The Phillies have existed in a limited partnership, in which a CEO and President made all the baseball decisions, while the owners did nothing. According to a report, that is about to change. As more of the Phillies owners pass away, Phillies minority owner John Middleton, a billionaire, has been acquiring more shares and has brought him just under the amount of shares needed to become the majority owner, the report says. This could mean some big changes for the Phillies.
Howard Eskin of Fox 29 reports that Montgomery was "pushed out" when taking his health leave:
.@Phillies Pres and CEO Dave montgomery pushed out. Limited partner John Middleton trying 2 buy majority. Howard out. http://t.co/FDHjacpxvp
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) October 2, 2014
Montgomery took a "health leave" from the team in late August. Eskin attributes many of the Phillies' signings of their veterans such as Carlos Ruiz, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins to Montgomery.
Way back in 2007, Middleton reportedly was interested in owning a greater share of the team to make them more competitive, according to the news report of the $2.9 billion sale of his family's cigar business that dated back to 1856:
Middleton would like to own a bigger share of the Phillies and make the team more competitive, according to people who know him. He has been frugal with the team's budget for salaries, but has been willing to raise it to get a star, such as Jim Thome in 2002, according to people close to the team.
Also in 2007 the late Bill Conlin reported that Middleton was pushing for a change in CEO:
The really dense part of the mushroom cloud of money billowing over the Phillies, of course, is that limited partnerships come with thick armored plating. Montgomery runs the show. He just reaffirmed that fact. The partners are supposed to stay out of the way, and these partners do. It is fairly well known that John S. Middleton has been an outlier on some issues – breaking loose the money to sign Jim Thome was thought to be one of them. When the ballclub took the 500,000-plus attendance hit that led to the firing of GM Ed Wade, Middleton was fingered as a possible backer of a change in CEOs.
The death of some long-time Phillies owners may have something to do with this. Sally Buck died in August of this year. She was preceded in death by "Tri-Play Associates" that included her husband Alexander Buck in 2010, his brother J. Mahlon Buck, Jr. in 2011. After J. Mahlon Buck's death the team wore the "B" patch. William C. Buck is still alive. Owner Claire Betz died in April (thus the "CB" uniform patch).
What is not clear is whether their families retained ownership, or if they sold some of the shares to Middleton. The terms of the agreement are reportedly that they must offer shares to other members of the ownership first. Former Phillies President Bill Giles and Montgomery both own a small number of shares of the team.
Eskin says that the team should expect large-scale changes this offseason. Montgomery's biggest strength was his loyalty; Montgomery's loyalty may also be his biggest weakness. Without Montgomery's loyalty in the way, interim baseball guy Pat Gillick will be able to make some unbiased decisions.
View Eskin's full report here:
FOX 29 News Philadelphia | WTXF-TV
