The A’s new ‘Moneyball’ is paying off legislators

After Tuesday’s deadline for Nevada politicians to report their political donations, the amount donated by the Athletics Investment Group totaled $112,000. According to the Nevada Secretary of State’s website, this includes donations where the ownership group is doing business as “Oakland Athletics Baseball Co,” perhaps to disguise the number of donations.

What did the A’s get in return for their $112K? Up to $380 million in taxpayer money to build a baseball stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

“Moneyball” was a best-selling book (and subsequent movie) about how the A’s managed to squeeze the most out of their limited budget and still regularly make the playoffs. 

But as much of a bargain as Scott Hatteberg, Chad Bradford and David Justice may have been for the 2002 A’s, that pales in comparison to getting 45 politicians for an average of just under $2500 each.

Not all of the recipients voted for the stadium deal. But at least 33 of them did.

One of them was State Senator Fabian Doñate, who aggressively questioned A’s president Dave Kaval during a special legislative session. Doñate grilled Kaval over whether the A’s would pay the Live Entertainment Tax, and called the project a “tax giveaway for a billionaire.”

Doñate may have simply wanted his own giveaway. After a $2K donation from ownership, he voted yes on the deal.

It’s not surprising that a billionaire would attempt to buy votes to get a publicly-funded stadium. What’s surprising is that the Nevada politicians came so cheaply. They may have voted yes anyway, but it’s somewhat suspicious that so many “Yes” voters also took money from the team.

Meanwhile, Nevada taxpayers won’t be the only ones subsidizing the A’s. This week, major league baseball announced that the A’s would be receiving revenue sharing in 2024, despite having the league’s lowest payroll on their way to a 50-112 record. 

But that’s Moneyball for you. Author Michael Lewis called it “The art of winning an unfair game.” Clearly that unfairness applies to Nevada taxpayers as well.