M's CEO hard-hit by playoff losses

KIRBY ARNOLD, FOR THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published October 23

NEW YORK -- Nobody's spirit took a harder hit Sunday than Howard Lincoln's when those home-run balls sailed over the fence to give New York a shocking victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Lincoln, whose job as the chairman and CEO is to keep the Mariners stable financially and competitive on the field, admits that his determination to win burns deep.

"I'm a very competitive person," Lincoln said. "It's a feeling of helplessness. In a way these guys are like my children. They're young adults and I've been with them since spring training the last two years.

"It's like having your kids out on the soccer field. You want them to win and you feel bad when they don't. But you're helpless because there's not a heck of a lot you can do about it."

Lincoln controls the money flow in the organization, and it's easy for emotion to take over, especially at a time like this, and get frivolous. He won't allow that to happen.

"This is a business. It's not a hobby or a charity or a public corporation," Lincoln said.

"It has to be operated that way and you have to look at it that way. Like any other business, it has to be operated by exercising sound business judgment."

And when emotion gets in the way, which is perhaps more likely with a sports organization than any business, the results can be disastrous.

"Let's put it this way. If you think about it and you operate it as a business and you make decisions knowing it is a business, you're much less likely to make mistakes than if you start thinking that this is a hobby or if you start making decisions based on emotion," Lincoln said. "The just-go-for-it attitude I think is the kiss of death."

Lincoln says the organization experienced a highly successful season financially and that the player payroll, about $72 million this season, is sure to increase for 2002.

"You have to assume that," he said. "Just because of some of the players who are in multi-year contracts, the amounts for next year will go up. I'm expecting that there will be some increase. Quite frankly, if I could figure out a way to lower it I would. But that's like pulling rabbits out of a hat."

The Mariners sold out Safeco Field 58 times in the regular season and all five postseason games, a franchise record.

"The organization is financially very strong right now and we're looking for another good year next year," Lincoln said.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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