Peter O’Malley has informed MLB Commissioner Bud Selig about his intent to form an investment group to bid on the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodger Stadium, and related entities.
Late last night Frank McCourt and MLB reached an agreement for the team and its related companies to be sold at auction, with a sale overseen by bankruptcy court. The sale could approach a billion dollars.
Peter is the 73-year-old son of Dodgers scion Walter O’Malley, who moved the team from Brooklyn to California and built Dodger Stadium with private funding. And while it’s pretty clear Peter O’Malley doesn’t have the cash to buy the team, it’s not outside the realm of possibility he could put together a group of local businessmen who would work to restore the once-proud franchise. O’Malley sold the Dodgers and Dodger Stadium to Fox for $311 million in 1998, a move he doesn’t regret now.
Still, the O’Malley family was known for its hands-on management that generated intense loyalty from employees. The little things were done under the O’Malleys: the ballpark was painted every year, and the staff was treated to a free ice cream cone after every Dodgers win. Yeah, these were little things, but big things come from little things.
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