Padres Owner and software multi-millionaire John Moores is
featured in the SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE. The "only time anybody
ever questioned Moores' intelligence -- except Moores himself --
was when he decided to buy a small-market baseball club that had
lost millions while alienating its community." Moores has been
pushing to have MLB owners meetings "tobacco free" -- a "needle"
at White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who smokes cigars. At one
owners meeting last year, Moores reportedly got into a heated
argument over revenue-sharing with Reinsdorf "that looked headed
for a punch-out." Moores reportedly stood up to Reinsdorf after
he suggested Moores hadn't been "around long enough to have an
opinion." Moores on MLB's ownership ranks: "It feels a little
like the Vatican. It's not an atmosphere of free interchange of
ideas" (SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE, 3/27).
AMERICA'S TEAM: The increasing popularity of the Mariners is
profiled in the SEATTLE TIMES. The club has already sold more
than 13,300 season tickets, over 3,000 more than any of the
previous 19 seasons. Sales of their MLB-produced team video hit
130,000, while the World Series video has sold 120,000 nationwide
(SEATTLE TIMES, 3/28).
