Recently, Maury Brown, who writes about the business of baseball, had the opportunity to talk with Oakland Athletics president Dave Kaval about the team’s proposed move to Las Vegas.

The interview wasn’t really about the recently revealed renderings of the stadium design, so I’m not going to touch on that here. (If you’re interested, Brown has recently written an article about the stadium design.)

Instead, Brown and Kaval discussed what the A’s might expect in a move to Las Vegas, and I’m going to agree with Brown that Kaval has “delusions of grandeur.”

From the article linked above:

“This is the most important MLB venue since Oriole Park At Camden Yards,” Kaval says of the Vegas ballpark.

It’s an extraordinary statement, and nearly impossible to believe. Here’s Kaval touting the smallest seating capacity ballpark with a unique roof and little else, as the most transformative ballpark in the last half-a-century. It may not be the first of the modern ballparks (the White Sox holds that honor), but OPACY defined the return of the baseball-only facility and ushered in a wave of others with a retro vibe.

COMMENT: I agree with Brown’s take here, both about OPACY and the new proposed venue in Las Vegas. The new venue has issues that I’ve touched on earlier; even if it gets built in some form close to what’s been proposed in the renderings, the small capacity is going to make it difficult for the A’s to make money.

But wait! There’s more!

If the comment about the ballpark design being akin to Camden Yards was extraordinary, Kaval moved into delusions of grandeur in response to my comments.

“I like the example of the Dodgers,” Kaval says. “Our relocation is most similar to the Dodgers move out of Brooklyn.”

At this stage I have to think he’s trolling. No one can honestly believe this. Paired with the Giants, the Dodgers relocating from Brooklyn to Los Angeles remains one of the most significant moments in Major League Baseball’s history. No clubs had ever been west of the Mississippi River at that stage. Los Angeles was a vast and growing market. It came as commercial air flight was entering the mainstream. Walter O’Malley had Dodger Stadium built with an eye toward the experience patrons at Disneyland received with a spotless venue and an iconic location where the PCL had been the alternative to MLB.

COMMENT: Brown is correct again. The Dodgers move to California, along with the Giants joining them there, transformed MLB from what had been strictly a midwest and northeast sport to something national. Los Angeles wasn’t the huge metropolis in 1958 that it is now, but it can be argued that the Dodgers moving there was part of L.A. becoming that city.

The A’s moving to Las Vegas, if it happens, isn’t going to be transformative like that. If Dave Kaval believes that, he’s in for an unpleasant surprise.

Brown reaches this much better comparison and concludes:

If there’s a situation and key players in this moment for the A’s that harken to baseball’s past, it is the Marlins. Fisher, who has been tormented with “Sell the team” reminds one of former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. As for Kaval, he reminds one of former Marlins president, David Samson. In both cases, the president of the club was charged with making long-sought-after ballparks come to fruition. Both have that “used car salesman” vibe as if they’re coning you into buying a lemon. And truth be told, the ballpark design in Miami where the Marlins relocated, and the A’s design for their relocation to Las Vegas aren’t too dissimilar. At least the Marlins were the first to break free of the retro designs post-OPACY. The A’s can’t even say that. Attendance in Las Vegas? Seems like something around what the Marlins draw is a reasonable expectation.

COMMENT: Bingo! I hadn’t thought of the comp to the Marlins, but it makes a lot of sense. A reviled owner who was finally forced to sell, and a team president who was fired after that sale. They did get their new stadium, Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park), which opened in 2012. The Marlins got the typical new-stadium attendance bump that year, finishing 18th in attendance at 2,219,444 despite losing 93 games. Since then, Miami’s attendance rankings have been 28th, 27th, 28th, 27th, 28th, 30th, 30th, 30th, 29th and 29th, the last two years ahead of only… the A’s.

Look, maybe I’m wrong and this will all work out for John Fisher, Dave Kaval and the A’s. If it is, I’ll admit it. (But I don’t think I’m going to have to.)

I’ll give the last words here to Maury Brown:

For many of the fans, maybe the Marlins would be the best comp for other reasons. After all, Loria sold the club shortly after arriving in Miami, and new ownership fired Samson. After all, it’s not if but when Fisher eventually sells the A’s.