Major League Baseball

Mets' admission a concern for Vincent

Published Feb. 27, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

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The Mets' admission that they took a loan from Major League Baseball was yet another red flag for their ownership, and one that was particularly distressing, according to former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent, the New York Post reported Sunday.

Vincent approved a loan, when in the role, to the Tigers in 1992 before the team was sold to Mike Ilitch and said he was well aware of the dire circumstances surrounding that kind of transaction.

"Any time a team has to come to baseball for money, it's a great concern," Vincent said Saturday, referring to the $25 million loan the team accepted from MLB in November as the Irving Picard lawsuit for the Mets' involvement in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme approached.

"Other teams have to be worried," Vincent said. "There are implications for everyone."

Those implications remain to be seen — and they could be tricky, considering the long, personal history of team owner Fred Wilpon and commissioner Bud Selig.

"I'm sure it was very painful for Fred and painful for Bud," Vincent said. "This is not the kind of thing that's done lightly. I'm sure they played it straight. There are so many people involved in this kind of deal. It's hard to imagine that it wasn't. Everyone knows they are very close, so I'm certain the situation was handled with extra care."

The handout from baseball was just the latest in a growing list of woes that the Mets' ownership had to deal with in the wake of the January announcement that it was willing to sell a minority share in order to raise cash for damages that could result from the lawsuit.

A major league executive said Saturday that though the Mets received 30 "legitimate" offers in the sale, they only allowed what they consider to be the top 12 to submit applications.

As for Wilpon, Vincent said he believes that going to Selig would have been one of the most difficult things he has had to do.

"Fred is a proud man, and to go to baseball for money must have been gut-wrenching," Vincent said. "The whole thing is very unpleasant. No one likes to see a team in trouble. It's a sad occasion."

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