Diamond Baseball Holdings Agrees to Buy Mets Double-A Rumble Ponies
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, entered into an agreement to sell the team to Diamond Baseball Holdings, the team announced Friday.
“Keeping the team in Binghamton was a priority when we bought the team, and we are confident that DBH, based on their reputation for investing in communities like Binghamton, will ensure that the Minor League baseball experience will be preserved for future generations to enjoy,” David Sobotka, the team’s president, said in a statement.
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The organization initially started by buying a handful of minor league teams after the controversial reorganization of Minor League Baseball. With the addition of the Rumble Ponies, Diamond Baseball Holdings now owns 33 teams, which is over 25% of major league-affiliated clubs.
Financial terms of the transaction were not announced, and Diamond Baseball Holdings declined to comment.
The Rumble Ponies are retaining their front office staff during the ownership transition. Richard Tylicki, who has been the acting general manager since November 2023, was named permanent general manager of the team. Karen Sobotka will remain the team’s vice president. The Rumble Ponies will continue playing games at Mirabito Stadium.
Sports entertainment group Endeavor created Diamond Baseball Holdings in 2021 and appointed Pat Battle as executive chairman and Pete Freund as chief executive officer to oversee the organization.
In 2022, private equity giant Silver Lake bought the 10 minor league clubs Endeavor owned at the time for $280 million, less than a year after Endeavor created Diamond Baseball Holdings. The sale took place because the MLB Players Association believed that Endeavor’s ownership of both the clubs and WME, the player representation and talent agency created a conflict of interest.
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