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A letter to Frank McCourt: If you love the Dodgers

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Dear Frank McCourt,

I write to you as a friend. Please don’t snicker. Yes, I have been very hard on you as owner of the Dodgers. Tried to speak the truth when felt it necessary. That’s what friends do. I wonder if you have any of those. Not attorneys or Howard Sunkin or employees who tell you what you want to hear. But real friends who look you straight in the eye and speak honestly, however hard or painful it is to hear.

So I say this to you without animosity or hostility: It’s time to let the Dodgers go.

You say you love the Dodgers? Then do what’s best for the team and the franchise. Sell the club and move on.

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I know it’s against your fighting nature. And that you can design a list of ways you believe you’ve been wronged or treated unfairly. That you have designed various scenarios to keep the battle alive.

And do what to the Dodgers in the meantime? Into just how many pieces do you have to tear the team and franchise before it’s enough? I’m trying to visualize a scenario in which you think you actually come out victorious. You’re allowed to sue Major League Baseball and you actually win? Unlikely, but how long would that take and what would be left of the team by then? How many fans would still be at the Ravine? What would your relationship be with MLB and the other 29 owners?

You lost this city and its fans a long time ago and it’s only going to get worse if you dig in. Forget the convoluted schemes. Forget trying to keep control of some of your 26 entities or declaring bankruptcy or trying to find more Peters to pay Paul.

It’s over, and in truth, it has been since the day MLB took control in April. This should not be about ego or hubris or getting in a last uppercut.

This is no longer about you, it’s about what’s best for the Dodgers. And going through protracted legal maneuvers that would likely take years to unfold is not it.

You really, truly love the Dodgers? Then end this. Let them go. It’s the right thing to do.

Your friend,

Steve Dilbeck

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