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Out-foxed Bob Daly approved as Dodgers' boss
Posted: Thursday January 20, 2000 05:01 PM
PHOENIX (AP) -- Fox is officially out and Bob Daly in. The transfer of control of the Los Angeles Dodgers was approved by baseball owners Wednesday, formally starting another era for one of the sport's most traditional franchises. "This has been a dream of mine for a long time," Daly said. "I've been a Dodgers fan since I was 6 years old in Brooklyn." The Fox Group, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., bought the Dodgers from Peter O'Malley's family in March 1998 from $350 million. But the team floundered under its new corporate owner, finishing third in the NL West at 83-79 that year. After agreeing to a record $105 million, seven-year contract with pitcher Kevin Brown, the Dodgers expected to win in 1999. But even with a $79.2 million opening-day payroll -- second highest in the majors -- they wound up third at 77-85, 23 games behind first-place Arizona. Daly, who ran Warner Bros. with Terry Semel for 20 years, was hired as chairman, chief executive officer and managing partner of the Dodgers on Oct. 28, agreeing to buy a small interest in the team. While Fox still owns most of the stock, Daly has complete control of the team's operations. In his first major decision, Daly said Dec. 2 that team president Bob Graziano, a holdover from the O'Malley era, would keep his job. Graziano, who joined the Dodgers in 1986, became president and chief executive officer when Fox bought the Dodgers. He was fired in September by Rick Welts, president of Fox Entertainment Group, who said Graziano "has a different set of experience than what I think we need, what I want." Daly is expected to emphasize Dodgers tradition. General manager Kevin Malone, hired late in 1998, remains in charge of baseball decisions.
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