Fan Shot by Sivert Glarum

When news broke that celebrity super couple A-Rod and J-Lo were interested in purchasing the Mets, all fans of the Amazin’s were giddy with anticipation. With his baseball intellect and her flair for showmanship, surely this would be the ownership group to bring the team to new heights for a generation to come!

Yeah, not quite.

Maybe fans were underwhelmed because they remember former free-agent Rodriguez turning up his nose at Shea Stadium, calling it “ticky-tacky.” Or maybe they remember the epic Lopez bomb “Gigli.” More likely, it’s because they know that the track record of entertainers and ex- ball players as MLB owners is… meh.

Here’s a look at the most notable ones:

ENTERTAINERS

BOB HOPE – CLEVELAND INDIANS

1 World Championship, 2 AL Pennants

Hope became a minority owner when Bill Veeck bought the Tribe in 1946. The team was the first in the A.L. to integrate with Larry Doby in 1947, and they won the World Series in 1948. Veeck sold his stake the next year, but Hope held onto his share for decades. He was a great ambassador for the team, even working it into an “I Love Lucy” episode.

It’s unclear when he sold his interest, but he did try to purchase the expansion Washington Senators (now Rangers) in 1968. That ownership group would have included Johnny Carson and Steve McQueen. Although he flirted with D.C., Hope was always a Clevelander at heart. In 1993, he sang “Thanks for the Memories” before the last game the Indians played at Municipal Stadium.

BING CROSBY – PITTSBURGH PIRATES & DETROIT TIGERS

2 (3?) World Championships, 2 NL Pennants (Maybe 1 AL Pennant?)

Crosby, Hope’s acting partner in countless movies, bought into the Pirates in the same year — 1946. He owned 15% and was named vice-president of the team. A decade later, the famed crooner pulled off a coup: he also bought 5% of the Detroit Tigers. Although an obvious conflict of interest, Commissioner Ford Frick okayed it. It’s unclear when “Der Bingle” unloaded his stock in the “Der Bengals,” and if he was still a part of the team for the 1968 WS championship. He did keep his share of his beloved Bucs until his death in 1977.

TRIVIA BIT: Crosby owned the only complete recorded copy of the 7th Game of the 1960 World Series. Too nervous to see the series in person, he fled to Europe and listened on the radio. He paid a company to film the NBC broadcast of Game 7. The film was stored in his wine cellar where it was discovered decades later, perfectly preserved. It aired on the MLB network a few years ago.

Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye

DANNY KAYE – SEATTLE MARINERS

0 World Championships, 0 AL Pennants

What is it with these song-and-dance guys and baseball teams? Kaye. who also performed with Crosby and Hope, bought into the expansion M’s in 1976. His flirtation with America’s Past Time didn’t last long, as he and the original ownership group sold out in 1981. Kaye’s more well-known association with baseball is his novelty hit, “D O D G E R S (Oh Really? No O’Malley”) in 1962.

GENE AUTRY – LOS ANGELES/ CALIFORNIA ANGELS

0 World Championships, 0 AL Pennants

By far the most involved celebrity owner, he was also the least successful. The former movie star was trying to secure the radio rights for the proposed L.A. franchise and came back from the meeting owning the team. Despite “The Cowboy’s” penchant for free agent signings, the team never had much success under him. He was beloved by his players, and “Win One for the Cowboy” was the rallying cry for the 1979, 1982 and 1986 AL West Champion teams.

Autry finally sold out to Disney in 1998 and died the same year. In 2002, his widow Jackie watched from the owner’s box as the Rally Monkey Squad finally reached the pinnacle.

BILL MAHER – NEW YORK METS

0 World Championships, 1 NL Pennant

How many celebrity egos can fit into one owners’ box? We’ll find out if Maher keeps his shares after the proposed J-Lo & Co. take over. The comedian bought approximately 4% of the Amazins in 2012, and so far has remained an excellent minority owner — by remaining on the opposite coast.

EX-PLAYERS

CHRISTY MATHEWSON – BOSTON BRAVES

0 World Championships, 0 NL Pennants

The HOF hurler won 373 games for the Giants, but didn’t not have much of a chance so succeed as an owner. He was part of a group that bought the Braves in 1923, and was expected to act as team president. However, he was already stricken with tuberculosis, and was too sick to play a significant role in the team. Christy died two years later, at the age of 45.

BRANCH RICKEY – BROOKLYN DODGERS

0 World Championships, 2 NL Pennants

This guy was slightly more successful. In the early 1900s, Rickey played four undistinguished seasons for the St. Louis Browns and some team named the NY Highlanders, who eventually changed their name and became the center of all evil in the universe. But he found his calling as an executive. As business manager for the Cardinals, he helped the team to 4 World Series titles and invented the farm system. In 1942, he went to work for the Dodgers, and in 1945, he he bought 25% of the team.

He eventually got into a tussle with majority owner Walter O’Malley, and sold his stake in 1950. Although he never lead the Bums to a World Title, he might’ve accomplished other amazin’ feats — evidence of which stands in the rotunda of Citi Field.

CHARLES COMISKEY – CHICAGO WHITE SOX

2 Word Championships, 4 AL Pennants

One of the most successful players turned owners is also the most infamous. After a 12 year playing career and amassing an impressive 840-541 record as manager, Comiskey bought the Chicago White Sox in 1901. He fielded great teams, although he treated his players so shabbily that eight of them conspired the to fix the 1919 World Series against the Reds, creating a scandal still famous today. HOF voters didn’t hold it against him, electing him to the Hall in 1939.

CONNIE MACK – PHILADELPHIA A’S

5 World Championships, 9 AL Pennants

Decades before Ted Turner managed the Braves for a day, Connie Mack was the manager- owner supreme. A lifetime .245 hitter for the Washington Nationals, Buffalo Bison and Pirates.

Mack owned and managed the Philadelphia A’s for 50 years. (Not a misprint!) Despite winning 5 titles, it wasn’t all great for the Mack — the A’s finished in last place in each of his final 15 years. For some reason the owner was reluctant to fire the manager.

AL SPALDING – CHICAGO WHITE STOCKINGS

0 World Championships, 3 NL Pennants

The future sporting goods mogul started off his baseball career pitching for the Boston Red Stockings, who of course became the… Braves, and later with the Chicago White Stockings, who naturally became the… Cubs. (Really? Yup. Weird!) One of the first players to wear a glove, the HOF bound Spalding racked up a record of 252-65, and a batting average of .313.

Later, he became manager, then owner of the club. Spalding owned the team for about two decades, and they promptly won two World Championships right after he sold them. He became the first of many Cub owners to suffer rotten luck.

CLARK GRIFFITH – WASHINGTON SENATORS

1 World Championship, 3 AL Pennants

A Hall of Fame pitcher, Griffith played over two decades for several teams. He eventually became a player-manager-part owner for the Senators, before taking a controlling interest in 1920. He promptly retired from field duties and named the stadium after himself. He started the tradition of having US Presidents throw out the first pitch, inviting William Taft to do so. Griffith died in 1955, but his family kept the club for 30 more years, eventually selling the Minnesota Twins in 1984.

NOLAN RYAN – TEXAS RANGERS
DEREK JETER – MIAMI MARLINS

0 World Championships, 2 AL Pennants  (Ryan) 0 NL Pennants (Jeter)

Two of the best players in recent history, but as owners, there’s a lot to be desired. Ryan’s tenure as part-owner was short and sweet: two World Series appearances in three years.

Unfortunately, squabbles with the other owners forced him to sell his shares at a loss in 2013. Jeter bought part of the Marlins in 2017, and promptly did what all Marlins owners do — sell off all their incredible talent.

So, best case scenario for the J-Lo/A-Rod Mets: They become the new Bing Crosby & Connie Mack. Worst case: they become the new Danny Kaye & Connie Mack.

Come back, Steve Cohen! We need you!

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This Fan Shot was contributed by diehard Mets fan Sivert Glarum

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