(670 The Score) There may be hope on the horizon for the struggling White Sox organization.
Billionaire Justin Ishbia recently abandoned his pursuit of purchasing the Minnesota Twins to instead increase his minority stake in the White Sox after being approach by the Reinsdorf family, Jon Greenberg of The Athletic reported Friday. While full details of Ishbia’s agreement or understanding with White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf remain unclear, many in the industry believe the development has paved the way for Ishbia – who’s building a mansion in Winnetka – to take over as the controlling owner sometime down the line.
In Score morning host Mike Mulligan’s opinion, that’s terrific news. Ishbia is also a minority partner in the Phoenix Suns, with his brother Mat being the controlling owner.
“My reaction after I fainted was one of pure elation,” Mulligan said.
“This is great news. When he was pursuing the Twins, I was just muttering to myself, ‘Oh great, here’s a guy that’s in town and he’s going to be the owner of the Twins. Why don’t you go buy the White Sox?’ Honest to god, I had that thought.
“It hints at more to come. It hints at a future with promise. It is all about moving forward what’s best for this team. And a guy with coin who wants to invest who is based in Chicago indicates that they’re going to stay on the South Side, that they’re not going to move to another place. I love this idea.
“He’s doubling down … There’s no you pull out of that if you want to be an owner unless you got a good deal going on the local team. I’m convinced this speaks volumes about the future.”
You can listen to the full segment in the audio player above.