Part Celebrity Apprentice, part Survivor, part Cheaters at times, the battle for control of the Los Angeles Dodgers has now kicked into high gear.
Depending on who you read, there could be up to 20 groups submitting bids for the iconic franchise, its media rights and other related assets by the Jan. 23 deadline. The winning bid is expected to fetch somewhere between $1.4 billion and $2 billion, easily eclipsing the previous record sale price for an MLB team when the Chicago Cubs were sold for $845 million in 2009.
The Dodgers have been under MLB control since last April when current owner Frank McCourt placed the team under bankruptcy protection during his divorce from now ex-wife Jamie.
But now that he’s a free man again — albeit $131 million lighter in the pocket for it — McCourt can soon get down to the business of selling the team to one of 10 groups MLB will approve as a finalist.
Under a deal struck with MLB, McCourt has agreed to select the winning bid no later than April 1.
Magic Johnson, Steve Garvey and Orel Hershisher, former talk show host Larry King, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the Disney family and former Dodgers manager Joe Torre have all aligned themselves with various groups.
Adding to the star-powered intrigue is the expectation that as the process evolves, various groups will forge ties and new alliances as they seek the upper hand.
The plot sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Playing the role of Jeff Probst (comparing him to Donald Trump or Joey Greco would be just too cruel) between now and April 1, keeping you up to date with all the latest news, alliances and potential backstabbing will be L.A. Times columnist (and Montreal native) Bill Shaikin, who since Day 1 has owned the McCourt divorce/Dodgers bankruptcy beat.
In the meantine, here’s a handy — if somewhat crude — interpretation of how we got here:
And as for some of the rumoured cast of potential Dodgers bidders…
Group 1: Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson, former Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals president Stan Kasten and Guggenheim Partners chief executive officer Mark Walter.
Group 2: Former agent and current Chicago White Sox special assistant Dennis Gilbert, talk show host Larry King and Jason Reese of Imperial Capital.
Group 3: Former Dodgers general manager Fred Claire, former Oakland Athletics president Andy Dolich and former Dodgers batboy Ben Hwang, who brought in the financial backers.
Group 4: Former Dodgers stars Orel Hershiser and Steve Garvey and Joey Herrick of Natural Balance Pet Foods.
Group 5: Former USC rugby player Tom Barrack, head of Colony Capital, a Santa Monica firm that controls $34 billion in assets, according to Forbes.
Group 6: Tony Resller, co-founder of a Los Angeles investment firm that controls more than $40 billion in assets.
Group 7: Former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley, Stanley Gold and the family of the late Roy Disney.
Group 8: Former Dodgers manager Joe Torre and Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso. Torre could oversee baseball operations.
Group 9: Multi-billionaire hedge-fund executive Steven Cohen and sports agent Arn Tellem. Cohen has also retained former MLB deputy commissioner Steve Greenberg.
Group 10: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who recently boasted if he won, “L.A. would never be the same.”