First inning, Shohei Ohtani walks, steals second, jogs to third on a single by Freddie Freeman, scores on a grounder by Mookie Betts.
That’s great, but is Mark Walter selling the Dodgers?
Second inning, Blake Snell gives up a one-out single to Spencer Horowitz, who advances to second on a passed ball, but Snell strands him with a strikeout of Billy Cook.
Lovely, but what happens if Mark Walter sells the Dodgers?
Third inning, Bryan Reynolds draws a two-out walk, but Snell strands him with a flyout to left by Brandon Lowe.
Walter, Lakers, feds, billions, sell?
On a blistering Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 to complete a three-game sweep, but the rumblings beneath Chavez Ravine indicated there was much more at stake.
This is a solid franchise fighting for its footing. This is a powerful dynasty that could be undone by paper.
So, seriously, are the Dodgers getting sold?
Nobody knows, but a reasonable guess would be yes.
The Dodgers, of course, say no way, no how, no chance. Stan Kasten, the Dodgers’ president, even met with the media Friday specifically to say it’s not happening.
Read more: Dodgers president Stan Kasten reiterates ‘Dodgers are not being sold’
“The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten said. “They’re not going to be sold. They’re not for sale. There’s no process that has been started to sell [the franchise]. Period.”
Period? Kasten is a busy man, and there’s seemingly no way he holds even an impromptu meeting with reporters about a possible sale if that “period” wasn’t a “question mark.”
It is indeed a huge question mark, one that suddenly appeared less than two weeks ago when Walter stunningly sold the Lakers just 14 months after buying them.
A federal investigation into insurance companies Walter controls may have led to the Lakers sale, and there’s since been plenty of confusing talk about related-party transactions and holding companies and invested assets.
Translated for Dodgers fans?
The owner of your team also owns another business facing a big legal problem that requires billions to fix. And the only way he can raise those billions is to sell his assets. And the $12.5 billion he will receive from the Lakers flip is only a drop in the bucket.
Which means the Dodgers could be next.
Read more: If Dodgers are put up for sale, previous runner-up Patrick Soon-Shiong is interested
There are reports that Walter is selling his shares in the Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League, but that won’t cut it.
He could sell some of his smaller properties such as the WNBA’s Sparks, the Cadillac Formula 1 racing team, and the entire Professional Women’s Hockey League, but that might not cut it, either.
His richest, most lucrative, and perhaps most expensive property is the Dodgers. A source told The Times’ Bill Shaikin they could be worth between $10 billion and $13 billion, which would be a record price for a baseball team.
Though no charges have been filed against Walter or anyone associated with his businesses, one could imagine Walter pulling the trigger on the Dodgers sale simply to keep the feds at bay.
“I wanted you to hear it definitively: We are not selling the Dodgers,” Kasten repeated. “We are continuing with our plans going forward, like we always have had them. This comes from Mark. He’s gung-ho about continuing to try to win, again, including next year, subject to whatever next year’s climate looks like.”
This full-speed-ahead attitude by Dodgers management is what makes it so hard to imagine the team being owned by someone other than Walter.
Without Walter, there is no dynasty. Without Walter, there is no richest team in baseball. Without Walter, there is no happiest fan base in baseball.
Dodgers owner Mark Walter helps Shohei Ohtani put on a jersey during a news conference on Dec. 14, 2023, after the two-way star signed a 10-year, $700-million deal with the team. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Since Walter and his Guggenheim Baseball Management Group purchased the team in 2012, they have spared no expense in winning 12 of the last 13 National League West championships and three World Series titles.
Nobody in baseball spends like Walter, or will ever spend like Walter. From allowing the team to travel on two planes to adding baseball’s highest-paid player and relief pitcher last winter — Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz have been busts, but there’s time for redemption — nobody is willing to pay more for success than Walter.
Fans benefit from a Walter partnership on a daily basis. Witness Snell’s six shutout innings against the Pirates on Sunday. The Dodgers swept the three-game weekend series against the supposed contenders behind three starting pitchers who will lead off the playoffs yet who would not all be here if Walter didn’t own the joint.
Who else could pay to acquire superstars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Snell while building up a farm system that could produce prospects who were used to acquire Tarik Skubal?
The three starters combined to allow the Pirates just five runs in 19 innings with 26 strikeouts and five walks, and how good is that going to look in October?
While Andrew Friedman supplies the talent and Kasten works the business, none of it is possible without the seemingly endless flood of money approved by Walter.
Well, the end might be near.
Read more: The Dodgers are Mark Walter’s crown jewel. Can he hold on to it amid federal probe?
If Walter sells the team, they could possibly lose their two MVPS — Friedman and Ohtani. Unless the new owners give Friedman a piece of the team, he could set off to build another dynasty elsewhere. And Ohtani has a clause famously included in his contract that allows him to leave if Friedman or Walter leaves. If Walters goes, Ohtani could demand a new contract with terms that a new cash-strapped owner cannot afford.
As of last week, there is so much at stake, so many reasons to worry, and even all the winning by baseball’s best-run team won’t offer much relief.
Now baseball’s best owner is suddenly its most embattled owner, and Dodgers fans should be afraid.
Very afraid.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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