In a stunning and sudden move Friday, the San Francisco Giantswere sold for $111 million to a group of Florida investors, whoannounced they would move the team to St. Petersburg for next season.
The proposed sale and switch of the Giants, who moved from NewYork to the Bay Area in 1957, caught most of baseball off-guard.
Giants owner Bob Lurie, a Chicagoan, is tired of being rebuffedin efforts to build a new stadium in the San Francisco area. Votershave turned down four proposals to replace windy and cold CandlestickPark. The investors plan for the team to play its games in thealready-open Florida Suncoast Dome.
The move has to be approved by three-fourths of National Leagueteams - including the expansion Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies- which should be no problem, and a majority of American Leagueteams.
That could be a problem because a move would allow the NationalLeague to have all the lucrative southeast markets of Miami,Tampa-St. Pete and Atlanta. But the American League would have thelucrative Bay Area all to itself with Oakland.
The proposed sale also throws the National League schedule,which is already in trouble because of the Cubs' lawsuit, up in theair.
Will the Tampa-St. Pete Giants be in the East or West?
One guess is the Giants, pending the outcome of the Cubs'lawsuit over realignment, would remain in the West for one year andthe league would adopt a 13-12 schedule - 13 games against each teamin its own division and 12 against each team in the other division.
"That would really be a strange thing," ownership committeechairman Fred Kuhlmann said. "But you already have Atlanta in theWest, so it's not such a strange thing."
"There are just a lot of `ifs,' " National League spokeswomanKaty Feeney said. "I would assume that any other realignment move(of the Giants to the East) would have to be voted on, pendingoutcome of the (Cubs') lawsuit."
White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, a member of the ownershipcommittee, was involved in meetings Friday and had no comment.
Reinsdorf is a key figure in this scenario because he reportedly"promised" St. Petersburg a team after his Sox failed to move there.He tried to deliver the Seattle Mariners but failed when Japaneseownership purchased the team.
Reinsdorf also is a major mover and shaker among American Leagueowners. It is not known, however, whether he would be in favor ofgiving the entire southeast part of the country to the NationalLeague.
Just a few days before, though, Reinsdorf addressed the issue bysaying, "We have to look at this from the standpoint of what's goodfor baseball and not league vs. league."
"Baseball works in mysterious ways," said Florida Progresschairman Jack Kritchfield, a leader of the Tampa-area effort. "Inever felt good we were going to get the Mariners, but I feel awfullyconfident about this one."
Cubs chairman Stanton Cook said his position would be "nocomment, simply because of what's happening. It would be moreappropriate for us to let this play out. We'll let this take itscourse."
The expansion Marlins originally opposed the move of anotherNational League team to Florida but later retracted that. Marlinspresident Carl Barger said, "We stand by our earlier statements thatwe welcome and support another team in Florida."
No team has been moved since 1971, when the Washington Senatorsbecame the Texas Rangers.
Meanwhile, in a 43-page brief filed Friday, Vincent asked the7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to lift a preliminary injunctionblocking realignment next season. The Cubs now must submit a replybrief by the Aug. 19 deadline.
Contributing: Toni Ginnetti, Associated Press.
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