Back in 2016, the Cleveland Guardians (then named the Cleveland Indians) had a new minority owner get a share of the team by the name of John Sherman, who was the CEO and founder of a propane company in Kansas City. Three years later in 2019, Sherman sold his share in the team so he could buy the Kansas City Royals from the Glass Family.
Since Sherman sold his stake of the Guardians, majority owner Paul Dolan and his family have been trying to find a minority owner of the team to replace Sherman and now, they have one.
Sportico reported on Monday that Dolan has sold 35 percent of the company to David Blitzer, a senior executive of an investment company called The Blackstone Group.
David Blitzer soon could be the majority owner of the Cleveland Guardians
David Blitzer, 52, is in the investment business but he has been known to make some investments in sports teams, including the Cleveland Guardians now. Currently, he is a minority owner of a slew of professional sports teams.
They include the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the New York Yankees Triple-A affiliate the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders, the Premier League’s Crystal Palace F.C., FC Augsburg of the Bundesliga, Waasland-Beveren of the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, and ESports company Dignitas.
Cleveland Guardians majority owner Paul Dolan would not confirm that 35 percent was sold but he told Cleveland.com that he has had “meaningful discussions with David Blitzer about purchasing a minority ownership interest in the Cleveland Guardians.” Dolan said he could not comment any further at the moment.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network also reported on Twitter that Blitzer could become the primary owner of the Guardians within five or six years, which could be great news for Guardians fans as, often, current ownership has been accused of not spending much money (or, at least, spending it well).
Cleveland has one of the lowest payrolls in MLB as they have a projected Opening Day payroll of around $46 million. As of now, only the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles have a lower projected Opening Day payroll.