Sunday, February 13, 2000
Griffey deal seals Lindner's legacy
Reds ownership combines his skills
BY CLIFF PEALE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Carl Lindner has brought half a dozen companies, thousands of workers and millions of dollars to Greater Cincinnati. But Thursday's blockbuster trade for Ken Griffey Jr. might have the biggest impact yet.
None of his other companies is so public and so engrained into the culture of his hometown as the Cincinnati Reds. In pure bottom-line terms, the franchise is a mere blip on the screen compared with other Lindner-controlled companies, such as Chiquita Brands International and Great American Insurance.
As Mr. Lindner stood at the Cinergy Field lectern Thursday night and introduced Mr. Griffey, it was clear that the franchise is more than just a profit-making enterprise. He called the moment “one of the highlights of my career.”
“I love this city,” he said, sporting a Reds tie. “It's where I grew up, raised my family, built our businesses and brought in new businesses from other cities.
“In these times when big teams in big markets seem to steal the stars, it speaks so much of Ken that he wanted to come here.”
The impact of Mr. Griffey on the Reds will be immediate, signifying a huge turnaround from the decade-long controversies swirling around Marge Schott and Pete Rose.
But the impact on Mr. Lindner's legacy here could be even bigger, providing a link to the everyday Reds fans who know nothing about his multimillion-dollar takeovers but raced to buy Reds tickets Thursday, Friday and Saturday after the Griffey deal was finalized.
Mr. Lindner's legacy here includes not only his business interests, but huge charitable and civic contributions, ranging from $1.5 million to buy computers for poor Catholic schools to millions of dollars given to the University of Cincinnati College of Business Administration.
He also has stirred controversy nationally with millions of dollars in political contributions. Some have called those a blatant attempt to influence federal officials to wage a trade war with Europe over banana quotas, since those quotas hurt Lindner's Chiquita Brands.
Mr. Lindner bought a controlling share of the Reds last year, joining with several partners to spend $67 million and end Mrs. Schott's stormy reign.
After that deal, Mr. Lindner promised a stable, businesslike environment at baseball's oldest franchise.
His friends and colleagues called his purchase of the Reds and the trade for Mr. Griffey a civic contribution based on solid business.
For example, he eliminated the uncertainty of Mr. Griffey's pending free agency at the end of the 2000 season by signing him to a nine-year contract.
“I look at baseball as some combination of his business acumen and community acumen coming to the fore,” said local executive Roger Ach, president of the Lottery Channel Inc. and a longtime friend of Mr. Lindner's. “It's one of a series of very positive moves that have put the Reds on the map.”
Mr. Ach said he never doubted that the new Reds owner would pull out all the stops to get Mr. Griffey because the trade appealed both to his hometown pride and his “deal-making expertise.”
“I don't think it's a great surprise,” he said. “People from out of town were asking me, "Are you going to get Griffey?' I said if he's available, we'll get him.”
William J. Williams, the chairman of Western-Southern Life Insurance Co. and a former owner of the Reds, said Mr. Lindner cares about his legacy here — even if he rarely seeks the public spotlight.
“He definitely wants to be involved, and this just happens to be athletics,” Mr. Williams said. “I think he really enjoys it ... He'll be remembered for this, I'm sure.”
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