Y’know, I really thought by this time we’d be talking about the winners in the Nationals ownership sweepstakes. But hey, saying what he means has never been MLB Commissioner Bud Selig’s forte.
I found Sunday night’s ESPN telecast of the Braves-Nats contest fascinating on a number of fronts, not the least of which was a debate between ESPN baseball expert Peter Gammons and a guest in the booth, print-radio-TV personality Tony Kornheiser, as to who the front runner might be in our local version of “Deal or No Deal.”
On the one hand, Kornheiser insisted the Lerner family bid would, in all likelihood, get the club, because they’re local, unless, of course, the Malek-Zients bid prevailed, since they too were local and had worked for years to bring baseball back.
Gammons’ response was that because White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf — who played no small part in the relocation of the Expos to D.C. — was tight with Jeff Smulyan, that Smulyan’s bid, complete with a pledge that his club president would be African-American — would end up at the top of the list.
Keeping in mind that Selig insists all eight potential ownership groups are still in play, it’s hard to know which rumor to believe. I think, however, that far too much weight is being given to the true meaning of “local.”
That Washington ever had Major League Baseball in the past is largely irrelevant as far as the Nationals are concerned. Thirty-three seasons passed between meaningful pitches at RFK. The game, especially its marketing, has done a 180 since Sept. 30, 1971. Most fans whose hearts were broken when the Senators left town are likely gone from area — or the planet. Those that remain represent a pretty insignificant number, I’d guess.
The point is, Washington’s original American League team was owned by a local. Calvin Griffith was a D.C. resident for most of his life, right up until the day he bailed for Minnesota.
Bob Short, ironically, was a Minnesotan who had previously bought — and moved — the hometown NBA team. That he would buy and move the Senators should have shocked no one. There were no “local” bids to buy the club when he outbid Bob Hope in 1968.
In the 21st century, where someone actually resides is of little consequence in the world of big business. In the long run, what difference will it really make if Smulyan, or another one of the non-local bids, ends up as managing general partner for the Nats? Every group seems to have significant local financial participation, and there’s a 30-year ballpark lease — with no buyout clause — that will keep this club District-bound long after many of us are long gone.
Would I prefer a local owner? Sure. I’m a D.C. native myself. But I refuse to saddle a potential new owner with gloomy expectations based simply upon where they hang their hat.
Phil Wood has covered sports in the Washington-Baltimore market for more than 30 years.
