The Boston Red Sox visit Nationals Park on Tuesday for an exhibition game against the Washington Nationals. The teams should have some sort of anniversary celebration. After all, it was 10 years ago that a historic, unprecedented business deal took place that affected the future of both franchises, a transaction that still reverberates throughout the game of baseball.
Before the start of the 2002 season, three baseball franchises changed hands — the Red Sox, Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos.
Ten years later — after two World Series championships in Boston and a revitalized Fenway Park, a World Series title and new ballpark in Florida and the return of baseball and a new ballpark in Washington — the three-way deal has turned out to be a rousing success for baseball.
“Looking back on it now, it proved to be a very successful set of moves by baseball,” Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said. “They ended up with a potentially successful franchise in Washington with a huge upside, a progressive ownership group in Boston and the Marlins have a new lease on life with a brand new ballpark.”
It’s no surprise that Lucchino was in the middle of it, though his role at the time was solely as a member of the group, along with John Henry and Tom Werner, seeking to buy the Red Sox from the Yawkey estate.
As president of the Baltimore Orioles, Lucchino was the driving force behind Camden Yards, the influential ballpark that changed the business of baseball and in fact is celebrating its 20th anniversary this season. He went on to become part owner and president of the San Diego Padres, where he directed the development of Petco Park.
Lucchino left San Diego after the 2001 season and was immediately approached by Werner, the former majority owner of the Padres who was trying to buy the Red Sox.
Henry, the Florida Marlins owner who was souring on an attempt to buy the Anaheim Angels, joined Lucchino and Werner, which set in motion a series of events. Henry sold the Marlins to Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, and Major League Baseball took over the Expos and put them on ice until the ballpark deal got done three years later in Washington.
“I was focused on the Red Sox part of the transaction,” he said. “It wasn’t orchestrated by some magic hand controlling everything. A lot of time came together as the process unfolded.”
The Washington baseball drive helped fuel the three-way deal.
“There was a lot of stuff going on the surface but a lot of activity going on below the service as well, including the aggressive efforts by Washington to obtain a franchise,” Lucchino said. “The problems with the Expos and the timing of the Yawkey Foundations’ sale of the Red Sox was like a perfect storm that all came together.”
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
