Last year in this post, Major League Baseball (MLB) revenue sharing was discussed, and provided mention and links to MLB financial documents which had been leaked and published on various websites. We knew that the MLB would not be happy with the actual financials of teams being released. Owners have always been very private and secretive with their finances, and those handling the financial documents are made to keep the inner workings secret. This is important, as it allows owners to make the argument that they are losing money, but not have to provide the accounting sheets which would be evidence towards this argument.
So when several teams had their documents leaked last year, MLB had to be cringing that people could dig deep into how teams were spending money, as well as examine and better understand if teams were making profits or not.
Bud Selig is taking this serious. MLB has now filed a lawsuit in order to find the source of the leaks. This means that the sport website Deadspin as well as the Associated Press may be forced to say who leaked the documents. The linked article notes:
MLB attorneys said in the filing that it intends to “move quickly” to seek injunctive relief against the person who leaked team financial records to the media outlets. Under New York law, a plaintiff may seek prelitigation discovery.
Because the information in the AP and Deadspin reports was released without MLB’s authorization, baseball officials initiated an extensive investigation to determine who leaked the financial documents to the media outlets. MLB officials concluded that the information was not leaked by its own employees.
That’s right, whoever leaked this info is now facing the wrath of the legal system and Bud Selig. I’ll be curious to see if this prevents further leaks of documents as we have seen from other leagues.
