In Dallas on Wednesday, the AL West-leading Texas Rangers will be auctioned off in the court of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge D. Michael Lynn.
The goal is to sell the team to the highest bidder and put the Rangers on the best financial footing possible after former owner Tom Hicks fell on hard times and was forced to put the franchise up for sale. The key bidder is a group headed by former Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg. Their opening bid is reported to be about $520 million. It is widely thought in baseball circles that this is the group baseball would like to see controlling the team.
However, both FOX and Mark Cuban also want the team and the price tag likely will roll past that $520 million number quicker than, well, a Nolan Ryan fastball.
Cuban is not your traditional owner; he is a clever businessman who has been buying up debt notes from Hicks Sports Group — making him one of the team’s largest creditors and, at the same time, a likely bidder.
Fans in Dallas love him because he’s passionate about his teams and will pull out the checkbook and pay for players. But can the owners accept the charismatic, forward-thinking Cuban? He’s likely to be a free spender.
Then we have broadcasting giant FOX — which once owned the Dodgers — reportedly in the bidding. The network would purchase the team, assuring that FOX Sports Southwest would not lose the Rangers to a possible University of Texas regional sports channel.
There will be a Texas-sized shootout on Wednesday. The real question is: Will the highest bidder actually win the auction?
In 2002, the Yawkey Family Trust put the Red Sox up for sale. John McMullen and Charles Dolan had the highest bid, but the team went to John Henry and Tom Werner instead. Henry sold the Marlins to Jeffrey Loria — then owner of the Montreal Expos — allowing MLB to eventually move the franchise to Washington and sell it to the Lerner family. So somehow, when sports teams are sold even in open auctions, the highest bidder does not always win.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!
