Former Mets Owner NELSON DOUBLEDAY JR., who "put the team on course to win the World Series" in '86, died yesterday at the age of 81 at his home on Long Island, according to William Grimes of the N.Y. TIMES. His son-in-law JOHN HAVENS said that the cause "was pneumonia." Books and baseball "defined" Doubleday's life, as he took over his family's publishing company shortly before buying the Mets. Doubleday "became majority owner of the last-place Mets" in '80, buying the team from the original owners, the family of JOAN WHITNEY PAYSON. Doubleday put up 80% of the $21.1M purchase price, a "record at the time for a baseball franchise." His partners were City Investing Corporation and current Mets Owner FRED WILPON. Doubleday was "allergic to the limelight and a delegator by inclination," so he "kept in the background." An exception was his "lead role in a successful campaign to oust" MLB Commissioner BOWIE KUHN and replace him with PETER UEBERROTH. Doubleday "left the running of the club" to its GM, FRANK CASHEN, and its managers, the first being JOE TORRE (N.Y. TIMES, 6/18). SNY analyst KEITH HERNANDEZ said, "His life is to be celebrated. He was a wonderful man. He had a wonderful life." The AP's Tom McElroy noted upon Doubleday's purchase of the team, his company owned 95% of the team, with Wilpon owning 5%. When the company was sold in '86, the publisher "sold its shares of the team" for $80.75M to Wilpon and Doubleday, who became 50-50 owners. Wilpon bought out Doubleday in '02 in an "acrimonious split," as the two "fought over the valuation of the team." The Mets at the time were appraised at $391M (AP, 6/17).
STEP RIGHT UP: In N.Y., Bill Madden writes Doubleday "rescued the Mets from their darkest period," though he was "not an owner who loved making headlines." He was an "outspoken opponent of revenue sharing." He also was one of former MLB Commissioner FAY VINCENT's "most outspoken proponents and made no bones about his contempt" for then-Brewers Owner BUD SELIG and White Sox Chair JERRY REINSDORF, who "led the dump Fay movement" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/18). Also in N.Y., Mike Puma notes Doubleday "presided over the rebuilding" of the Mets, who had "become a laughingstock over much of the previous decade." Doubleday also "pushed for the Mets" to trade for C MIKE PIAZZA following the '98 season. Doubleday was "against building Citi Field -- he pushed for a refurbishment of aging Shea Stadium" (N.Y. POST, 6/18). On Long Island, David Lennon notes the Mets "kept climbing the standings" during the early '80s after Doubleday's purchase, eventually taking N.Y. "back from the Yankees during that period." But building the Mets into a contender "probably wasn't the most difficult part of Doubleday's ownership tenure." That "had to be his strained relationship with Wilpon during its final days" (NEWSDAY, 6/18). MLB.com's Marty Noble noted Doubleday's day-to-day involvement with Mets operations "was inconsistent." His interest "faded at times when personal matters -- his daughter's wedding -- took precedence." Doubleday was an "intensely private man," who "treated his players as he treated his children" (MLB.com, 6/17).
