Selling of Zungul Could Only Happen in mISL

Back in ancient times, when baseball was struggling to someday be known as the national pastime, there was this owner who had a genuine superstar--but wanted something different.

Cash.

He wanted to produce a play.

This fellow, who owned the Boston Red Sox, sold his superstar to finance that play. The superstar’s name was Babe Ruth, and he played Broadway long after the play had fizzled.

This was brought to mind by an interesting little transaction consummated Tuesday by the Sockers. They sold Steve Zungul to the Tacoma Stars.

This was not a great surprise, I suppose, because it had been rumored for some time that Zungul might be available for the right price. What it amounted to, apparently, was an auction. Take a number, baby, and get out the wallet.

When $200,000 came spilling out of Tacoma owner John Best’s bank account, he had himself a superstar.

“We are ecstatic to bring Tacoma the best player the game has ever seen,” Best proclaimed, blowing the trumpet and rolling out the red carpet. “If this were hockey, the Stars just signed Gretzky. This is the MISL equivalent of Dan Fouts coming to the Seahawks.”

Sorry, there is no equivalent to the major Indoor Soccer League. The “m” in major is lower case for a reason. I probably don’t have to explain it.

Would Edmonton sell Wayne Gretzky to Montreal? Would the Chargers sell Dan Fouts to Kansas City? Would Sea World sell the Penguin Encounter to Marineland?

What we’re talking here is credibility. Do major league teams sell superstars? Not in their prime, they don’t, not unless they are spending their third term in a rehab center or their first in a penitentiary.

Steve Zungul was not sold because he was a troublemaker, but rather because Tacoma came along with an offer which could not be refused. In any other sport, $200,000 won’t buy a second-stringer--maybe not even in the Southwest Conference. In indoor soccer, it gets the best player in the game.

I remember a few years ago when Charles O. Finley tried to peddle three of his top Oakland A’s players for something like $1 million each. He could see the curse of free agency coming, and he was trying to get something in return for players who were about to depart on their own. Still, the commissioner nullified that deal, saying it was not in the best interests of baseball.

When is it in the best interest of a team (or its supporters) to simply sell a top player?

I would suggest that the answer is never.

I subscribe to what might be called The Caretaker Theory of professional sports franchise ownership. The players belong to the fans, and the owner is the caretaker of the public’s trust.

That is a key word. Trust.

I am not saying that fans, in their detached proprietary role, should be consulted before each personnel decision of any consequence. Ownership must simply make its decisions with the best interests of the fans in mind.

In this sense, I must question in what way San Diego’s soccer fans will benefit from the sale of Steve Zungul. I cannot even think of how the Sockers as a team would benefit from selling the leading scorer in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Why would the Socker owner Bob Bell want to subtract from this team? Is it in danger of falling apart? I get it. The Sockers must be having such a dismal year that he wants to pick up some cash he can invest in young stars for the future.

I guess I got that one wrong. This team has won its last 13 games. It goes on the road and wins by scores such as 13-3. It defines dynasty as surely as the ‘50s Yankees and ‘60s Packers defined dynasty. This team is like a Ferrari running the Indy 500 against a field of school buses.

So this team sells Steve Zungul.

Why? Apparently, Zungul was subtracted from the team for the purpose of adding to franchise’s bank account.

If there’s any other reason, hand me a microscope so I can find it.

Somehow, in spite of its on-the-field successes, this franchise is apparently having financial difficulties. This is hard to imagine, because (a) indoor soccer players earn the “bread line” salaries of professional sports, (b) attendance is a healthy 9,163 per game and (c) ticket prices ($8-$11) are not exactly bargain basement. Someone must be handling money as carefully as the city council seems to handle its expense accounts.

Remarkably, the Sockers have, at times, expressed dismay that they must play to unoccupied seats. It has actually been suggested that the Sockers would not have been “forced” to sell Steve Zungul if attendance was better.

Obviously, the Sockers’ sense of public relations--and marketing--is about as sound as their financial footing.

If Chrysler hired the guys who run the Sockers to boost its sagging sales a few years ago, it would have said something like: “OK, folks, you don’t like the cars we’re selling. How do you like this one? It comes with only three tires.”

The most incredible thing about this whole scenario is that Steve Zungul is going to play for the Sockers against Minnesota tonight in the Sports Arena. I have never heard of a player making an encore appearance--a last farewell-- after he has been sold.

As I said before, only in the mISL.