Ken Rosenthal: San Francisco Giants Have A ‘City Problem’
The San Francisco Giants have struggled over the past few seasons to land some big-name free agents, the most recent gut punch being Shohei Ohtani signing with the Dodgers despite offering an almost identical deal.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently weighed in on the reasons behind this reoccurring issue.
“The Giants problem from everything we’ve heard and from everything Buster Posey told (Andrew) Baggarly of The Athletic last night, they’ve got a geography problem, or a city problem — I guess I would say,” Rosenthal said. “Players, for whatever reason, have a negative perception of San Francisco right now. Not all players, of course. Jung Ho Lee didn’t have one, but they’re running into this; Posey said that.”
As Rosenthal mentioned, Giants legend and part owner Buster Posey gave his two cents as to why the Giants missed out on Ohtani as well as other free agents. Both of them mentioned the negative perception of the city, which mainly includes fear of crime and drug use.
“Clearly, the city has changed since the pandemic,” Rosenthal added. “And it’s made the city emptier than it was, perhaps. People talk about crime and all these things. I don’t have statistics. I don’t know for sure what’s going on there, but that perception exists, as Posey said, fairly or unfairly.”
Rosenthal is correct here. I visited the city multiple times during the summer of 2020 and things were extremely different. It felt lifeless at times, and while I don’t have exact statistics either, it seemed to be a lot more calm than before. Of course, any big city has nice areas and parts that are riddled with crime. However, once a city gets a reputation like San Francisco, it can become hard to shake off.
“They’re battling that, right now,” Rosenthal said about the Bay Area. “They’re also battling a team like the Dodgers, who, yes, have been more successful. So, there’s a lot going on. And the teams in California always have the state tax issue as well; California state tax is among the highest in the country.”
Although taxes are high in California, players such as Mike Trout and Mookie Betts signed record-breaking deals in Southern California. The issue the Giants are facing almost certainly isn’t based on taxes alone.
“When you’re a free agent, and you’re looking against the Giants — and I don’t know — pick a team,” Rosenthal said. “If you’ve got reservations and are worried about state tax, and the team pursuing you is in a non-state tax state like Texas or Florida, these things come into it. A lot of factors come into a player’s mind in free agency, and right now, the Giants are trying to battle that perception.”
Players will always have their own reasons for choosing a new home. We may never know the real reason for some players and that is perfectly fine. The problem the Giants are having is quite strange to me, though, and I’m clearly not the only person thinking about it. Hopefully, the Giants can work through the perception of San Francisco and still remain competitive with teams like the Dodgers.
