After a ten hour auction in bankruptcy court that ended this morning at 1 AM, officials from the federal court announced that the winning bid was awarded to the ownership group led by current Texas Rangers president and pitching legend Nolan Ryan.
The auction was intense because the bidding was between Ryan’s group and an ownership group led by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Cuban’s group actually bid more money by bidding $598 million with a $390 million cash offer while Ryan’s group bid $593 million with a $385 million cash up front.
In most cases, the highest bid wins in an auction. However, Ryan’s group threw in a key loophole that ensured victory. Their bid included a $10 million to $13 million breakup fee that the other group would have to pay if they did not win the bid. Since Cuban’s group was not able to push their bid up to $610 million with $400 million up front, the team was awarded to Ryan’s group.
Now, MLB will have final approval on the winning bid. If Cuban’s group would have won, then it was possible that the MLB would have voted against Cuban owning a baseball team due to his antics as an owner with the Mavericks. Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf holds plenty of clout with the owners. His run-ins with Cuban over the years ensure that it will probably take a miracle for him to one day own a baseball team.
As proof, take a look at this quote from MLB president Bob DuPuy after the proceedings. “I’m very pleased and I look forward to Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan leading the team for many years to come.”
What? So, if Cuban’s group would have won, then the MLB would not have been pleased. This type of blackballing people behind the scenes is one of the main reasons why football is the national pasttime now instead of baseball.
Even though all of this bankruptcy controversy was surrounding the team for the season, the Rangers continue to play at a high level. They are 62-45 and are leading the Oakland Athletics by eight games. The Rangers also made the best trades this season by acquiring P Cliff Lee, C Bengie Molina, 1B Jorge Cantu, and 2B Christian Guzman.
