MLB agrees to new REDS ownership

[Bucktastic]

MLB approves Reds ownership change

Produce magnate Castellini takes reins from Lindner

By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com



SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- It took less than five minutes for the majority ownership of the Reds to pass hands from Carl Lindner to Robert Castellini on Thursday morning.

The Cincinnati produce magnate waited patiently outside a ballroom where the quarterly joint owners meeting had just begun. Castellini was chatting amiably and off-the-record with a pair of reporters when Larry Lucchino, the Red Sox president, ducked his head through the wooden double doorway and beckoned Castellini into the inner sanctum as one of Major League Baseball's 30 chosen.

Castellini received a loud ovation as he replaced Lindner, who has had control of the franchise since 1999 and now will take a minority stake of the Reds, who were founded in 1882 and are widely acknowledged as baseball's oldest franchise. The vote was unanimous and it was the only action item of the meeting.

"I met him for the first time last night," Commissioner Bud Selig said about Castellini after the meeting. "Everybody raves about him. He's very personable. He's a Cincinnati man. It's local ownership. I think this is great. In fact, this was an easy one. It was quick and true."
Castellini's stewardship will be formally rolled out on Friday at a press conference in Cincinnati, and he cordially asked not to be quoted before then.

Two other members of the purchasing group, the brothers Thomas L. and William J. Williams Jr., have the Reds in their bloodline. Their father and uncle were owners of the franchise from 1966 to 1984, before Marge Schott took control as majority owner.

The club reportedly was valued at $270 million, and Castellini is buying about 70 percent. Lindner purchased the team from Schott for $67 million. It is the third shift of a majority portion of an MLB franchise in the last year, following the sales of the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Devil Rays. That leaves the Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves still on the market.

"We've been through a lot of change," Selig said. "It's not like it used to be in 1970, when I first came into baseball [as owner of the relocated Milwaukee Brewers]. Life has changed, but for the most part we've been pretty stable."

Lindner aside, Reds minority owners Bill Reik Jr., a New York investment broker, and George Strike are keeping their shares.

Castellini is a former minority partner with the Texas Rangers and has been in the same position with the St. Louis Cardinals for the last decade. The Williams brothers are also minority partners in the Cardinals ownership group. All three are currently in the process of divesting those shares, said Bob DuPuy, MLB's president and chief operating officer. Castellini reportedly owns about 10 percent and the Williams brothers own three percent.
Castellini's a Cincinnati native and continues a long pattern of keeping the Reds under the stewardship of locally based owners.
"Local ownership was crucial there and it was critical to Carl Lindner, too," Selig said. "We all set that goal. The one overriding goal was to have local ownership."

Castellini is so local that he once owned a group of buildings near old Riverfront Stadium identified by a large sign that read "Castellini Produce." But Castellini sold the 24-acre parcel for $36.5 million to Hamilton County, which tore down the buildings to make way for Paul Brown Stadium, the current home of the National Football League's Bengals.

Riverfront, named Cinergy Field in its final years, was imploded after the 2002 season. It was replaced by Great American Ball Park, which was constructed on an adjacent lot. The two new stadiums sandwich the now empty spot where the Big Red Machine won World Series titles in 1975 and 1976, and Pete Rose passed Ty Cobb to take over the lead on the all-time hits list in 1985.
Castellini, 64, is still involved in his produce business but intends to spend a great deal of time resurrecting the Reds, who haven't won the World Series since 1990 and haven't made the playoffs since 1995, when they swept the Dodgers in a National League Division Series and in turn were swept by the Braves in the NL Championship Series.

[JXC]

Maybe this new ownership will spend a little...but i'm not getting my hopes up. Cincinnati needs something!!! It's been too long.

[Bucktastic]

Agreed.

Hopefully the first order of business is to fire O'Brien. He's a major problem with this team. Buckets of bad moves.

[sandgk]

Well actually that was not the first order of business - perhaps they will get round to it.

However, I do like the first positive action taken under the new Reds ownership.

They have added Tom Browning and Mario Soto as pitching instructors.

LINK - Icons enlisted to help Reds

Icons enlisted to help Reds
Castellini tapping tradition; Soto, Browning set to join spring camp
By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer


The first spring training with Bob Castellini as CEO of the Reds will have franchise Hall of Famers Tom Browning and Mario Soto as instructors.
The Reds have been short on former players in camp in recent years. Plans to change that were made after Castellini agreed to purchase controlling interest in the club.
"Johnny Bench called me right after that and said they wanted me to go to work," Browning said.
"I was thankful. I'm pumped."
Bench has met with Castellini and has served as a liaison to Browning and Soto.
Castellini cannot comment on team-related issues until he officially takes over. Major-league owners are expected to approve the sale of the Reds to Castellini today.
Castellini already has met with numerous Reds employees, including the on-the-field staff.
In a meeting last week with manager Jerry Narron and the coaching staff, Castellini made it clear he wants to tap into the Reds' rich tradition.
"He talked about that," Narron said. "It's well-founded. I think from being with the Cardinals he saw (the benefit of having) Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst around all the time."
Other than coaches, Bench, who is a special consultant to the general manager, has been the only former Red in uniform at spring training the past couple of years. Ken Griffey Sr. has been at camp, but he hasn't been in uniform since he went from being a coach to a special consultant.
"I know how much the players enjoy being around Johnny," Narron said.
To have more players, all the Reds had to do was ask.
"A lot of guys would love to get involved," Browning said. "But they didn't want to go begging. If the Reds asked, they'd be glad to do it."
Dave Concepcion has expressed interest in being part of the spring camp. Bench, who was out of town and unavailable for comment, has broached the subject of Joe Morgan, now an ESPN analyst, coming to Sarasota.
"That would be a tough sell," Browning said. "But it would be great if he did come."
Narron, a self-described baseball guy, is all for former stars returning.
"When I was manager of the (Texas) Rangers, I had Nolan Ryan in," Narron said.
"Taking advantage of former players can only help the organization."
Castellini impressed the coaches and Narron in his meeting with them.
"He's a no-nonsense guy," third base coach Mark Berry said. "He knows what's going on in baseball. He wanted to get what we thought about the players."
Castellini, even before officially taking over, has proven to be a more hands-on owner. Outgoing CEO Carl Lindner never met with the coaches.
Castellini gave the coaches no indication of major changes in payroll or personnel.
"We got the impression that (Castellini) was going to hold everyone accountable," Berry said. "That's the way it should be."

Now can they tap Davey C for scouting the Latin players - please?

[Jaxbuck]

When Allen and Dan O are given pink slips I'll get excited.

[sandgk]

Originally Posted by Jaxbuck

When Allen and Dan O are given pink slips I'll get excited.

I'm with you on that - not excited, but still like having Reds "Alumni" back in the fray.

[Jaxbuck]

Originally Posted by sandgk

I'm with you on that - not excited, but still like having Reds "Alumni" back in the fray.

Oh yeah, nothing wrong with Soto and Browning coming back to help out.

Sad part is Soto can probably still throw harder than anyone in the entire Reds system save maybe Homer Bush.