By Dave Lezotte
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | The Gwinnett Stripers baseball team will be sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), along with two other minor league teams in Rome and Biloxi, Miss. The Atlanta Braves will continue to be affiliated with all three minor league teams.
DBH is a subsidiary of Endeavor, the global sports and entertainment company. The sale of the teams remains subject to the Professional Development League (PDL) approval process.
The Stripers will continue to be led by Vice President and General Manager Erin McCormick, and the staff will remain intact. She says: “We are proud to continue as the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Under the leadership of DBH, we will work to make Coolray Field one of the best fan experiences in minor league baseball.”
Diamond Baseball Holdings is also buying several other minor league operations, including:
- Iowa Cubs (Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs);
- Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals);
- Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders (Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees);
- Hudson Valley Renegades (High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees);
- San Jose Giants (Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants); and
- Augusta GreenJackets-The Augusta team was not owned by the Braves, and was their Single-A affiliate.
As part of DBH, McCormick will work closely with Diamond Baseball Holdings’ leadership, Pat Battle and Peter B. Freund, to realize the club’s ambitions. Battle is Executive Chairman of DBH, bringing extensive experience at the local and national level, as well as ownership interest in two PDL Clubs. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Learfield and serves as an advisor to Endeavor across multiple companies. Freund is CEO of DBH, also bringing to the plate experience as a longtime Minor League Baseball owner and operator. Freund most recently consulted with the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball on the transition of Major League Baseball’s licensed affiliates while spearheading the formation of the MLB Draft League.
“Diamond Baseball Holdings will be global in our ambitions and hyper-local in our approach, and creating incredible fan experiences will remain our number one priority,” says Battle and Freund. “Additionally, we look forward to providing opportunities for growth to the employees of PDL Clubs whose passion and ingenuity have built the sport through the decades.”
Endeavor has appointed Pat Battle and Peter B. Freund to oversee Diamond Baseball Holdings. Battle is executive chairman of DBH, bringing extensive experience as well as ownership interest in two PDL Clubs. Freund is CEO of DBH and most recently consulted with the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball on the transition of Major League Baseball’s licensed affiliates while spearheading the formation of the MLB Draft League.
Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, WME or WME-IMG) is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, Calif. It has 6,400 employees and revenue of $1.4 billion. The company was founded in April 2009 after the merger of the William Morris Agency and the original Endeavor Talent Agency. Endeavor represents artists in movies, television, music, theater, digital media, and publishing.[3] It also represents the NFLand NHL.[4] Endeavor owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship[5] and Miss Universe. It is headed by CEO Ari Emanuel and executive chairman Patrick Whitesell.
The group also owns film and television production company Endeavor Content.
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