| Season | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Place | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Chicago Cubs | 66 | 96 | .407 | 31.0 | 5 | 2,642,682 | |
| 2012 | Chicago Cubs | 61 | 101 | .377 | 36.0 | 5 | 2,882,756 | |
| 2011 | Chicago Cubs | 71 | 91 | .438 | 25.0 | 5 | 3,017,966 | |
| 2010 | Chicago Cubs | 75 | 87 | .463 | 16.0 | 5 | 3,062,973 | |
| 2009 | Chicago Cubs | 83 | 78 | .516 | 7.5 | 2 | 3,168,859 |
Some touted the Ricketts clan as the savior of the franchise; grapple it away from the evil corporation. A fan would be running the team without the pitfalls of meeting shareholder objectives, etc. It was supposed to be a return to the golden age. But instead, the team fell back down the P.K. Wrigley rabbit hole.
Under Ricketts ownership, the team has gone 356-454, a .429 winning percentage which equates to a 90 loss season. During his five years of ownership, the Cubs have been 115.5 games behind in the NL Central, or an average of 23 GB the divisional winner.
In the past four years, 1,069,059 less fans have come through the gates at Wrigley. That is an average of 267,264 less fans in the stands. From the team's own metrics, that is at least a loss of $53.45 million in baseball revenue in the past four years. To put it in further light, that is the equivalent of the Edwin Jackson contract.
Since Ricketts ownership, the Cubs have
** less wins
** less attendance
** less normal revenue
** lower broadcast ratings
** lower team payrolls.
When Tom Ricketts took the podium when his family bought the team, he said that he was there to win a championship. He opined that the team was only one or two players away. He kept on telling fans this speech for the next few years, until today that charade would not be tolerated by the fans or media.
As a sports talker said this morning on the radio, Tom Ricketts may be a nice guy, but he has no idea how to run a baseball club. And that is the worst kind of owner: one who thinks he knows what he is doing.
From an objective standpoint, the Ricketts ownership of the Cubs has been a failure. It has been a failure on the field based upon the club's standings. It has been a failure off the field for the constant problems with the city and neighbors about the Wrigley Field rehab project.
