Honkers Vendetta Is All-Consuming
For several years, the 2006 Minnesota Amateur baseball tournament has been scheduled for Rochester, Minnesota. Everything was set, there were no problems. Then the Rochester Honkers got involved.
The fact that they are involved is nothing more than a fluke. Due to an error made by a lawyer, the Honkers suddenly have the "legal right" to the concession stands at Mayo Field during the state tournament. This isn't the way anyone intended it to be, but because this lawyer tried to simplify the language, he accidentaly kept the word "amateur" out of the contract, thus giving the greedy Honkers their legal rights.
Morally the rights still belong to the Royals. Ethically the Honkers have no right to any money that comes from the state amateur tournament. Just legally. And even that is the result of an admitted accident.
Adding insult to injury, the Honkers go to the local press crying like they have been victimized in some way. They say they want a "fair" outcome. They say they want an agreement that will "benefit both sides." No offense, Litz and Kim, but you don't deserve to be benefitted by this tournament. You aren't supposed to have anything to do with it. You aren't supposed to get any money from it. So the only fair outcome is that you give back the rights that aren't supposed to be yours and quit thinking of yourself as the martyr. You have your gig, we have ours. Let it stay that way.
It comes down to greed and a fight.
Greed is what drives the Honkers to try to get the money. It's no different from watching a fifty dollar bill fall from the pocket of a man walking in front of you, picking it up and showing it to him and saying, "This is mine. I found it on the ground." You know it's not really yours. You know the other man earned it, not you. Still, and just because you can, you say something like, "I think the fair option here would be to make sure we come to an agreement that benefits both sides. How about you get 25 bucks and I get 25 bucks.
Here is my message to the Rochester Honkers. It's not your 25 bucks, so give it back.
The other aspect is the fight. The Royals have no part in this fight, they are simply caught in the middle. The fight is between the Honkers and the city of Rochester. The Honkers were taken advantage of when Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan came to town. The concessions were taken from them. It was legal, but neither moral nor ethical. Now the Honkers are on the other side of things. This time they have the undeserved power. And they are using it in an attempt to hurt the city. But Rochester baseball is the only one suffering.
The Honkers are a great organization. But they rarely take local talent and bully the local teams. They are not good for baseball in southeastern Minnesota. They are proving that now by threatening to make it impossible for the state tournament to come to town.
Amateur baseball in Minnesota is stronger than almost anywhere in the nation. It is made of young men and old with one thing in common: a love for the game. They have other jobs, responsibilities and obligations. They make immense sacrifices to play the game they love. Dan Litzinger and Kim Archer, I ask you this favor. Don't make those sacrifices be in vain. Don't spit in the face of those who love the game. Don't let your greed and vendetta against the city hurt the Rochester Royals.
The fact that they are involved is nothing more than a fluke. Due to an error made by a lawyer, the Honkers suddenly have the "legal right" to the concession stands at Mayo Field during the state tournament. This isn't the way anyone intended it to be, but because this lawyer tried to simplify the language, he accidentaly kept the word "amateur" out of the contract, thus giving the greedy Honkers their legal rights.
Morally the rights still belong to the Royals. Ethically the Honkers have no right to any money that comes from the state amateur tournament. Just legally. And even that is the result of an admitted accident.
Adding insult to injury, the Honkers go to the local press crying like they have been victimized in some way. They say they want a "fair" outcome. They say they want an agreement that will "benefit both sides." No offense, Litz and Kim, but you don't deserve to be benefitted by this tournament. You aren't supposed to have anything to do with it. You aren't supposed to get any money from it. So the only fair outcome is that you give back the rights that aren't supposed to be yours and quit thinking of yourself as the martyr. You have your gig, we have ours. Let it stay that way.
It comes down to greed and a fight.
Greed is what drives the Honkers to try to get the money. It's no different from watching a fifty dollar bill fall from the pocket of a man walking in front of you, picking it up and showing it to him and saying, "This is mine. I found it on the ground." You know it's not really yours. You know the other man earned it, not you. Still, and just because you can, you say something like, "I think the fair option here would be to make sure we come to an agreement that benefits both sides. How about you get 25 bucks and I get 25 bucks.
Here is my message to the Rochester Honkers. It's not your 25 bucks, so give it back.
The other aspect is the fight. The Royals have no part in this fight, they are simply caught in the middle. The fight is between the Honkers and the city of Rochester. The Honkers were taken advantage of when Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan came to town. The concessions were taken from them. It was legal, but neither moral nor ethical. Now the Honkers are on the other side of things. This time they have the undeserved power. And they are using it in an attempt to hurt the city. But Rochester baseball is the only one suffering.
The Honkers are a great organization. But they rarely take local talent and bully the local teams. They are not good for baseball in southeastern Minnesota. They are proving that now by threatening to make it impossible for the state tournament to come to town.
Amateur baseball in Minnesota is stronger than almost anywhere in the nation. It is made of young men and old with one thing in common: a love for the game. They have other jobs, responsibilities and obligations. They make immense sacrifices to play the game they love. Dan Litzinger and Kim Archer, I ask you this favor. Don't make those sacrifices be in vain. Don't spit in the face of those who love the game. Don't let your greed and vendetta against the city hurt the Rochester Royals.
posted by Joe Siple | 10:36 PM
5 Comments:
I know this is a bit late in the process, but I just came across this blog. I think there isn't enough blame being put on the city here. Had they not "screwed" the Honkers on the Willie Nelson concessions, this NEVER would have happened. Sure, Dan and Kim could have taken the higher road and just bit the bullet, but they had EVERY right to stick it back in the face of the REAL greed mongers, the city of Rochester. The Honkers have been a GREAT addition to this town. One of the few teams (outside of the Royals) that actually have been able to survive in this town, and it is because they have a great product at a great price, and a well run organization that has a love for the game. The answer is simple. The city should give the money to the Honkers and the Honkers should give the money to the Royals. I am 100% sure that Dan and Kim would NOT get in the way of the amateur tournament. If you thought they would, you dont know the organization very well. They had ZERO leverage against the city when they gave the concession rights to their "good buddy" Canadian Honker, and they chose to use the leverage they did have with the tournament to make a point against the city.(That is my opinion). Everyone missed it. Shame on all of you. The Honkers deserved better. The Royals deserved better. The city should be ashamed, and you should too, Joe. The Honkers love baseball as much as you, and if someone "stole" money from you, you would do everything possible, within the law, to try to get it back.
Please dont be afraid to give the city the black eye they deserve, and dont be afraid to apologize to the Honkers for underestimating their love for the game. Southeastern MN is QUALITY baseball, and that includes the Honkers, Royals, and all the city high school teams.
I couldn't disagree more. If I have a problem with someone, I'm not going to hold an innocent bystander hostage to get back at the other person. It makes no sense. To say the Honkers are good for baseball in Southeastern Minnesota is rediculous. They were willing to stop one of the greatest events in Minnesota baseball from coming to Rochester because they were mad at the city. Not the Royals, the city. It's childish.
And as far as I know, the Royals still haven't got their check for 10 grand back yet. The check never should have been given in the first place. There should have been no need. I don't retract a word I wrote.
Since I am not personally involved with either team, I dont want to get into a huge spat over it, and I dont have any emotonal personal ties to either, but until the CITY stands up to admit it was wrong, the debate could go on forever.
I do not envy the Honkers staff for the position they were put in, but I still stand by my OPINION that the Honkers would NOT have let this issue stop the tournament. They used every ounce of leverage they could to get the city to stand up and be held accountable. I am not asking you to retract anything, just understand that the Honkers are not "bad guys" and are not "bad for baseball" as the blog seemed to indicate. They were put in a bad position by the city. Given an opportunity to recover losses they did not need to suffer, they did all they could to rectify it, and I am guessing they feel bad for what has transpired and how it had to go down.
I wish I knew more details, but then I understand it isnt really my business, other than I am a concerned citizen and a great lover of the game of baseball. I have been to both Honkers and Royals games, and both are great teams to watch.
To see the Royals and Honkers in this debate hurts. I am pretty sure the Honkers have no bad intentions toward the Royals, and I wish they didnt have to use the Royals as leverage against the city, but as a business owner, you do what you have to to survive. However, I repeat they would NOT have cancelled that tournament. I know this in my heart. The Honkers run things differently being a business (yes, this could be a blog subject in itself).
I still say the problem can be solved very easily: The city gives a check for $10,000 to the Honkers, and the Honkers in turn return the $10,000 to the Royals. I would go as far to ask the city to apologize, but we know that will never happen.
Joe, thanks for the opportunity to respond to your blog. I will keep reading them, and maybe find a new subject to harrass you about !! Maybe if I ever get smart enough, I will try my own blog.
I agree with a lot of what you say, Corky. Since I wasn't involved in the concession issue with the concert, I don't feel comfortable saying too much about it, other than from everything I hear, the city took advantage of their power over the Honkers, and that's unfortunate. I felt bad for Dan and Kim when I saw the article in the paper. I just don't believe that gives them the right to turn around and do the same to someone else, with the hope that a little bit of the revenge will trickle down to their real target.
I agree that the city should try to work something out with the Honkers to get them to give the 10 grand back, but whether they do or not, the 10 grand should be given back to the Royals. No, nothing about it was illegal and you could probably call it good business. But that illustrates perfectly why I have no desire to be a businessman. If you have to mistreat people to survive, I want no part of it. Did you know that the Royals raised about $10,300 since Milo took over as manager? All but a few hundred bucks went to the Honkers. We'll be lucky to have baseballs that aren't water logged this season.
Evidently, business isn't my forte.
I cant claim business as a forte either. However, I am known as a trouble maker, so maybe I can make enough trouble with the right (or wrong) person to get something going and bring this to a settlement. I love baseball enough and would love to help my community, so maybe this is my calling. The Royals and Honkers should be partners in baseball, not adversaries. The local fans will be the ones that suffer. Ok, now I need to dig out the phone book and figure out who to call.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond. I know you have better things to do, and I do appreciate the opportunity to sound off a bit. I hold nothing against you, you are just stating your opinions on this subject. And without more facts being public, I guess that is all we can do for now.
I wish you and the Royals nothing but success this year, and look forward to attending many games at the 2006 amateur tournament.
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