The long and winding road towards finding a competent owner for one of Major League Baseball’s most historic franchises is finally over.
After months of bidding wars, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a team of rich investors ready to bring baseball supremacy back to Southern California; and they’re lead by former Los Angeles Lakers hero Magic Johnson.
On March 27, it was announced that an agreement was made between former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and the Guggenheim Baseball Management LCC for the sale of the team.
The group made up of Johnson, Guggenheim CEO Mark Walter, baseball executive Stan Kasten and film mogul Peter Guber, bought the team for $1.4 billion. The winning bid ended up being 30 percent higher than the next highest bid.
For those who bleed Dodger blue this was best news they could’ve heard. McCourt had been running the former elite team into the ground since filing for bankruptcy last summer.
Since then it has been a constant struggle between McCourt and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig over the ownership of the team.
With cross-town rival the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim landing future Hall of Fame first baseman, Albert Pujols, to a 10-year contract, the shift of Southern California baseball dominance was starting to swing their way.
But, Johnson and company are dedicated to restoring faith back in the Dodgers.
In a Los Angeles Times column, Johnson said, “The Angels invested a lot of money into Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson.
You see what the Tigers just did with Prince Fielder. Teams are investing. That’s what you do when you put a winning team on the field. We’re not going to be any different from those teams.”This bodes well for Dodgers fans that want to see their team bring in talented players.
In order to be competitive, owners have to invest big bucks. The sky is the limit with baseball contracts when New York Yankees third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, is making $275 million over 10 years.
Johnson said, “…we would love to copy the Yankees’ success. If you’re saying, ‘Do we want to be the Yankees? The answer is yes. We want to win the World Series. We do want to win.”
After watching the Angels and division rival San Francisco Giants each make it to the promised land once in the last decade, the craving for another championship is strong.
But the Dodgers may be closer to October baseball then many may think. Even with the ownership disputes, the Dodgers were able to maintain two of the most promising players in baseball, outfielder Matt Kemp and starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
Both players set a good foundation for the team. A few key players brought in via trade or free agency and the Dodgers could make a deep run into the playoffs.
With a team of owners dedicated to winning, and the appeal of playing in Los Angeles, the Dodgers will be making big acquisitions to bolster their lineup in the coming seasons.
Now that the McCourt dynasty is over and the season opener is just days away, expect more fans to return to support the team at Chavez Ravine.
Chase Doerr is a senior journalism major and assistant opinions editor for the Daily 49er.
