Derek Jeter is perhaps one of the best shortstops I’ve ever watched
MLB owners approve sale of Marlins to Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman
The sale of the Miami Marlins to a group led by Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter has received the stamp of approval from Major League Baseball owners.
Owners on Wednesday voted unanimously in favor of the $1.2 billion deal to buy the franchise from Jeffrey Loria. The deal is expected to close Monday, one day after the end of the season.
“I wish the best to Jeffrey Loria and David Samson,” said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. “During their tenures, the Marlins won the 2003 World Series, hosted this season’s successful All-Star Week at spectacular Marlins Park and eagerly supported our efforts to grow the game internationally. I congratulate Mr. Sherman on receiving approval from the Major League Clubs as the new control person of the Marlins and look forward to Mr. Jeter’s ownership and CEO role following his extraordinary career as a player.” Read more
Derek Jeter doesn’t have many answers for the Miami Marlins — yet
The new owners of the Miami Marlins pledged to make fans their “No. 1 priority,” but provided few other specifics about what direction they intend to take both on and off the field.
Will they trade Giancarlo Stanton?
Will they change the team’s colors and logo?
Will they break up the roster and rebuild from the ground up?
“Some of these details are going to take time,” said Derek Jeter, the former New York Yankees star who bought the franchise in partnership with lead investor Bruce Sherman and others. “We’re in a transition phase. It’s going to take a lot of patience.”
One day after completing the purchase of the team for $1.2 billion from Jeffrey Loria, Jeter and Sherman answered questions but offered little about how they intend to energize a franchise that has gone eight years without a winner and lags near the bottom of the majors in attendance.
As Sherman noted: “We have a lot of work to do.”
And as Jeter added: “Moving forward, there’s going to be, at times, unpopular decisions we make on behalf of the organization. But, just understand that every decision we make is for the betterment of this organization.”
Both repeatedly emphasized the need, however, to invigorate a largely disenchanted fan base that has had little to cheer about from one losing season to the next.
Miami resident and Marlins fan Udonis Haslem talks Jeter sale
Miami resident and Marlins fan Udonis Haslem talks Jeter sale on Oct. 3, 2017.
Despite the opening of a new ballpark in 2012, the Marlins have ranked no better than 27th in home attendance (out of the 30 Major League teams) during the past five seasons. Their eight-year losing drought is the longest in the Majors, and they haven’t reached the postseason since winning the World Series in 2003.
“We believe in this market,” Jeter said. “We believe in the fan base. We are focused on bringing the fans back. We want them to get to know us as owners. More importantly, we want to get to know them. We want to hear from the fans. We need to get back into the community and bring the fans back.”
Said Sherman, who has a 46 percent stake in the franchise: “There are no surprises to anybody in the group about the attendance … and all the elements. We have to re-engage the community. We recognize that. We know it’s a long-term process.”
Jeter joked that attendance didn’t look too bad to him when he attended Sunday’s season finale at Marlins Park. A crowd of 25,222 turned out, primarily to see whether Stanton would hit his 60th home run (he didn’t). Jeter said it was the first game he has watched from the stands since he was in high school.
But both acknowledged there are challenges ahead.
Jeter gave no strong indication whether trading Stanton or other core players was part of the plan. He said he first wanted to speak with Mike Hill, the Marlins’ president of baseball operations, before making any decisions. But it is widely assumed the new owners, given that the team lost more than $50 million last season with a $115 million payroll, will look for ways to cut costs.
“I don’t like the word teardown,” Jeter said. “Yeah, we are rebuilding the franchise. But I think a lot of times people associate those words with losing, and you never go into a situation and the message is we’re going to lose.”
Jeter indicated that strengthening a farm system that ranks as one of the worst in the Majors is another priority, which would suggest trading top players to acquire young talent.
“We do have to rebuild an organization, and it starts with player development and scouting,” Jeter said. “You have to be strong in those areas, because if you’re going to have a sustainable organization over time, you need that pipeline of young players that can come.”
Jeter would not say whether he intends to keep manager Don Mattingly, though the two have a long relationship from their days with the Yankees. All indications are he will remain to serve a third season.
Jeter, a resident of Tampa, also said he intends to spend the bulk of his time in South Florida running the Marlins. Read more
Derek Jeter has about 4 percent stake in new Marlins ownership group
Derek Jeter has about a 4 percent stake in the group buying the Miami Marlins and retired NBA great Michael Jordan approximately half of one percent, part of a $1.2 billion purchase from Jeffrey Loria that includes $800 million in cash.
Bruce Sherman, who will become the controlling owner, has the highest equity stake in the group, about 46 percent according to details obtained by The Associated Press. The figures were provided by a person who spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been announced.
Jeter, the former New York Yankees captain who led the team to five World Series titles, will head the team’s baseball and business operations.
“He understands that people are watching and he understands that he’s not being judged by the fact that he can play shortstop for the New York Yankees and get world championships that way,” outgoing Marlins president David Samson said Thursday. “It’s a whole new game and he knew it from Day One.”
The incoming group, unanimously approved by baseball owners on Wednesday, will assume $100 million in the team’s debt and is restructuring an additional $300 million of the club’s debt. The sale is scheduled to close Monday, the day after the regular season ends.
“Are people happy for a change? They may be. And I hope they’re much happier,” Samson said. “I guess my wish would be that Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman get every benefit of the doubt and that every fan and every person in South Florida looks at this as a new beginning.”
The new ownership committed a $50 million reserve fund to the franchise, which also will receive about $50 million more for reserves as the Marlins’ share of money The Walt Disney Co. is paying to acquire additional equity in BAM Tech, which was spun off from Major League Baseball’s digital company.
Sherman was co-founder of Private Capital Management, based in Naples, Florida.
Among others in the ownership group (and their approximate stakes) are Viking Global co-founder David Ott (10 percent), Energy Capital Partners senior partner Doug Kimmelman (8 percent), Sigma Group founder Jaime Montealegre (7 percent) and The Beekman Group managing partner John Troiano (5 percent).
Sherman, Jeter, Kimmelman, Ott and Troiano will serve on the team’s board.
As part of the $800 million being paid by the incoming group, $90 million is preferred equity.
Loria bought the franchise for $158.5 million in 2002 from John Henry, who became part of the Boston Red Sox ownership group. Samson joined the Marlins along with Loria, his stepfather.
The Marlins won the World Series in 2003 but has not been to the postseason since, the second-longest postseason drought behind Seattle (2001). Samson said the team operated at a loss this year, when it had a $116 million payroll for its roster as of Aug. 31, according to MLB figures.
“A lot of things have happened over the years when it comes to losing money,” Samson said. “Jeffrey funded this team by himself for 16 seasons. There were several seasons where he didn’t have to but way, way more when he did have to. Some years our payroll was too high, some years our payroll was just right — and then we’d get in the race and our payroll would get too high again.”
Samson met with team employees at Marlins Park, a stadium built with public financing that opened in 2012.
“It’s with a definite heavy heart and it is with an amount of emotion that I don’t often show or feel that I say goodbye to this organization,” he said. “But I will never say good-bye to this community.” Read more
Derek Jeter preaches patience, warns of ‘unpopular decisions’ for rebuilding Marlins
“We believe in this market. We believe in the fan base,” said new Marlins CEO Derek Jeter.
Derek Jeter has a plan, but he’s not ready to tell you what it is yet.
Jeter, the Miami Marlins’ new CEO, and Bruce Sherman, the chairman/principal owner, stressed that fans are “our No. 1 priority” and preached patience when it comes to turning the Marlins around, repeatedly noting their desire to engage the community and that they believe in Miami as a market and the Marlins as an organization.
But, speaking Tuesday at Marlins Park during their introductory news conference, Jeter and Sherman offered few specifics regarding how they intend on changing the region’s sentiment toward the team and reversing the Marlins’ on-field fortunes.
“This is a long process,” said Sherman, a retired money manager who lives in Naples. “We’re prepared and we want to win.”
Sherman and Jeter, who has a small ownership stake, finalized their purchase of the team for $1.2 billion from Jeffrey Loria Monday. A day later, at the dawn of what could be a transformational offseason for the franchise, the pair’s agenda included meeting with Marlins employees as they started to lay out their vision.
Jeter warned of looming “unpopular decisions” and acknowledged that the organization will rebuild.
“The word teardown and rebuild — yeah, we are rebuilding a franchise,”’ Jeter said. “But I think a lot of people associate those words with losing. You never go into a situation and the message is ‘We’re going to lose.’
Hyde: Derek Jeter isn’t saying, but he must know rebuild is first order with Marlins | Commentary
“We’re rebuilding it, putting the right people in place. Everything is strategic, and we have a plan for what we’re doing. But at the same time, we have to have patience.”
Jeter and Sherman, wearing matching navy blue suit jackets and light blue button-down dress shirts, playfully bantered with each other and reporters throughout their 25-minute question-and-answer session, avoiding particulars but hitting on several key themes.
Among them: Reaching out to the community, which for years had a largely toxic relationship with the previous regime, and building from within.
“We feel as though there’s huge upside, and that starts with community engagement,” Jeter said. “Get back in the community and bring the fans back.”
On the baseball side, Jeter — a five-time World Series champion as the New York Yankees’ superstar shortstop — wants to be thorough. Read more
Derek Jeter’s group closes on $1.2 billion purchase of Marlins
Derek Jeter’s group closed on its purchase of the Miami Marlins on Monday, and he and new controlling owner Bruce Sherman will speak publicly for the first time about the deal at a news conference Tuesday.
Major league owners last week unanimously approved the $1.2 billion sale of the franchise by Jeffrey Loria to the investment group led by Jeter and Sherman. The closing came one day after the Marlins concluded their eighth consecutive losing season, the longest streak in the majors.
Among issues to be addressed by the new owners will be the future of major league home run and RBI champion Giancarlo Stanton, whose salary will nearly double next year to $25 million, which could make him unaffordable for the revenue-challenged franchise.
Stanton can’t reach 60 but wins HR, RBI crowns
In the Year of the Homer, Giancarlo Stanton had the most out of everyone. The Miami Marlins slugger wrapped up a historic season by leading the majors with 59 home runs and 132 RBIs, also an MLB-best.
Also in question are the status of manager Don Mattingly and president of baseball operations Michael Hill.
Loria became widely unpopular because of his frugal ownership. He bought the franchise for $158.5 million in 2002 from John Henry, part of the current Boston Red Sox ownership group.
Jeter, who played on five World Series champions with the New York Yankees, will head baseball and business operations for a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2003. He has about a 4 percent stake in the ownership group.
Sherman has the highest equity stake at about 46 percent. The venture capitalist spent much of his financial career in New York and has a home in Naples, Florida. Read more
New Marlins owner Derek Jeter: ‘We do have to rebuild an organization’
Back in the ballgame, Derek Jeter says he’ll learn on the job as he tries to lead the Miami Marlins out of the wilderness.
How Jeter expects to get there remains a secret, even after his first public comments about the Marlins since beginning his pursuit of the team nearly a year ago. The rookie owner declined to discuss his plans, and whether they include Giancarlo Stanton, Don Mattingly or even the home run sculpture at Marlins Park.
“You’re trying to get me to tell you what I’m going to do?” Jeter said. “Some things you keep private. But yeah, we do have to rebuild.”
Jeter and new principle owner Bruce Sherman held a 30-minute news conference Tuesday to discuss their investment group’s $1.2 billion purchase of the Marlins. Jeter shed no light on an anticipated roster shake-up following the team’s eighth consecutive losing season, the longest streak in the majors, but said he’ll rely heavily this offseason on president of baseball operations Michael Hill.
“I’m not coming in here thinking I know everything about team ownership. I do not,” Jeter said. “One thing I’m good at is knowing what I do not know. I surround myself with people who are much smarter than I am.
“We have some wonderful people who are working in this organization now. We are going to add some quality people as well to help us turn this organization around.”
The former New York Yankees captain attended Miami’s season finale Sunday — the first time he sat in the stands since high school. Yet another Miami loss didn’t change his mind, and the next day Jeter and Sherman closed on the purchase of the team from Jeffrey Loria.
Jeter said he hasn’t met with any players, and wouldn’t address the future of Stanton, the major league home run and RBI champion. Stanton’s salary will nearly double next year to $25 million, which could make him unaffordable for the revenue-challenged franchise.
Loria became widely unpopular because his frugality led to constant roster turnover and lots of losing. Jeter acknowledged speculation that another payroll purge looms.
“I don’t like the word teardown,” Jeter said. “Moving forward, there are going to at times be unpopular decisions we make. We have a plan, but at the same time we have to have patience.” Read more
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