Baseball, for all its supposed problems, must still be a pretty good business to be in. Prior to the Marlins’ sale two years ago, an MLB franchise hadn’t gone on the market since 2012. But the Kansas City Royals are now on the block, with owner David Glass reportedly in advanced negotiations to sell the team for more than $1 billion to a group led by Indians minority owner John Sherman.
While the transaction isn’t finalized, and the Royals put out a statement saying they wouldn’t comment, The Athletic’s and ESPN’s reports are treating this as all but a done deal.
Glass, 84, purchased the team for $96 million in 2000, and his ownership is a tale of two franchises, neither of which completely blots out the other. The larger-picture story is that of a team that either couldn’t (Glass claimed) or wouldn’t spend money, and showed it: The Royals finished with a losing record in 14 of 19 seasons, and are currently on pace to lose at least 100 games for the sixth time under him. A former CEO of Walmart, Glass insisted that he ran the team to break even.
