When the Giants Come to Town, It's Bye-Bye Baby

05.09.2008
Magowan: Yer Out?

Rumors abound that Peter Magowan wants to wave his frozen peas over the express lane check-out scanner and step down as the Giants president and managing partner. Former Giant beat writer Mark Gonzales, now covering baseball for the Chicago Trib, slipped the whispers into the public record at the back end of a tiny blog post Wednesday night. (Ain’t bloggin grand?) San Fran scribblers have dutifully followed suit and noted they’ve heard similar stuff for some time; Ray Ratto gives his take here.

(And for a refresher course on how Magowan came to be the face of Giants ownership, read this.)

Everyone retires sooner or later. If indeed he’s leaving, here’s what to watch for:

* Is it because of the Mitchell Report fallout? Is there pressure from MLB and/or legal entities?

* Who steps up to make the big decisions? Other owners? Sue Burns, the widow of Harmon Burns, is the largest shareholder. Chief operating officer Larry Baer? Does he even have an ownership stake? Or will the group look for someone outside to buy Magowan’s stake, which Ratto estimates at 15%?

* Is it time to sell the team? Without Magowan, it’s possible that other owners will want to cash out and move on. You can betcha we’ll soon see stories about who might want to buy the team. Eddie D! Willie Brown! Robin Williams! Joe Montana! George Lucas! I vote for Fritz Maytag. C’mon, Fritz, live the dream: Mays Field at Anchor Park.

* If Magowan goes, does Sabean go with him? We’ve debated many times in this space who really pulls the strings on the roster decisions, i.e., who’s to blame for the Zito contract. A lot of the facts are speculation, but we do know that Magowan has rarely wavered in his support for Sabean, save for a few comments at the beginning of 2007. Are they tied at the hip?

If P-Mags is really double-bagging his black-and-orange groceries for the last time, it’s quite a legacy he’s left behind. The dramatic revival of a storied sports franchise, a successful but ultimately disappointing run with the best and most controversial player in history, a dysfunctional, co-dependent decline, a reputation for tolerating pharmaceutical, um, leniency, and a better-late-than-never stab at the difficult task of rebuilding.

You’re not gone yet, P-Mags, but I have to hand it to you, pen pal: It’s been fun, and when it hasn’t been fun, it’s been weird.

But not weird enough? Give us your most outlandish suggestions for who should take over as the new managing partner/top dog of the Giants.



Also on the Network:
√ See You Next Tuesday [Depressed Fan]
√ No Use Looking Back [C70 At The Bat]




[May 9, 2008 1:11 PM]  |  link  |  reply
obsessivegiantscompulsive said

Thanks for the info! Great reporting!

Yes, Larry is an owner, not sure how much, I would guess 5% at the max.

A "leave if we don't publicly punish you" scenario is very valid, I think.

How about a Silicon Valley billionaire, like Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs (hey, he was CEO of both Pixar AND Apple at the same time). I would suggest Google's founders except that they are probably still very busy with that.

And if Yahoo does get bought out, Jerry Yang would probably be looking for a new gig, the sale would take long enough to coincide with buying the Giants. Heck, he could hire a new CEO to run Yahoo and still buy the Giants too.

I think any sale would last long enough that Sabean's contract would be up already, and if someone already an owner take over, Sabean presumably was OKed by that owner previously too, so Sabean would stay in that case too.

[May 9, 2008 1:45 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Boof said

Please don't toy with my feelings....please tell me that is is actually going to come to fruition. In my wildest dreams, I never thought that we could get rid of Magowan & Sabean with one fell swoop. O, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let this happen......and I will never ask for anything else ever again.......except for perhaps a real middle of the order.

[May 9, 2008 1:55 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Michael New Jr. said

This is a very interesting development indeed! If Magowan was to leave the Giants, I could see it being pressure from MLB. I believe that the Bonds situation is playing heavily on this.

As far as a new owner, another guy to consider is Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. He's a San Jose native with a passion for the Giants. And, Microsoft recently bought a 1.6% share of the company for $240 million. That means that this kid is worth roughly $1.5 billion, which makes him a player.

Does Sabean get the boot? I think it's time for some fresh blood. I know a few bloggers who would love to get a shot! ;)

[May 9, 2008 3:34 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM replied to Michael New Jr.

>I know a few bloggers who would love to get a shot! ;)

Not me, pal. I like to travel for pleasure, not work, and I don't want my cell phone permanently attached to my ear. I'm strictly an armchair GM.

[May 9, 2008 7:40 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Josh from Hollywood replied to ELM

"I don't want my cell phone permanently attached to my ear."

What's wrong, not scared of a little brain cancer, are you?

[May 9, 2008 3:43 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Frank said

Yeah, armchair GM for me, too. I prefer a position where the bsd decisions are generally forgotten, and I can go blithely on to the next pressing decision. This accountability stuff sucks.

[May 9, 2008 8:04 PM]  |  link  |  reply
DC said

Agreed... who wants responsibility?

Don't assume a local guy will buy the team. A lot of owners are not local to the teams they have bought.

That being said, I think Ellison will buy them if given the chance. He wanted the 49ers bad. I wouldn't doubt the Giants are a close second his list. You can only buy so many yachts.

[May 10, 2008 2:20 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Mark C. O'Connor said

I love the Fritz Maytag idea! I can see it now--free Anchor Steams to all in the Park after a Splash Hit. I think DC's point is a good one. There is no reason to assume a local billionaire will buy out Magowan (if he is indeed selling). Any Taiwanese industrialists out there with a passion for baseball?

[May 12, 2008 10:40 AM]  |  link  |  reply
Gamesix said

Man I love me some Anchor Steam. Delicious...great link btw.

[May 12, 2008 1:02 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Zo said

I think stepping down as Managing General Partner and selling any percentage of ownership are two different things. Take a quick look at the Giants Front Office and note how many titles Mr. Magowan has: Managing General Partner of SF Baseball Associates, LP; President of Administration; Chairman of Giants Enterprises, LLC; Chairman and CEO of China Basin Ballpark, LLC; Chairman of Giants Development Services, LLC; and Chairman of Giants Baseball Media Holdings, LLC. These are, of course, ways to segment monies from various operations, but they indicate that Mr. Magowan will likely not be spending his golden years shuffling along the beach with a metal detector.

But "voluntarily" getting pushed out of the limelight as punishment for aiding and abetting Bonds? Quite possibly. But less power? Quite possibly not. And MLB would be just fine with this kind of shell game, as it is all about image anyway. As to Mr. Bonds, here is a good read from Dave Zirin: www.edgeofsports.com.