Bob Nightengale

USA TODAY Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria starts to walk out of his suite at the InterContinental Hotel, sees the mirror in the hallway, and abruptly stops.

He adjusts his tie, combs his hair, and takes a long, deep breath before opening the door.

"I better get going,'' he says, smiling. "I don't want them to think I'm avoiding them.''

Loria, who celebrated his 74th birthday Thursday, was on his way to see his fellow baseball owners for the first time since signing National League MVP runner-up Giancarlo Stanton to the biggest contract in baseball history - $325 million over 13 years.

He's paying Stanton more than twice the amount he paid for the entire franchise in 2002 when he bought the Marlins for $158.5 million, which is causing a whole lot of consternation among his peers.

Loria knows there are owners upset with the deal. Some were openly asking what was so wrong with a six-year deal instead of giving him an opt-out at the age of 30, leaving the Marlins with all of the liability.

You want to know the truth?

Loria doesn't really care what anyone thinks.

He's absolutely ecstatic with the deal, and has never felt better about the team or more optimistic about the future since the day he bought the franchise.

"I know what they're thinking,'' Loria told USA TODAY Sports in a rare interview, "but good luck finding a pure slugger these days.

"If we didn't sign him, somebody else was eventually. Now we have this cornerstone who loves to play baseball, loves to play the game, and most of all, is all about winning.

"The goal is to have winning as part of the tradition of this baseball club.''

The days of the fire sales, woefully cheap player payrolls, and the managerial carousel, Loria insists, are over.

These are the new Marlins, a team that Loria envisions will not merely end their five-year drought without a winning season, but seriously contend for their first playoff berth since winning the World Series in 2003.

"I think we'll be very competitive next year,'' Loria says, "and I think by September, the message is that we are not only going to be competitive, but contending.''

All it took was a fire sale, a public lambasting, and the richest contract in North American sports history to reach this point.

Loria was the one who pulled the plug and blew up his 2012 team after his free-agent spending frenzy. Coming on the heels of the Marlins debuting a $634 million park - more than 80% of which was publicly financed - he drew the ridicule of media and fans, and the wrath of Commissioner Bud Selig and the players union.

Now, he is getting the last laugh.

"There was such consternation, I dont think many people understood what we were doing two years ago,'' Loria says. "Everyone said, "Here they go again, another fire sale.' But what we did didn't work. And it wasn't going to work.

"I mean, two weeks into the season I knew it wasn't going to work.

"We had a $100 million-plus payroll, we didn't win a lot of games (69-93), we got the wrong guys in free agency, there were issues with the manager and the community, so we had no choice.

"We had to blow it up and hit the reset button.''

Nothing worked that year. Shortstop Jose Reyes hit 50 points lower (.287) and his OPS plummeted by 100 points in the first year of his $106 million deals. Mark Buehrle, 13-13, wasn't a difference-maker in the rotation. Closer Heath Bell was a flop. Then, there was manager Ozzie Guillen.

"I'm sitting down having dinner and David (Samson, Marlins president) is calling me,'' Loria says, "and he says, "You're never going to believe what Time magazine is printing.''

Guillen was quoted in the magazine as saying that he greatly admired Fidel Castro, the former Cuba leader, and respected him for staying in power so long.

Guillen was suspended.

The season was only five games old.

"I just collapsed,'' Loria said. "It was not fun. We just spent eight years building our new ballpark, and I knew this wasn't going to be good. It was not positive for our community.''

Guillen was fired at the end of the season, the Marlins began looking for their fifth manager in three years, and Loria wasted no time dumping their three prized free agents.

"The clubhouse was not what you want for a winning environment,'' Loria said. "Those players were not the right players for our market. Not at all. It was just not happening. So we had to shed ourselves of those players.

"We had no choice.''

The Marlins, just after spending nearly $200 million the previous winter, pulled off a 12-player trade that sent their biggest stars to Toronto. They received shortstops Adeiny Hechevarria and Yunel Escobar, starter Henderson Alvarez, catcher Jeff Mathis, minor-league outfielder Jake Marisnick, and minor-league pitchers Justin Nicolino and Anthony Desclafani.

Consider the reset button pushed.

"It was very hard, because I knew I was going to get slammed,'' Loria says. "The fire sale makes good headlines, but it was never about that. It was only about getting better, and trying to get better quickly.

"Look at what has become of that deal.''

The Marlins have a fabulous young starting shortstop, two starting pitchers, and a top prospect who are an integral part of their nucleus.

Oh yeah, and the financial savings to lock up Stanton, the face of the franchise.

"They love to see a guy who has passion,'' Loria says. "And his power, my God. This young man can really make you want to put a shield up, not just a glove.

"There will be a diminishing number of Reyes jerseys in the stands now, and a high number of Stanton jerseys.''

Sure, the money they're paying Stanton is absurd.

Yet, so is the talent.

Loria vows to surround Stanton with plenty more of it.

Stanton's contract is structured that by the time he receives the bulk of his money - $218 million the final seven years beginning in 2021 - the Marlins' projected new TV deal will kick in and easily cover his contract. The Marlins' local TV deal expires in 2020, and after receiving an annual fee of about $18 million, they anticipate receiving in excess of $100 million with the new deal.

They may have been burned two years ago in free agency, and finished last in the league in attendance last season, but it's not stopping Loria and his front office from playing with fire again this winter.

They've already made an offer to free-agent first baseman Adam LaRoche, and have had informal talks about free agent pitchers James Shields, Jason Hammel and Justin Masterson.

"You've got to take a chance in this game,'' Loria says, "or in this world. We'll dip in the free agent market. We're not afraid to make moves.

"No pain. No gain.''

Even Selig, who certainly must have gagged when he heard about Stanton's deal, commended Loria and the Marlins, believing they're the latest example of a small-market team being able to compete with the big boys.

"What I like is individual franchises making decisions to make themselves better,'' Selig said. "They're happy in South Florida, and they should be. It's a very good sign for them, and that's the way you have to look at it.''

Loria, who headed back to his New York home Thursday afternoon, felt almost invigorated leaving the hotel. He was lavished with praise in Miami during their press conference Wednesday, and felt reinvigorated from the feedback among his peers.

He showed a text from his former World Series manager, Jack McKeon, who wished him a happy birthday, congratulated him on Stanton, and told him to now go out and sign another hitter. He called up a picture on his camera phone when he, along with his front office staff and manager Mike Redmond, met Stanton at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 6, making their first formal 12-year offer at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Who knows, maybe there will be a few more lifetime contracts in his future.

Loria, raised a diehard Yankees fan who still has season tickets along with a portrait of his favorite player, Allie Reynolds, in his Marlins Park suite, revered late Yankee owner George Steinbrenner. He now wants to build a powerful franchise like Steinbrenner.

And yes, win like Steinbrenner.

"Stay tuned,'' he said. "That's all I have to say. Just stay tuned.''

We've got no choice.

The man has our attention, now.