Kevin McClatchy

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Kevin S. McClatchy (b. January 13, 1963, Sacramento, California) is a co-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. He led a group of investors that purchased the team in 1996, and served as the team's CEO and lead owner until 2007, when Bob Nutting took over as lead owner, and McClatchy and Nutting hired Frank Coonelly to become CEO.

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[edit] Early life

Prior to purchasing the Pirates, he owned the minor-league Modesto A's[citation needed]. In addition to his baseball work, he is a director of The McClatchy Company, a newspaper publisher owned by his family. McClatchy was a brother of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Kevin is an alumnus of the Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, New York.

[edit] Time with Pirates

Kevin McClatchy was the leader and plurality investor in a group that paid $95 million for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1996. McClatchy immediately assumed the posts of chief executive officer and managing general partner, which are the offices traditionally staffed directly by owners in Major League Baseball.

McClatchy is a member of Major League Baseball's executive council and the labor and international committees. At some point, which is not entirely known because the Pirates are a private corporation, G. Ogden Nutting and his family became the plurality and then majority owners in the franchise. Bob Nutting, Ogden's son, is now chairman of the board. The Nuttings, however, have consistently shied from the spotlight and allowed McClatchy to be the main or even sole voice of the ownership group.

In 2006, McClatchy speculated openly about resigning, possibly even selling the team, if the Pirates did not improve. He affirmed that he was frustrated with his own team, referencing popular and political complaints about an implied "promise" that the publicly-funded PNC Park would provide the owners will all the resources they needed to field a winning team. On October 4, 2006, however, McClatchy announced that despite another losing season, he would remain in his offices, and made only a few minor personnel changes. On January 12, 2007, the Pirates announced that Robert Nutting would replace McClatchy as the Pirates majority owner. During McClatchy's reign as owner, the Pirates never achieved a winning season.

McClatchy retains a minority ownership stake in the team and continues to serve as the team's CEO and on its board of directors.

On July 6, 2007 it was announced that McClatchy would step down as CEO after the 2007 MLB season. On September 8, 2007 Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that baseball executive Frank Coonelly will be hired by the Pirates to replace McClatchy as CEO. This report comes just one day after the Pirates fired General Manager Dave Littlefield. The hiring of Coonelly was announced September 13.[1]

Preceded by
Pittsburgh Associates
Owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates
1996-2007
Succeeded by
Robert Nutting



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