Houston Astros, Drayton McLane, and Baseball Ownership

This post was written by Johanna Wagner on December 26, 2011
Posted Under: Johanna's View

Drayton McLane is no longer the owner of the Houston Astros, and the Astros is one of the few teams that I haven?t written much about while writing about the NL Central.? They aren?t going to be that good, there isn?t much to say.? But for Richard Justice, long-time columnist for the Houston Chronicle, there is much to say about McLane and his ownership.

While I can?t speak to too much on the personal level that Justice notes, I do want to write a moment about some of the things about McLane?s ownership that as an advocate for fans I find critical.? Justice points out in this piece that McLane sat behind home plate each night, but also strolled around the concourse to meet fans.? He responded to complaints, and demonstrated what customer service should be.? He answered phone calls and emails, and generally reached out to anyone who reached out to him.? McLane? believed? a franchise should be good citizens of its community and give something back. He is right.? Whether it brings attention to the community by shining the nation?s spotlight onto the city through winning, or whether it just uses its clout to help those citizens by building ball fields, assisting veterans or educating kids it does not matter.? Baseball is not a game meant to feed off of a city.? It is one meant to add blessings to it.

Without that outlook by an ownership group, there should be no public money used to assist a team. And as ownership groups become larger, and the organization becomes more corporate, there is every reason to believe this need to give something back to the city and its fans will fade.? That sense that the owner cares about what brings us to the ballpark is one of the things we love about baseball.? McLane, at least through Justice?s eyes, did that.

Source: http://blog.lovemyteam.com/2011/12/26/houston-astros-drayton-mclane-and-baseball-ownership/

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