John Fisher had a plan, at least, nefarious as it may have been. The Oakland Athletics’ owner slowly transformed a once proud, successful ball club into a glorified Triple-A team with a specific purpose in mind: Alienate the fanbase, let the stadium fall apart and use the apathy to scam his way into a new city willing to pay for a brand new home. It was transparent through and through.
The Ricketts family had a plan, too, much to the indignation of Cubs fans. After letting the Chicago’s 2016 World Series core unceremoniously disband, the owners focused on “cleaning up” Wrigleyville by spending more on politicians than players, attracting big-name companies to move into the area and turning the old neighborhood ballpark into a year-round destination.
