The Chicago Cubs have announced a press conference for Friday to introduce new owner Tom Ricketts. But allow me to provide an early glimpse into what type of owner he is likely to be.
First off, just who is this guy who plunked down an estimated $642 million (out of the total bid of around $900 million) to buy the Cubs?
Ricketts, 43, is the CEO of Incapital LLC, a Chicago investment bank that packages corporate bonds for retail investors. He is also a director of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. as well as the son of Ameritrade founder J. Joseph Ricketts.
But heck, you can get that information from Wikipedia.
So who is this guy, really, and why does he want to own the team? Well, Ricketts moved to Chicago in 1984 and as all Cubs fans know, that was the year we were supposed to win it all.
We won the first division title in Cubs history, and were nine outs from going to the World Series.
It is while attending school at the University of Chicago that Ricketts got caught up in the euphoria of that season and became a Cubs fan.
He lived with his brother in an apartment near Wrigley Field and even met his wife Cecelia in the Wrigley bleachers. Make no mistake, he is a businessman. but he loves the Cubs.
"My family and I are Cubs fans," Tom Ricketts, the family's point person in the Cubs purchase, said. "We share the goal of Cubs fans everywhere to win a World Series and build the consistent championship tradition that the fans deserve."
But what kind of owner will he be? Well, realize that he will only be as good as the people he hires and retains. For now, he plans on keeping Jim Hendry as GM, so it will largely be in Hendry's hands to fix the Cubs this off-season.
Longer term, Ricketts needs to decide who his management team will be. Will he keep Crane Kenny as President or will be bring in someone else? Regardless, that person will need a baseball man to rely on. For now, it's Hendry.
Sources do not indicate that immediate changes will be in order. Instead, they expect the family to assess every aspect of the team from an inside perspective both on and off the field before they implement the changes that they have been considering since they first decided to submit a bid.
On the field, you can expect that this will be Lou Piniella's last season as manager of the Cubs. Ryne Sandberg will likely be the next manager. Hendry's future may be dependent, in large part, on how the team performs in 2010.
Who would be among the candidates to replace Hendry? I would consider Rick Hahn of the White Sox, who grew up as a Cubs fan and is a Harvard grad.
You can expect Ricketts to mimic what John McDonough has done as Blackhawks president. That means bringing in names from the past. In addition to Sandberg, think Greg Maddux and names like that.
One should also expect some changes to Wrigley Field and the neighborhood surrounding it. The Cubs will try and bring the whole bar experience inside Wrigley property. Ricketts understands they need to increase revenue, so expect a jumbotron, possibly placed on top of one of the rooftops across the street.
The facilities need to be improved, as well. The clubhouse and workout areas are embarrassing.
Don't be surprised if Ricketts sells the naming rights to the park. Perhaps he could ease the consternation by insisting any name includes "at Wrigley Field" as an appendix.
Anyway, these are some of the things you can expect from the Ricketts family going forward. Change can be good; Ricketts has his hands full, but he seems to be the right man for the job, come to think of it.
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