Ted Lerner has passed at 97

[DPMOmaha]

Ted Lerner, the D.C. real estate magnate who purchased his hometown baseball team from MLB in 2006 and oversaw a World Series title in 2019, has died, a Nationals spokesperson confirmed. He was 97.

https://twitter.com/barrysvrluga/status/1625154799292280835

[Natsinpwc]

https://twitter.com/barrysvrluga/status/1625154799292280835

That’s sad. Glad he got to see a title.

[PowerBoater69]

[imref]

Thank you Ted for bringing the Nationals to DC, and for building a team that dominated the last decade.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Glad he had that wonderful run from last decade that culminated with a championship.  A joy to work with your kids, too. 

The Post article has a nice recap of the team history in DC.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/02/13/washington-nationals-owner-ted-lerner-dead/

[Smithian]

Thank you Ted for bringing the Nationals to DC, and for building a team that dominated the last decade.

[HondoKillebrew]

RIP to a man who had a big role in shaping the DC area in multiple ways over the past 50+ years.

[welch]

A story from when Ted Lerner bought the Nats: he remembered all the players from "The Wrecking Crew of '33", the last Nationals team to win the pennant.

[PowerBoater69]

"The crowing achievement of his family business was bringing baseball back to the city he loved"

Very strange thing for the team to put out as their statement following his passing. They then mention the World Series, which certainly is what most fans will think of first when hearing his name. But the credit for bringing baseball back goes pretty exclusively to Anthony Williams and the DC Council.

[HondoKillebrew]

"The crowing achievement of his family business was bringing baseball back to the city he loved"

Very strange thing for the team to put out as their statement following his passing. They then mention the World Series, which certainly is what most fans will think of first when hearing his name. But the credit for bringing baseball back goes pretty exclusively to Anthony Williams and the DC Council.

Glad you said it. I wasn't going to under the circumstances, but you are absolutely correct.

[Natsinpwc]

Glad you said it. I wasn't going to under the circumstances, but you are absolutely correct.

I had the same thought when I read that. Revisionist history.

[PowerBoater69]

I had the same thought when I read that. Revisionist history.

I haven't read the article but apparently Svrluga noted the same issue. Buying the city a World Series was headline enough, leave it to the Nats to cause a distraction by embellishing his accomplishments.

[skippy1999]

Wow, I knew he was pretty old but didn't realize he was that old. Glad he got to experience the thrill of 2019.

[2k6nats]

Thanks for the memories, Mr. Lerner.

[machpost]

"The crowing achievement of his family business was bringing baseball back to the city he loved"

Very strange thing for the team to put out as their statement following his passing.

And it's being repeated over and over across the internet today. Are people really that ignorant about how it all happened? I'm seeing endless "RIP thank you Mr. Lerner for bringing baseball back to DC" comments everywhere.

[Count Walewski]

The Nationals are not just a success story on the field (don't let 2020 - present make you forget about 2011 - 2019!) but they are an urban development and real estate success story too. Lots of teams promise to bring revitalization to the stadium area, the Nats have actually delivered on this.

[HondoKillebrew]

And it's being repeated over and over across the internet today. Are people really that ignorant about how it all happened? I'm seeing endless "RIP thank you Mr. Lerner for bringing baseball back to DC" comments everywhere.

A lot of people truly don't know. And some seem to have forgotten. He deserves praise for a lot, and his family deserves sincere condolences, but he did not bring baseball back to DC. 

[imref]

And it's being repeated over and over across the internet today. Are people really that ignorant about how it all happened? I'm seeing endless "RIP thank you Mr. Lerner for bringing baseball back to DC" comments everywhere.

I guess because he won the ownership rights and purchased the team in 2006 then folks are giving him some credit, even though he had to beat out other owners. In the grand scheme of things this isn't something i'm going to get upset over.

[PowerBoater69]

A lot of people truly don't know. And some seem to have forgotten. He deserves praise for a lot, and his family deserves sincere condolences, but he did not bring baseball back to DC. 

To that point, the Nats best attendance season was 2005, the year before he bought the team.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

I don't get why they couldn't just say "Thank you Mr. Lerner for making sure baseball had a permanent home in DC."  Still sounds like an achievement while basically remaining in the realm of honesty.

Anyway, RIP to the old man.  Got off to a rocky start here, but in the end I'm glad it was your family that bought the team.

[welch]

A big tjhing is that Ted Lerner was completely local...DC Public Schools, Roosevelt HS, made his money locally. He was invested in Washington baseball history, unlike Bob Short. The Griffith family never had any money beyond what the ball team brought in, and did not have the money to tell that arrogant Baltimore beer family to stay away. Calvin Griffith stole the Nats away to Minneapolis. Ted Lerner has not.

[Senatorswin]

The Nationals are not just a success story on the field (don't let 2020 - present make you forget about 2011 - 2019!) but they are an urban development and real estate success story too. Lots of teams promise to bring revitalization to the stadium area, the Nats have actually delivered on this.

To me that's huge. Before the stadium was built there that area was a real toilet. It's so different now.

Mr. Lerner never got to see a resolution for the MASN debacle. Whenever it's resolved I don't think the other major player, Mr. Angelos, will be aware of it's resolution either.

[Natsinpwc]

To me that's huge. Before the stadium was built there that area was a real toilet. It's so different now.

Mr. Lerner never got to see a resolution for the MASN debacle. Whenever it's resolved I don't think the other major player, Mr. Angelos, will be aware of it's resolution either.

DC built and owns the stadium.  The Lerners of course put up their money to buy the team but there were competitors.  Not sure how they get credit for any of that either?

[Senatorswin]

DC built and owns the stadium.  The Lerners of course put up their money to buy the team but there were competitors.  Not sure how they get credit for any of that either?

I didn't mean the Lerners were responsible for the stadium. That credit goes mostly to Williams, Evan and to some extent Linda Cropp for pushing it through. I was just agreeing about the affect the building of the stadium had on the area it was built in. BTW, it did bother me on opening day 2005 Adrian Fenty through out the first pitch when he fought the building of the stadium. I understand this has nothing to do with Mr. Lerner though.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

I didn't mean the Lerners were responsible for the stadium. That credit goes mostly to Williams, Evan and to some extent Linda Cropp for pushing it through. I was just agreeing about the affect the building of the stadium had on the area it was built in. BTW, it did bother me on opening day 2005 Adrian Fenty through out the first pitch when he fought the building of the stadium. I understand this has nothing to do with Mr. Lerner though.

That was Dubya.  You might be thinking of the first pitch at Nationals Park (first exhibition game at the new stadium).