Houston Astros Under New Ownership
Longtime owner Drayton McClane is getting out of the baseball business. McClane has sold the Houston Astros to a group of investors for $680 million dollars.
McLane, who bought the Astros from New York ship builder John McMullen for $117 million dollars in 1992, has finalized a deal to sell the team to Houston businessman Jim Crane.
The deal is subject to approval from Major League Baseball owners, who likely will take a month or two to review it. If it's approved, and there's no reason to think it won't be approved, Crane will be the fifth owner of a Houston franchise that opened for business in 1962.
Crane is chairman of Crane Worldwide Logistics, a freight forwarding company, and he says owning a major league baseball team is a dream come true for him.
He promised Houston fans that “Our team will work hard to deliver a superior product and a great experience for the fans...and everything we do will be built around building a championship team."
The Astros were winners over most of their 18 years under Drayton McLane’s ownership. From 1992 through last year, they had the sixth-best record in the major leagues and went to the World Series in 2005.
This year the Astros are the worst team in the National League, with 15 wins and 26 losses, and they're on course for a third consecutive losing season.
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