My wife and I are long-time fans of the Kansas City Royals, and we try to hit a home game whenever we can; it’s one of our favorite family pastimes. Currently, the Royals are sitting 4th overall in the MLB’s American League Central (AL Cent), but their performance isn’t the only thing fans are talking about and sportscasters are reporting on.

After much speculation, it’s been confirmed that the Kansas City Royals are being sold to local businessman John Sherman, for $1 billion. The official announcement was made by the Royals’ current owner David Glass and his family on August 30th. While Glass explained to Kansas City fans how difficult this decision was to make, there are high hopes that John Sherman will make an excellent addition to the team.

A season-ticket holder, minority owner of the Cleveland Indians, and Kansas City native, John Sherman will be the third owner of the franchise since it was founded in 1969 by Ewing Kauffman. While the prospect of new ownership is daunting to fans, teammates, and management, John Sherman is certainly the right man for the job. This change in ownership could mean a whole new ball game for the Royals, and one that exudes success.

I believe that Sherman will truly be an asset to the Royals, as his experience speaks for itself. As a former minority owner of the Cleveland Indians, Sherman has seen the operations of major league baseball–he knows how the system works and the types of strategies that will evoke prosperity for the team and the franchise as a whole. However, there has been some speculation that Dayton Moore steps away from the general manager’s office while Ned Yost might also make an abrupt departure.

We can only wait to see what the final outcome will be, but it’s important to keep in mind that the Royals have always been a strong and stable franchise–more than any other franchise within the last decade. As a long-time fan, I have hope that this new deal will bring forth a new era for the Kansas City Royals.

~ Scott Asner Kansas City, Missouri

Also follow Scott Asner on: Medium, About.me, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Xing.