Dodgers players excited to have Magic as an owner
PHOENIX — Who was better: Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan?
Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp laughed and shook his head.
Several lockers down, infielder and Chicago Bulls fan Jerry Hairston Jr. shouted at Kemp: “Tell the truth! Tell the truth!”
Still smiling, Kemp said, “Both of them were great athletes, so I’ll keep it at that.”
Kemp wasn’t about to voice his opinion. He knew who his next boss would be. So did Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda, who remains with the Dodgers in an advisory role.
Asked the same question, Lasorda said, “I’d be dumb if I said Magic wasn’t. I may not be smart, but I’m not dumb.”
Unlike the other ownership-related developments in recent years, news of the Johnson-led group’s agreement to purchase the Dodgers brought smiles Wednesday to the clubhouse.
Players didn’t appear as rigid as they did after Frank and Jamie McCourt filed for divorce or when the Dodgers were taken into bankruptcy. About the only times they chose their words carefully was when asked how their next boss, a Hall of Fame player for the Lakers, compared with Jordan as a basketball player.
“If I’m a player, I’m excited that Magic is coming in,” Manager Don Mattingly said. “They’ve been having to deal with all the negative. As soon as you hear the name Magic Johnson, it turns into a positive. It’s positive energy around our ballclub and around the city.”
Utilityman Adam Kennedy, who grew up a Dodgers fan in Riverside, was excited.
“I can’t really describe it, how big it is, what he means to the community of L.A. and the sports world,” Kennedy said. “You know how much pride he has in all of his business aspects ... and you know he’s going to bring that here.”
Kemp was hopeful Johnson could return the Dodgers to the top of Los Angeles’ sports hierarchy.
“If you look at past interviews, Magic always said that the Dodgers used to be the team that was running L.A.,” Kemp said. “Now, it’s the Lakers. I think he knows how important the Dodgers are to L.A. I think they’ll do everything it takes to get us back to where we need to be.”
Most players acknowledged their enthusiasm was a reflection of how they felt about Johnson and nothing more.
Right fielder Andre Ethier knew of former Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals president Stan Kasten, who will oversee the Dodgers’ everyday operations. But Ethier was in the minority.
Even union representative Clayton Kershaw acknowledged he didn’t know anything about Kasten.
But Kershaw wasn’t overly preoccupied with what was happening upstairs. “I don’t think it makes a bit of difference about us winning,” he said. “We’ve got the same team. We should win games no matter who owns us.”
In a team meeting soon after, Mattingly and General Manager Ned Colletti delivered that very message.
Kershaw also downplayed the anticipation that the new ownership group might increase payroll at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. “It’d be great if it happens,” the Dodgers’ ace said. “If it doesn’t happen, it means we don’t need it, which is great too. It doesn’t affect me.”
The change in ownership could affect Ethier, who will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season. But Ethier wouldn’t speculate whether he now has a better chance of remaining with the Dodgers beyond this year.
“It’s way too early to even play those games in your mind right now,” he said. “It’s a proven group, a lot of proven winners and people who want to win, but we still don’t know what their goals are going to be coming in.”
Ethier, however, sounded as if he would be open to negotiating a contract extension during the season, which some players refuse to do.
“I’m open to anything,” he said. “At this time, I’m just focused on the year and getting it done. It’s not one of those things I really want to address right now. I’m trying not to speculate.”
There was a lot that remained unknown, including when the new owners might visit the team or how involved they would be before the sale closes.
What was clear was that the group paid a lot of money for the Dodgers: $2.15 billion.
Chris Capuano, the No. 5 starter, is about as close to an economist as the Dodgers have in their clubhouse. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke with a degree in economics.
This is how Capuano made sense of the sales price: “The brand of the Dodgers, it’s hard to put a price tag on. You knew it was going to be pretty subjective. I can’t speak to you to about the financial side of the deal because I don’t know all the intricacies.”
Kemp had a more visceral reaction.
“I feel broke,” said Kemp, who signed an eight-year, $160-million contract over the winter.
Kemp continued, “I thought what I got was pretty good money. But what they have is … wow … 2 billion is a lot of money, man, it’s a lot of dough.”
Kemp plans to solicit business advice from Johnson.
“He’s found ways to make a lot of money,” Kemp said. “I’m sure he’s a great guy to talk to about the business side of things. It would be cool to pick his brain about some things, so hopefully one day I could be a billionaire.”
