comes down to money. Loria bought the Marlins for $158.5 million in 2002, and Forbes estimated the team's value at $520 million last season. He is probably not strapped for cash now, but if he ever becomes so, he will make a very handsome profit on his investment. But while Loria is among the "poorest" of sports owners (one site estimates his net worth at $500 million, less than half that of Angels owner Arte Moreno), he's not exactly eating ramen, either.

So don't get your hopes up.