BOB NUTTING became the Pirates’ principal owner 10 years ago, but the notion of his "ardent competitiveness" still contrasts with the "caution and restraint with which he has run the franchise," according to Bill Brink of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. The Pirates' payroll since '10 has increased from $44.1M to $99.9M, but "only rose from 29th in MLB to 23rd." The team has gone to the playoffs three times, But "never got further than the NLDS and lost two consecutive wild-card games." Brink: "Is Nutting the man who guided the team away from insolvency in 2003, when he became chairman of the board, or the profiteer more interested in making money than winning? Is he the owner who doubled payroll or the one who won’t pay?" Nutting is "fine with fan frustration," but when "asked what he would do differently if given the chance, his regret is illustrative of his process." Nutting: "Is it easier to have an extra $100 million? Maybe. Have we shown that we can be really disciplined, really focused, invest in the right areas for the highest impact in the best interest of the ballclub? That’s the message that is far more important internally" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 2/14).
TRUE TO YOUR IDENTITY: Lifestyle publication PAPERCITY MAGAZINE's Chris Baldwin profiles Astros Owner JIM CRANE, whose team recently "waded into baseball’s big money waters." Crane went on "something of a buying spree this winter" with the acquisitions of OFs JOSH REDDICK, CARLOS BELTRAN and C BRIAN MCCANN. But the Astros' "hardline principles guiding the team’s finances remain." Crane: "We’ll spend money. But we won’t spend money we don’t have. People think we’re a big revenue team, but we get no revenue sharing -- we’re neutral -- and we spend what we make. We want to win. We want to invest in the team, but we have to be shrewd about how we spend that money. (The) L.A. (Dodgers) went bankrupt. The Rangers went bankrupt. We will not go bankrupt" (PAPERCITY MAGAZINE, 2/'17 issue).
COMING ABOARD: In K.C., James Dornbrook noted the Royals' World Series runs in '14 and '15 inspired former K.C.-based Inergy CEO JOHN SHERMAN to "get into baseball ownership," which he accomplished last year by "obtaining a minority stake" in the Indians. Sherman was "looking for an investment but didn't know much about professional sports other than the teams are really expensive." He hired Texas-based advisory firm Game Plan, which "helped him find the Indians, and he started talking to the Dolan family" in October '15 (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/13).
