Cubs’ new owner wants a World Series winner
CHICAGO (AP)—The new owner of the Chicago Cubs wants to build a “world-class organization” that will bring the franchise its first championship in more than a century.
After paying $845 million to buy the team in October, Tom Ricketts and his family finally had a chance to speak directly to their fellow fans Saturday at the annual Cubs Convention. The Ricketts family is set to begin its first season as owners of a club that has not won a World Series since 1908.
In a question-and-answer session that lasted an hour, the Ricketts family fielded a vast array of inquiries, ranging from the farm system, sabermetrics and the future of Wrigley Field to bringing back Ladies Day on Tuesdays. Mostly, however, the family addressed its desire to win a championship.
Club chairman Tom Ricketts along with his sister, Laura, and brothers Pete and Todd, who make up the board of directors, vowed to do whatever is necessary to achieve their goal.
“It’s our intention to be the best organization in all of the sports. We want to have the kind of place where every player wants to play,” Tom Ricketts said. “If we build this world-class organization, there is no doubt that we will eventually win a World Series.”
All the talk of a championship drew applause from the hundreds of fans in attendance.
“The bottom line is to win a World Series,” Laura Ricketts said. “We’re not in this just to make a profit. Any profits that are made will go to reinvest in the team.”
The Ricketts reaffirmed to fans that they are in this pursuit for the long run, too.
“We’re not just looking to sell the team in five years. We’re going to be here for a long time and we want to build a franchise that’s going to be in the playoffs all the time,” Todd Ricketts said.
Despite the emphasis on winning, the Ricketts family told fans they have no intentions of interfering with on-field decisions, but said they will have a presence around Wrigley Field.
“You won’t see any of us tell (manager) Lou Piniella who to put in the eighth (inning) or who we should sign, but I think you will see us as ambassadors for the team,” Todd Ricketts said.
The Ricketts also addressed issues regarding Wrigley Field. The family expects the old ballpark to be around for at least another 50 years, but also emphasized that they’ll make renovations to the storied park, including widening the concourses, expanding the home clubhouse, and improving the washroom facilities. They also said they will make a push to host the All-Star game in 2014, the 100-year anniversary for the park.
The session was mostly upbeat, but Tom Ricketts defended Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, who has been criticized after a series of acquisitions that didn’t work out in 2009.
“We believe that Jim has done a terrific job and I think what a lot of people don’t see is the tremendous amount of progress that has been made in the organization over the last few years,” Tom Ricketts said. “The fact is, from an organizational standpoint the team is heading in the right direction.”
One fan asked Hendry if he felt his time with the Cubs was running out.
“I never look at it how long I’ve been here or how long I am going to be here. I feel like I have an obligation to the organization to do the best I can do,” Hendry said. “I certainly don’t take a lot of pride when we don’t make the playoffs. I think we need to keep getting better and keep getting into the playoffs. I have a lot of faith in the Ricketts family that they are going to move in the right direction. I don’t really get caught up in my own agenda or my own lifestream. I think those things take care of themselves.”
Piniella became irked with a woman who questioned him on his decision to play 32-year-old Bobby Scales(notes) over 24-year-old Tyler Colvin(notes).
“We didn’t bring Tyler up until September, sweetheart,” Piniella said to a roar of laughs from the crowd.
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