O'Malley Group Reportedly Chosen to Purchase San Diego Padres

The former owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the O'Malley family, could become the new owners of another Southern California team, the San Diego Padres.

Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:

"

Source: O'Malley group selected to buy #Padres. Price will be $800M, including $200M for portion of team's equity in Fox Sports San Diego.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 6, 2012"

Stable ownership is what will make the Padres a contender again in the National League. Since the O'Malley family has almost half a century of ownership experience, including five World Series championship teams with the Dodgers, they understand how to run a team.

Given the success that the O'Malleys have had in the past, Padres fans should be encouraged by the latest developments in the search for strong ownership.

The Padres have finished better than fourth place in the NL West just one time in the last four years. They have only been to the playoffs twice since the New York Yankees swept them in the 1998 World Series.

It's clear that one of the reasons why the team hasn't been very successful since the late 1990s is because of poor ownership.

Hopefully, the O'Malley family is able to finalize a purchase of the Padres so the team can start moving in the right direction.

Padres fans need something to cheer about, and this could be one reason to be excited about the club's future.

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