Judging by the prospective owners that have expressed interest in purchasing the Los Angeles Dodgers from Frank McCourt, it would seem like having Dodger ties is a prerequisite. Former owner Peter O'Malley wants in, as do former players Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser. Now the architect of the 1988 World Series winning team, Fred Claire, wants to buy the Dodgers, too.
Claire was a guest on ESPN Radio 710 in Los Angeles, and noted that his group is still in search of a primary financier, but as Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles noted, Claire thinks the group he has assembled so far is worthy:
"We will have to be pre-approved by Major League Baseball and I think the team we have assembled is one that will draw the favor of Major League Baseball," Claire said. "With my 30 years of experience with the Dodgers, Andy Dolich, a longtime sports executive in baseball and other sports and Ben Hwang, a very success business person at a young age, we will continue to add to that team."
Claire was with the Dodgers for 30 years, including the first 19 years in public relations and the last 11 as general manager. He was fired in 1998 by Fox in their first year of ownership of the Dodgers. He told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times hhe just wants the Dodgers to be back in prominence. "My interest is to play whatever role is needed to get the Dodgers back to where they need to be -- on the field, in the community, and internationally," Claire said.
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