Texas Rangers Find a New Owner

Texas Ranger fans got some very good news today.

According to the Dallas Morning News , a group led by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan have been selected by current owner Tom Hicks as the winner in the bidding process for the team.

Hicks made the decision on Tuesday, picking Greenberg over two other groups, one headed by former players agent Dennis Gilbert and another led by Houston businessman Jim Crane.

What this means is the Greenberg/Ryan group has 30 days to negotiate the sale of the team from Hicks before it goes to Major League Baseball for approval. Once it goes to Major League Baseball for approval, the ownership group must get approved by 75 percent of the owners in baseball.

Ranger fans are probably looking at a final sale to take place somewhere between the middle of January and April.

The first thing this ownership group should so is build a dome, so the Rangers won’t wilt in that ridiculous Texas heat like they do every summer. In all seriousness, this is a good day for the Rangers.

Greenberg made his money as a powerful sports attorney in Pittsburgh. As an attorney, he was instrumental in helping Mario Lemieux and Bernie Kosar become owners of sports franchises.

That is how good Greenberg is at his job—he help Kosar become an owner. Did anyone see him during ESPN’s 30 for 30 on the “U”?

He sounded like he has been smoking 10 packs of cigarettes a day for the past 10 years and he looked even worse. My lord. What happened to that guy?

The “U” was a fascinating piece by the way. It was really great stuff and a must watch.

But back to Greenberg and the story at hand.

Greenberg currently owns two minor league teams in South Carolina and Pennsylvania. He also owns the Greenberg Sports Group, which provides consulting, management, and marketing services across the country.

The Rangers now, with Greenberg and Ryan, have two baseball guys running the team. I think that is very important.

Hicks was never a baseball guy. Hicks is a business man, who just wanted more toys. The Rangers were a new toy to him and he really didn’t know to play with the toy the right way.

Nothing was more evident of that than the Alex Rodriguez signing.

There was probably nothing more frustrating to the Ranger players and their fans when they weren’t able to add to the payroll last year when their team was in contention.

Last year’s Rangers team was exceeding expectations and worked so hard the entire season, and for GM Jon Daniels not be allowed to add payroll because Hicks was all of a sudden poor was sad.

I have no idea how much money Greenberg will put into this team, nor do I even know if this sale will even go through.

But if this sale does go through, the Rangers franchise will be better off tomorrow than they were yesterday.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg