MLB owners unanimously approve Derek Jeter ownership bid

The sale of the Miami Marlins reached it’s thrilling conclusion on Wednesday. Pinch yourself: Loria out, Jeter in.

A new era of Miami Marlins baseball is underway. Owners of every Major League Baseball team voted on Wednesday to approve the sale of the Miami Marlins to Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman. It appears they wanted Loria out as badly as anyone.

The sale took longer than expected. Commissioner Rob Manfred stated publicly that he thought a deal would be completed by the All-Star game. That date was then pushed back to the trade deadline. Then no timetable was given. Some doubted if the sale would happen at all.

None of that matters now. This offseason, someone other than Jeffery Loria will have final say on roster decisions.

When Jeffery Loria purchased the Florida Marlins in 2002, he did so for the price of $168 million. After a decade and a half as Major League Baseball’s worst owner, he pawned the team off for $1.2 billion.

It’s a fitting way for Loria to go out. There is no need to pour over the reasons Loria had despised by baseball fans around the country. (And in Canada, too). He’s out of baseball now, hopefully for good.

Miami Marlins fans have long awaited the day someone else would sit in the owners chair. After catching lighting in a bottle in 2003, Loria failed to retain the talent that got him there. Postseason heroes were shipped off to the highest bidder and the tone was set for the rest of his tenure.

The Marlins have pinched pennies and failed to make the playoffs ever since.

A new challenge for ‘The Captain’

Jeter faces a monumental task in turning the fortunes of the franchise around. The Miami Marlins have historically failed to garner much support from their fanbase, with prospective fans citing a disdain for ownership. If nothing else, Jeter eliminates that as an excuse.

If every fan who said they’d go back to a game once Loria didn’t own the team actually follows though, they’ll be sold out every night.

Expect a bump in attendance and support in year one, possibly enough to get Miami out of the league basement. But the product on the field will dictate the future of the club beyond that.

Next: Miami Marlins: Cutting cost and keeping the core

Once the honeymoon year is over, Jeter and Sherman will have precious little time to make fans believe playoff contention is in the near future.

Off the bat, Jeter will face tough decisions in terms of what to do with members of the front office he is inheriting. Changes to the roster are sure to come as well.