Without the votes, Moorad had no way into the owners' club
The club of major-league owners is like just about any other club.
If you want in, you'd better have people already there who want you in. And not people who badly want to keep you out.
Jeff Moorad wanted to be an owner, wanted to be in the club. The club didn't want him, something that has become clearer and clearer in recent weeks.
Moorad needed 22 votes of approval to become the Padres owner. He didn't have them.
Two weeks ago, he withdrew his application for control, ostensibly because it was the only way for the Padres to get their new television deal approved in time for their first spring training telecast.
Thursday, Moorad went a step further, announcing that he has stepped down as Padres CEO.
All that remains is for John Moores, who still owns 51 percent of the team (with Moorad's group owning the other 49), to find a new buyer, one who can get MLB approval.
It's probably better if he finds one who wasn't a player agent, as Moorad was. It's definitely better for him to find one who hasn't annoyed other owners, as Moorad had.
According to sources, Moorad had two strong voices campaigning against him, in White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick. Moorad was a limited partner of Kendrick's before leaving to buy the Padres, and the breakup didn't go well.
With Reinsdorf and Kendrick strongly opposing him, Moorad faced an uphill battle to get the 22 votes he needed, as CBSSports.com colleague Jon Heyman wrote last week. Sources now tell Heyman that in recent weeks even Moorad's relationship with Moores has soured.
It also didn't help Moorad that after baseball suffered through the Frank McCourt embarrasment, MLB officials have become more vigilant about making sure prospective owners have enough financial backing to run a team properly. There were questions about Moorad's financing.
Moores figures to come out of this all right, and probably even richer. The strong bidding for the Dodgers has raised expectations for the sale price of major-league teams, and there's even the possibility that some losing bidders with the Dodgers could turn to the Padres.
Moorad's contract with Moores gave him another two years to complete the sale i.e. get the votes he needed. But he wasn't getting them, not now and not two years from now.
To get in the club he needed approval from those already in.
They didn't want him in.
If you want in, you'd better have people already there who want you in. And not people who badly want to keep you out.
Jeff Moorad wanted to be an owner, wanted to be in the club. The club didn't want him, something that has become clearer and clearer in recent weeks.
Moorad needed 22 votes of approval to become the Padres owner. He didn't have them.
Two weeks ago, he withdrew his application for control, ostensibly because it was the only way for the Padres to get their new television deal approved in time for their first spring training telecast.
Thursday, Moorad went a step further, announcing that he has stepped down as Padres CEO.
All that remains is for John Moores, who still owns 51 percent of the team (with Moorad's group owning the other 49), to find a new buyer, one who can get MLB approval.
It's probably better if he finds one who wasn't a player agent, as Moorad was. It's definitely better for him to find one who hasn't annoyed other owners, as Moorad had.
According to sources, Moorad had two strong voices campaigning against him, in White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick. Moorad was a limited partner of Kendrick's before leaving to buy the Padres, and the breakup didn't go well.
With Reinsdorf and Kendrick strongly opposing him, Moorad faced an uphill battle to get the 22 votes he needed, as CBSSports.com colleague Jon Heyman wrote last week. Sources now tell Heyman that in recent weeks even Moorad's relationship with Moores has soured.
It also didn't help Moorad that after baseball suffered through the Frank McCourt embarrasment, MLB officials have become more vigilant about making sure prospective owners have enough financial backing to run a team properly. There were questions about Moorad's financing.
Moores figures to come out of this all right, and probably even richer. The strong bidding for the Dodgers has raised expectations for the sale price of major-league teams, and there's even the possibility that some losing bidders with the Dodgers could turn to the Padres.
Moorad's contract with Moores gave him another two years to complete the sale i.e. get the votes he needed. But he wasn't getting them, not now and not two years from now.
To get in the club he needed approval from those already in.
They didn't want him in.
