Page 32 - bon-dia-aruba-20201107

A32 sports
Diasabra 7 November 2020

Mets GM Van Wagenen, others out as Cohen takes over team

ly frustrating years and took the title completed a season-long suspension When Doubleday & Co. was sold
of chief executive officer. He hired last week, could be a candidate for the to Bertelsmann AG, the publisher
former Mets general manager Sandy analytics-oriented Cohen. sold its shares of the team on Nov.
Alderson as team president in his first 14, 1986, for $80.75 million to Fred
move and ended Jeff Wilpon's tenure Many of Van Wagenen's moves failed Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, who
as chief operating officer. to work out, including acquiring sec- became 50-50 owners. That sale hap-
ond baseman Robinson Canó and pened weeks after the Mets won their
Alderson, not Cohen, announced the signing free agents Todd Frazier and second World Series title following
baseball staff departures and said he Jed Lowrie. All three were among the surprise championship by the
had started the process of building a this former clients. 1969 Miracle Mets.
leadership staff.
Cohen's purchase, approved 26-4 by Fred Wilpon and his Sterling Equi-
"This is a significant milestone in the baseball owners on Oct. 30, is worth ties partners headed by brother-in-
history of this storied franchise," Co- $2.4 billion to $2.45 billion. It is a law Saul Katz completed his buyout
hen said in a statement. "The 2021 record price for a baseball team, top- of Doubleday on Aug. 23, 2002, end-
season is right around the corner and ping the $2 billion sale of the Los An- ing what had become an acrimoni-
we've got a lot of work to do, so I'm geles Dodgers from Frank McCourt ous partnership. Under the original
excited to get started." to Guggenheim Baseball Manage- appraisal, Doubleday would have
ment in 2012. received $137.9 million — half the
Van Wagenen was a player agent and team's $391 million value after ac-
co-head of CAA Baseball before An entity controlled by Cohen owns counting for debt. Wilpon sued, and
(AP) — New York Mets general Wilpon hired him to replace Alder- 95% of the franchise, and the Wilpon the sides then settled.
manager Brodie Van Wagenen son after the 2018 season. The Mets and Katz families retain 5% of the
and many of his top aides are out, went 86-76, finishing third in the NL team. Jeff Wilpon, Fred's son, became chief
moves announced less than an East. and Van Wagenen fired manager operating officer. The Mets failed
hour after hedge fund manager Mickey Callaway and replaced him Cohen pledged to inject about $9.5 to win any titles under the Wilpons'
Steve Cohen completed his $2.4 with Carlos Beltrán. million in additional payments this time of sole control and their final
billion purchase of the team Fri- offseason for pandemic-hit employ- dozen years were hampered by finan-
day. But when Beltrán was implicated in ees. cial losses from the Bernard Madoff
January by baseball Commissioner Ponzi scheme.
Special Assistant to the general man- Rob Manfred in the Houston Astros The 64-year-old Cohen is CEO and
ager Omar Minaya, assistant general sign stealing scandal during Beltrán's president of Point72 Asset Manage- Cohen controlled SAC Capital Advi-
managers Allard Baird and Adam final season as a player in 2017, Bel- ment. He first bought an 8% limited sors, which in 2013 pleaded guilty to
Guttridge and executive director of trán lost his job within days without partnership stake in the Mets in 2012 criminal fraud charges. SAC agreed to
player development Jared Banner managing a game and was replaced for $40 million. pay a $900 million fine and forfeit an-
also are leaving. by qualify control coach Luis Rojas. other $900 million to the federal gov-
New York went 26-34 and missed the The publisher Doubleday & Co. ernment, though $616 million that
The status of senior vice president expanded playoffs. bought the Mets on Jan. 24, 1980, SAC companies had already agreed
and senior strategy office John Ricco from the family of founding owner to pay to settle parallel actions by the
was not mentioned. Friday's moves make Rojas' future Joan Payson for $21.1 million, with U.S. Securities and Exchange Com-
uncertain. the company owning 95% of the team mission was to be deducted from the
Cohen ended the Wilpon family's and Fred Wilpon controlling 5%. $1.8 billion.
control of the franchise after 34 most- Fired Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, who

NASCAR's Briscoe balances title chase with off-track woes

(AP) — Chase Briscoe has enjoyed the best he later won the race. that will be obsolete the next season. Allgaier will
year of his professional career: nine wins, an return for a sixth season at JRM.
upcoming promotion to NASCAR's elite Cup He hasn't shared much information about their
Series and the chance to cap it with the Xfin- second miscarriage — the couple learned they Cindric was closest in competition to Briscoe this
ity Series championship. were expecting the same day Tony Stewart told season with five victories, but his last win was 13
the couple Briscoe would drive the No. 14 Cup races ago in August and it will likely take a victory
The once-in-a-lifetime season has been the pub- car next year — but Briscoe said doctors may have at Phoenix to win the title.
lic side of an emotionally heartbreaking personal found "the next thing to try in our path of trying to
journey. Briscoe's wife, Marissa, has suffered two have a kid." "I think you have to approach Phoenix as a must-
miscarriages and the second pregnancy ended this Compartmentalizing on Saturday will be no issue, win situation, just because the competitiveness this
past week as Briscoe was preparing to race for the Briscoe said, when he attempts to close the season year has been off the charts," Cindric said. "I don't
title Saturday at Phoenix Raceway. with his first NASCAR national series champion- think you can underestimate any of your competi-
ship. tors and you have to bring your best foot forward."
"I feel like no matter how high the high is on the Allgaier, a three-race winner this season, is seeking
racetrack, it never compares to the low," Briscoe "I feel like I've always done a good job at kind of his first championship. He's finished third three
said. "But it does help balance it out a little bit." keeping the two separate and, truthfully, it doesn't times in his Xfinity Series career and has been in
motivate me more but just helps me get in the race title contention four of the last five times. Allgaier
The winner-take-all finale pits Briscoe of Stewart- car and get away and really focus," Briscoe said. "I has the most Xfinity Series starts at Phoenix with
Haas Racing against Austin Cindric of Team Pen- feel 100% ready to go this week, no different than 20 races and has two victories, including last No-
ske, two Ford drivers who will also face Justin All- any other week." vember.
gaier of JR Motorsports and Justin Haley of Kaulig
Racing, both in Chevrolets. The Xfinity Series will crown its first new cham- Haley, in his second full Xfinity season, gives
pion in three seasons after two-time winner Tyler Kaulig Racing its first shot at a series title. Haley
For the first time since racing stopped in March, Reddick moved to Cup this year. Of the four title excels at superspeedway racing, but notes his fifth-
drivers can have a small group of family members contenders, only Briscoe is moving to Cup next place finish at Phoenix in March was highest of the
at the track and Briscoe will at last have a chance to season. championship contenders.
share this surreal season with his wife.
The Briscoes lost their first pregnancy in May Cindric's promotion with Team Penske has been "Obviously I feel like I'm the underdog, I always
while Briscoe was at Darlington Raceway in an delayed until 2022, when NASCAR debuts its new have been," Haley said. "But we're very capa-
Xfinity Series rain delay. Briscoe was on FaceTime car. Haley said he decided to return to Kaulig Rac- ble. Our program has improved quite a bit since
with his wife when the couple was given the news; ing rather than waste a year in Cup learning a car (March). I feel like our shot is very good."