Sure, we knew this suit is one of the guys who bought the Padres, but what do we know about his crew (one of whom is a former superstar athlete) who'll be pulling the strings in the Friars' front office?
Padres owner John Moores sold the Friars for 500 million dingers to a group headed by the aforementioned Jeff Moorad, who took over as vice chairman and CE0 on Thursday (Sandy Alderson hung up his cleats the same day).
At Thursday's announcement, Moorad finally ID'd some of the other owners, a group that includes former NFL star Troy Aikman, Panda Express restaurant boss Tom Davin, local homebuilder Al Baldwin, Phoenix/Indiana businessman J.D. Stein, NoCal money manager Rick Berry and CEO of Save-Mart supermarkets CEO Bob Piccinini, as well as local businessman Wayne Seltzer and cell-phone honcho John McEvoy.
Moores/Moorad turned over the keys during a largely passionless public announcement at Petco Park.
"This is the beginning of a process where Jeff and his group will acquire ownership," Moores said.
Moorad, who was joined at Thursday's announcement by his wife, Jan, and three sons, resigned as general partner and CE0 of the Arizona Diamondbacks to start taking the reigns of ownership of the Padres. The little boy in Moorad who just got a baseball team to play with was little in evidence.
"The Padres have a rich tradition on the field and in the community," Moorad said. "I'm anxious to extend that legacy and add to it."
Moores made an attempt to lighten the proceedings when he gave Moorad the team jersey he was awarded when he took over the team. Moorad took off his coat to put the shirt on, his tie remaining firmly in place.
A UCLA alum and founder of Moorad Sports Management; Moorad has a big job ahead of him. The Padres are coming off a 99-loss season and have a farm system ranked as one of the worst in the game.
Moorad and his group will purchase 100 per cent of the Padres during a period of up to five years.
