Padres Sold To Group Headed By O’Malley Heirs, Phil Mickelson
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Denis Poroy/Getty Images(SAN DIEGO, Ca) — Another team in the National League West has found new ownership.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a group headed by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley has reached an agreement to buy the San Diego Padres from John Moores.
The group also includes pro golfer Phil Mickelson and civic leader Ron Fowler.
The reported purchase price is somewhere around $800 million.
The O’Malley family has a long history with Major League Baseball. Peter O’Malley is the son of Walter O’Malley, who is famous for buying the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950 and moving them to Los Angeles in 1958.
Major League Baseball owners must approve the agreement. They are scheduled to meet later this month.
Padres fans are hoping that an ownership change will help turn around the fortunes of the franchise. The Dodgers changed owners earlier this year and have since added the talent required to make a postseason push.
The Padres have one of the lowest payrolls in the MLB and haven’t had much success since losing to the New York Yankees in the 1998 World Series.
Fans hope a change in owners can turn around the Padres, who regularly have had one of baseball’s lowest payrolls and have largely struggled since reaching the 1998 World Series.
They have one playoff win in that span.
The Padres are 47-64 this season and fourth in the NL West.
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