Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 24, 1992 TAG: 9201240192
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
JAPANESE WANT TO BUY MARINERS
A group of investors headed by the president of Japanese videogame maker Nintendo on Thursday offered $100 million to buy the financially troubled Seattle Mariners.Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent immediately said it was "unlikely" the offer would be approved because the group was headed by foreigners.
"Baseball has addressed the issue of ownership of its franchises and has developed a strong policy against approving investors from outside the United States and Canada," Vincent said in a statement issued in New York. "It is unlikely foreign investors would receive the requisite baseball approval."
Under the proposal, the chief investor would be Hiroshi Yamauchi, 63, president of Nintendo Co. Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan. Yamauchi, listed by Forbes magazine as one of the world's richest men, would own 60 percent of the franchise.
The offer must be approved by 11 of 14 American League owners and seven of 12 National League owners.
In other baseball:
Pitcher Greg Maddux, 27, jumped into a tie for 11th on the salary list when he agreed to terms with the Chicago Cubs on a one-year contract worth $4.2 million.
Maddux, a right-hander who was 15-11 last season with a 3.35 ERA, becomes the seventh-highest paid pitcher. Maddux, who made $2,425,000 in 1991, had asked for $4.4 million while the Cubs had offered $3.65 million.
He was one of seven players agreeing to contracts Thursday, leaving 116 in arbitration.
George Brett of the Kansas City Royals is getting married. Brett, 38, will marry Leslie Davenport of Kansas City, in the "near future," Royals spokesman Dean Vogelaar said.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, unhappy with a deteriorating stadium and a $4.2 million unpaid pledge, have sued the city to break their Three Rivers Stadium lease.