Aimee
For the past decade, Tom Werner has been a prominent part of an ownership group in Boston that has turned the Red Sox into a top baseball franchise, the winner of three World Series and the producer of some pioneering marketing for a sports team.
Now, with a week to go before team owners are to pick a replacement for Bud Selig as Major League Baseball’s commissioner, Werner has emerged as a formidable challenger to Selig’s longtime deputy and closest adviser, Rob Manfred.
Selig formally announced in September that he would step down in January 2015, and Manfred, baseball’s chief operating officer, has been seen as the favorite to succeed him. But Werner’s candidacy has gained some traction in recent weeks as he has received the backing of a small but influential group of owners who are strongly opposed to Manfred and are trying to block his election.
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Until recently, the owners opposed to Manfred — the Chicago White Sox’ Jerry Reinsdorf, the Red Sox’ John Henry and the Los Angeles Angels’ Arte Moreno — had largely failed to come up with an alternative candidate.
