Marlins Sale Approved By MLB Owners For $1.2B

NEW YORK, NY — Major League Baseball owners gave a unanimous thumbs up to the sale of the Miami Marlins to a group headed by Yankee great Derek Jeter and businessman Bruce Sherman, according to baseball's official website, MLB.com. The vote came Wednesday during a conference call. But approval is contingent upon the closing of the sale, which is likely to be completed sometime over the next week.

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"I wish the best to Jeffrey Loria and David Samson. During their tenures, the Marlins won the 2003 World Series, hosted this season's successful All-Star Week at spectacular Marlins Park and eagerly supported our efforts to grow the game internationally," said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. "I congratulate Mr. Sherman on receiving approval from the Major League clubs as the new control person of the Marlins and look forward to Mr. Jeter's ownership and CEO role following his extraordinary career as a player."

The second-place Marlins in the National League East begin their final home stand of the 2017 season on Thursday against third-place Atlanta. The Marlins have a record of 74-83 on the year.
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In a statement, Marlins Owner Jeffrey H. Loria said that owning the Marlins has been "one of the singular honors of my life" and he thanked Marlins players, coaches, employees and fans.

"Owning a sports team, like most things in life, is temporary," he said. "An owner is merely the steward of a franchise, shepherding the advancement of this public trust during his or her tenure. I’m very proud of our collective achievements during the past 15 years, including bringing a World Series, new ballpark, World Baseball Classics and an All-Star Game to our community."

He added that Sherman and Jeter "are true baseball people, as well as true gentlemen" and that he had every confidence in their ability as the next stewards of the Miami Marlins.

"Although my ownership is in the past, my love of baseball is not," said Loria. "As an avid fan, I’ll be eagerly watching from the sidelines.”

Jeter holds the distinction of being the all-time hits leader of the New York Yankees, a five-time World Series champion and an 11-time MLB All-Star. The legendary shortstop is also a former MLB Rookie of the Year in 1996 and former Yankees team captain. He is only the second player after Wade Boggs to record his 3,000th career hit on a home run.

Having started his career as a CPA in New York with Arthur Young, Sherman went on to launch Private Capital Management in 1986. He later sold the firm to Legg Mason in 2001 but retained autonomy over PCM’s portfolio management and investment research, which earned the firm a No. 1 ranking by Nelson’s “World’s Best Money Managers” for the 10-year-period ending in December 2005.

Photo courtesy Marlins Park