The Wilpons

From Wiki Gonzalez

The Wilpons are Fred Wilpon and his son, Jeff Wilpon.

Fred Wilpon grew up in Brooklyn, NY. At Brooklyn's Lafayette High School, he was classmates with future talk show host Larry King, and future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax. In fact, Wilpon was the Lafayette baseball team's ace pitcher and best player; Koufax at the time was a weak-hitting first baseman, who was concentrating more on basketball than on baseball. But Koufax was the one who became a baseball major leaguer; Wilpon instead went on to make a fortune in real estate. In 1980, Wilpon went in with the publishing company Doubleday & Co. on the purchase of the struggling New York Mets baseball team. Doubleday & Co. purchased 95% of the team; Wilpon, a mere 5%. Doubleday & Co.'s president Nelson Doubleday became the Mets' chairman of the board, while Wilpon became the president and COO. In 1986, as part of selling the publishing company, Doubleday and Wilpon personally bought out Doubleday & Co.'s interest, and the two individuals became 50/50 partners.

Although the Mets became a relatively successful and profitable franchise, the blunt, outspoken Doubleday and the slicker, more cautious Wilpon were uneasy partners. In 2002, after very acrimonious negotiations, Wilpon bought Doubleday out, and became the Mets chairman and CEO. He named his son Jeff as the Mets senior executive VP & COO.

Fred Wilpon's public appearances and statements are relatively rare, and he is not perceived as an egotistical owner (especially in contrast to his crosstown rival, George Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees). He also cannot be accused of being a cheapskate, since the Mets' payroll has routinely been among baseball's highest. However, after their World Series loss in 2000, the Mets have struggled so much that Wilpon has nonetheless come under widespread criticism.

Some have argued that the PR-conscious owner is more concerned with the team's image than with winning: preferring "good citizens" to more talented players, taking cues for moves from talk radio hosts and beat writers, and valuing the fleeting headline over long-term planning. The high school baseball star who never "made it" has been accused of listening more to his athletes (most notably Al Leiter, Mike Piazza, Tom Glavine, and Lafayette High School product John Franco) than to his front office staff.

It is also argued that Jeff Wilpon, who has no baseball background, was hired purely due to nepotism, and is unqualified to be involved in the team's decision-making process.