Jerry Reinsdorf open to selling the White Sox per Britt Ghiroli

[Dick Allen]

I love the we don't comment on rumors and speculation when they are the ones who leaked the info. They take us all for fools.

The fact that he is "negotiating" strickly with Stewart's group shows you he isn't serious. It's a political play.Call the bluff.

Edited 21 hours ago by Dick Allen

[Falstaff]

38 minutes ago, Texsox said:

The As have gone coast to coast with the name. Cardinals, Raiders, even the Utah Jazz have all kept their names. 

Add Boston Braves

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

8 hours ago, CWSpalehoseCWS said:

It makes sense only because it's Jerry. Dave Stewart connection to TLR who whispers lovely little unicorn and sugarplum thoughts into Jerry's ears. Jerry is massively internalized and only surrounds himself by YES men. Who knows how much is left up in that 88 year old brain to even make a smart business decision anymore? Tony tells Jerry this is good for baseball, and the "biggest fan out there" Jerry believes him. You've already got the perfect storm brewing:

(1) A all-time worst performance this season continues to damage attendance, season ticket holders, and revenue in a huge market dominated by the team up North.

(2) They're dropping payroll for the second straight year, which easily could make the team enticing for a new ownership group to want in.

(3) The state is not going to budge one inch on any sort of taxpayer funding for a new stadium, and the lease is expiring relatively soon.

The classic "spin" that Oakland used to convince MLB about the issues holding back their competitiveness exists with this organization, self-inflicted or not.

People that get rich enough to buy baseball teams don't make financial decisions that are being implied here. 

The sox are an original franchise, they're not the a's.

Happy to place something with you if you think this is a possibility.

Edited 20 hours ago by Look at Ray Ray Run

[Texsox]

33 minutes ago, Falstaff said:

Add Boston Braves

The Oilers changed names. The North Stars altered their name. 

Nightmare scenario

A group buys the team and moves it to Nashville. Immediately MLB announces an expansion team for Chicago with an ownership group led by JR. Who do you cheer for and death isn't an option?

[WhiteSox2023]

3 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

Considering JR doesn't like dealing with the press, isn't this a suspicious leak?  And to Dave Stewart, the guy JR was supposedly putting on a pedestal to the mayor of Nashville less than a year ago. JR said he would never move the team, but if he died, his son would owe his invertors. 

IMO, just another PR stunt that will blow up in JR's face. He just looks like a bigger ass now.

He sure makes it easy not to care.  Between his terrible management of the team with his awful hires for GM and manager over the years, his refusal to do all it takes to compete, along with these embarrassing power plays for free funding for a new stadium that his piece of garbage team doesn’t deserve, he sure knows how to make fans apathetic and not care to even attend or watch his product.

Edited 20 hours ago by WhiteSox2023

[hi8is]

15 hours ago, chetkincaid said:

Jerry Reinsdorf blocked the sale of the Cubs to Mark Cuban, didn't he? He'd never sell the White Sox to Cuban.

The guy really is a s%*# bag isn’t he… for clarity, the guy being Reinsdorf.

[brijames1957]

The other owners are not going to agree to the Sox being moved. Chicago is the 3rd largest market in the Country and will never be without an AL team. 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

5 hours ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

“According to Forbes, the Chicago White Sox are valued at $2.05 billion as of March 2024. This makes them the 15th most valuable team in Major League Baseball.”

And a team in Nashville would rank near the bottom in team values. 

This isn't a complex equation. Take into account that expansion teams are cheaper to start/buy than buying a current franchise and moving it, AND the fact that MLB expansion is to grow the game not trade one larger market for a micro one. 

People that compare Oakland are either struggling with scale or don't know the math. Oakland had 450k people and the entire bay area has HALF the population of the Chicago area. The White Sox almost have the same market share as the Giants do WITHOUT the A's in the Bay Area.

Las Vegas is larger than Oakland, and the Las Vegas metro is 65% the size of the Bay Area so Oakland is acquiring a higher market share with their move. 

Edited 19 hours ago by Look at Ray Ray Run

[GreatScott82]

13 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

And a team in Nashville would rank near the bottom in team values. 

This isn't a complex equation. Take into account that expansion teams are cheaper to start/buy than buying a current franchise and moving it, AND the fact that MLB expansion is to grow the game not trade one larger market for a micro one. 

People that compare Oakland are either struggling with scale or don't know the math. Oakland had 450k people and the entire bay area has HALF the population of the Chicago area. The White Sox almost have the same market share as the Giants do WITHOUT the A's in the Bay Area.

Las Vegas is larger than Oakland, and the Las Vegas metro is 65% the size of the Bay Area so Oakland is acquiring a higher market share with their move. 

Great points. Until someone other than the lame Dave Stewart comes into play to make an offer to purchase the White Sox, we can all just assume this is just another Reinsdorfian ploy to get that tax payer $$ for his next stadium.

[Dick Allen]

53 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

He sure makes it easy not to care.  Between his terrible management of the team with his awful hires for GM and manager over the years, his refusal to do all it takes to compete, along with these embarrassing power plays for free funding for a new stadium that his piece of garbage team doesn’t deserve, he sure knows how to make fans apathetic and not care to even attend or watch his product.

It's mind blowing.

[Dick Allen]

An article I read said Stewart's group was planning on building a privately funded ballpark in Nashville.

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

This development is completely unsurprising. With the White Sox, when you wish for things (new ownership, in this case), you're wishing on a Monkey's Paw. 

 

58 minutes ago, brijames1957 said:

The other owners are not going to agree to the Sox being moved. Chicago is the 3rd largest market in the Country and will never be without an AL team. 

I feel like this is one of those things that people keep repeating to each other, but no one really knows. Genuinely asking- Why is having an AL team here so important to the owners? 

[Dick Allen]

9 minutes ago, Swingandalongonetoleft said:

This development is completely unsurprising. With the White Sox, when you wish for things (new ownership, in this case), you're wishing on a Monkey's Paw. 

 

I feel like this is one of those things that people keep repeating to each other, but no one really knows. Genuinely asking- Why is having an AL team here so important to the owners? 

It's the 3rd largest media market in the country. And they don't want to leave it all to the Cubs. There is not much of a chance they will abandon it. It's not lost on other owners how bad JR has messed up his team.

[Kyyle23]

37 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

An article I read said Stewart's group was planning on building a privately funded ballpark in Nashville.

Stewart’s group sounds like a lot of promises without a lot of obvious funds.  I read somewhere that they made “efforts” to buy the marlins which was basically like “trust us we will come up with the money”

[southsider2k5]

22 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

It's the 3rd largest media market in the country. And they don't want to leave it all to the Cubs. There is not much of a chance they will abandon it. It's not lost on other owners how bad JR has messed up his team.

That's what I keep saying.  Despite it all, the Sox are a mid market MLB franchise.  MLB isn't going to leave that all to one owner, especially if they could sell a two billion dollar franchise to someone for the opportunity at that market place.

[southsider2k5]

One more completely independent thought on this topic, putting all of these things together, it also feels like Jerry is doing some end of life planning here.  I wonder if he is starting to feel his age, or if he got some medical news that he didn't want.

[southsider2k5]

29 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

Stewart’s group sounds like a lot of promises without a lot of obvious funds.  I read somewhere that they made “efforts” to buy the marlins which was basically like “trust us we will come up with the money”

I think this is where Jerry won't leave anything to chance.  I am going to bet he already has all of this figured out and the money is being met with the people he wants to run this after he is done.  With as many people as he tried to block out of baseball, he isn't just going to dump this to anyone.  I would bet money this was already figured out years ago, and we are just getting glimpses of it as it goes by.

[Harold's Leg Lift]

14 hours ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Weren’t there just comments recently saying he has no interest in selling? Within the past few weeks?

Yes which is why I don't think he's looking to sell his shares of the White Sox I think he's looking to sell the minority shares of the White Sox.  He wants one minority owner/group to come in and help him finance the new stadium.  If the state won't help pay for the stadium he'll find someone else who will.  

[PaleAleSox]

10 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Yes which is why I don't think he's looking to sell his shares of the White Sox I think he's looking to sell the minority shares of the White Sox.  He wants one minority owner/group to come in and help him finance the new stadium.  If the state won't help pay for the stadium he'll find someone else who will.  

What benefit does that give minority owners to fund his stadium? I assume the ability to buy the team fully when gone without competition? 

[southsider2k5]

18 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Yes which is why I don't think he's looking to sell his shares of the White Sox I think he's looking to sell the minority shares of the White Sox.  He wants one minority owner/group to come in and help him finance the new stadium.  If the state won't help pay for the stadium he'll find someone else who will.  

Whose shares?  If it is anyone other than his shares, those profits go out the door with the guy whose shares got bought,  And if it was his shares, why would he keep that money in the company and not in his estate?  If I own something and sell it, I am not longer in that business.  If I own 10% of Google, and I sell it, I no longer own google, and those profits exit the building, with a new 10% owner entering.

Are you expecting an additional capital infusion after the purchase?  Or do you think that Jerry and everyone else will be voting new shares to sell and water down their own ownership share thus diluting their own profits?

 

[The Mighty Mite]

1 hour ago, Swingandalongonetoleft said:

This development is completely unsurprising. With the White Sox, when you wish for things (new ownership, in this case), you're wishing on a Monkey's Paw. 

 

I feel like this is one of those things that people keep repeating to each other, but no one really knows. Genuinely asking- Why is having an AL team here so important to the owners? 

Exactly.

[Quin]

2 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Whose shares?  If it is anyone other than his shares, those profits go out the door with the guy whose shares got bought,  And if it was his shares, why would he keep that money in the company and not in his estate?  If I own something and sell it, I am not longer in that business.  If I own 10% of Google, and I sell it, I no longer own google, and those profits exit the building, with a new 10% owner entering.

Are you expecting an additional capital infusion after the purchase?  Or do you think that Jerry and everyone else will be voting new shares to sell and water down their own ownership share thus diluting their own profits?

 

The minority shares!

[bmags]

The reality is putting a team in nashville is a long-term play that makes more sense to start a new brand there. 

Nashville is small but growing, but it takes a long, long time for new markets to really be reliable. Look at atlanta, it was still pathetic in the 2000s, now nobody talks about it that way it was. but it was a city of transplants, they carried their allegiances.

Maybe, since some of Nashville's growth is from Chicago, taking an existing brand would help, but reality is it would be diminished even from the lesser-than-the-cubs level it is in a major market.

Now, if I was a video game owner, I'd love to move to nashville and get the cheap goods the small market teams get to compete. 

[Highland]

Dead franchise walking.

[Harold's Leg Lift]

22 minutes ago, PaleAleSox said:

What benefit does that give minority owners to fund his stadium? I assume the ability to buy the team fully when gone without competition? 

The benefit would be the new minority owner would have complete control of baseball operations.