The savior?

Competitive Watkins serious in bid to keep Twins alive

Who says the Minnesota Twins don't have a guardian angel? Baseball brings up the subject of putting the Twinkies to bed for good, and Donald Watkins, a wealthy black businessman from Birmingham, drops in wanting to buy the American League club.

Baseball and, to lesser degree, even folks in the Twin Cities don't quite know what to make of this guy.

One minute, the Twins are being declared a financial disaster by commissioner Bud Selig, with owner Carl Pohlad reportedly offered anywhere from $150-200 million by baseball to shut down. The next, you have Watkins eager to buy the franchise -- though for less than Selig's generous offer -- and proposing to throw in a new $350 million stadium, built with private money.

"I think there is a stay of execution on that team, and they are listening to me," said an optimistic Watkins, in Atlanta Tuesday to meet with investment bankers

More on Watkins' bid: CNNSI.com senior writer Mike Fish spoke with Watkins about his interest in baseball and the Twins, in particular. CNNSI.com: What drew you to the Twins? Donald Watkins: The process started in May. I looked at the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and I heard about the possible availability of some other franchises -- Los Angeles (Dodgers), (Anaheim) Angels, (Philadelphia) Phillies, (Detroit) Tigers and Twins. I didn't want to start with some guy who wants $300 million. I looked at the ones hovering above $100 million and I focused on the Minneapolis opportunity, an existing franchise with a long track record. Click here for more.

It comes down now to credibility (Is the money there to fuel his dreams?) and the courtship of fellow owners he hopes to hook up with. He's the ultimate outsider. His major foray in sports came representing Eric Ramsey, a former Auburn football player who secretly recorded conversations with boosters and an assistant coach to support claims they'd doled out cash and other gifts.

That exercise triggered NCAA sanctions against Auburn in 1993, followed by the resignation of popular head coach Pat Dye.

Baseball owners may wonder about his agenda and question if they can trust the guy in their exclusive club.

"We'll have to see whether he is a legitimate, viable candidate to purchase that team," said Sandy Alderson, a baseball executive vice president. "If he is, presumably that is a good thing for baseball. I don't really know much about him or his financial position."

Already, Watkins has put the owners in a hot corner. Bad enough that they're publicly getting smacked around on their contraction plan, but here he comes looking to save the Twins. You're talking a PR nightmare if the Twins contract (read: go out of business) and the man who would be the game's first black controlling owner is shown the door.

"I'm not in this game to say 'stop contraction,' and I don't see where I throw a monkey wrench into the overall scheme," Watkins said. "I don't have anything to do with them being tied up in court (challenging baseball's right to contract). They were not going to be able to contract for 2002 due to political or judicial reasons, anyway."

Watkins, 53, says he hasn't yet made an offer on the club. Because of a confidentiality agreement, he is reluctant going into much detail, but this much is clear -- he's serious.

A founder and chairman of Birmingham-based Alamerica Bank and also the holder of considerable energy investments, Watkins vehemently insists that there are no hidden partners in the baseball deal. To indicate his interest, he submitted, through J.P. Morgan, a detailed financial report to baseball on Sept. 6.

On Jan. 6, Watkins, holder of a law degree from the University of Alabama, had a New York audience with top leaders of baseball's ownership committee, followed by a trip last week to Minnesota for a meeting with Twins ownership.

This week, former Birmingham mayor Richard Arrington is in the Twin Cities helping scout possible sites for a stadium, identifying which municipalities might be easiest to deal with. Watkins reportedly made more than $8 million in legal fees representing the city of Birmingham during Arrington's tenure.

Sitting in the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta's upscale Buckhead, Watkins is brashly confident of pulling all the potential revenue streams together in the Twin Cities. He projects half of the $350 million for the stadium coming from naming rights, which is real ambitious in the current economic climate. He also mentions possibly acquiring a media company to pair with the team.

What he isn't pushing is a political agenda, downplaying at least for now the significance of race in his run at the Twins.

Pure and simple, this is a prudent business deal. Watkins is bottom fishing and he perceives the Twins as undervalued, thanks in part to the bleak picture painted by Selig & Co.

"I like to get in arenas where the market is down generally for the industry, and where I can acquire the asset while it is undervalued," he said. "I understand it may take 5-10 years to get the valuation growth that I am looking for. I'm not trying to get in for two or three years and then flip it to somebody else. It is a franchise and business opportunity that I personally want."

And the competitive guy that he is, baseball should know he'll fight for what he wants.

Mike Fish is a senior writer for CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.

Comments? To e-mail Fish, click here.

 

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