Astros Chairman Jim Crane: Exclusive Interview
Houston’s Wonder Man Has Heart Of Gold
by Barry Warner
Barry Warner: When did it really hit you that you owned the team that won the World Series?
Jim Crane: Well, listen it was not an easy ride. We worked hard to get there and going down to the last game. It took a couple of days to sink in, but you know, it’s still sinking in. So, I mean it’s still sinking in. It’s a great feeling and again, with the fans and the city all behind us, it’s really a lot of fun.
Barry Warner: World Series rings and I believe you told me the other night; I want to make sure I heard it correctly. You have purchased 900 rings.
Jim Crane: Well, I just got an audit today and it’s more than that. It’s 1100.
Barry Warner: Wow.
Jim Crane: We got it down really well. We’ll take some time to thank everybody for their contribution, you know, including all the part time workers in the ballpark. And so, it’s a great feeling and I think everyone’s excited and very proud to have one of those.
Barry Warner: So, you mean to tell me that someone who’s an usher, someone who is one of the groundskeeping crew got a replica of the World Series ring?
Jim Crane: That’s correct. And they look nice too. You know, those people have worked hard. We’ve had some people in there for 30, 40 years working there and I wanted to make sure that they got rewarded just like everybody else.
Barry Warner: Now Jim, you can’t give an usher or someone in the grounds crew or the ticket office a ring valued the same as you’re giving to the Verlander’s or Jose Altuve. So how did you break it down?
Jim Crane: It’s pretty easy. I mean, you know, we’ve got a few different types, but the front line rings are very expensive.
Barry Warner: You’d care to reveal a ballpark figure? Jim Crane: I’d rather not but I would say we spent millions on the ring, put it that way.
Barry Warner: I had heard from one of the insiders over in your office that the bill may be approaching a four and a half million.
Jim Crane: That’s pretty close.
Barry Warner: Jim, I understand that when you were at the White House something rather funny that was not reported occurred, could you please tell us on the other side of the nation’s first tweeter?
Jim Crane: What are you referring to?
Barry Warner: A phone call.
Jim Crane: The phone call from the president?
Barry Warner: Yes.
Jim Crane: Yeah. So, we were in the White House and Mr. Trump, President Trump’s good friends with Barry Levine, the president of the Yankees and they’ve known each other a long time and he called his assistant as we were getting pictures in the Oval Office and he said get them on he line and he got them on the line. He said, Hey Barry, I’m here with your friends, the Astros. He said, Oh yeah, they’re really good people. He was kind of stunned I think to be on the line. And he says, yeah. He said, these are the guys that kicked your ass and then, he said a couple of other things and hung up on him. So, the president was ribbing his New York friends up there that the Astros beat them.
Barry Warner: The architect of the team that you hired. Was it Peter Ueberroth, one of your good friends and members at Pebble Beach that gave you the tip?
Jim Crane: He told me when I saw him one time playing golf out there. He says, I’ve got your next GM, but you won’t ever find him when you get a hold of a team. He says, give me a call and I’ll put you in touch with them. That was Jeff Luhnow.
Barry Warner: And you met Luhnow and how soon after meeting Jeff did you guys come to a deal?
Jim Crane: He actually flew down the next morning after I called him. He had a 21 page book on how to fix the Astros’. We ended up, interviewing a lot of potential GMs with experience. Jeff was not at that level yet in St Louis. He was head of the baseball development and a couple of steps away from a GM job at least. He just came across as he had some business experience and he has an MBA from Kellogg. He is very bright guy and articulate and I looked at all the candidates and I just felt comfortable with the hire. I liked his demeanor and the way he handled himself. And I liked the plan and I thought it would work. So we hired him within a week.
Barry Warner: Is it safe to say that you have extended his contract and he will be here for a good long time, Jim?
Jim Crane: We’re working on it. We don’t have an announcement yet, but he’ll definitely be here for a while. Don’t worry about that.
Barry Warner: You don’t have worry about another team coaching and giving him a piece of the deal?
Jim Crane: I don’t think so. No, I don’t think that’s in the cards. I think we’ve got them locked down for quite a while and hopefully we’ll get something out pretty soon.
Barry Warner: So what was it like when you negotiated with the Darth Vader of the industry and Scott Boras who represented Jose Altuve?
Jim Crane: Well, Scott’s a very strong personality and he’s been an agent for a long time. He has a lot of experience. And listen, he had one opinion on what should get done and we felt strongly that we wanted Altuve to be here a long time. We don’t have the same amount of resources as New York and LA and Chicago. So the decisions we make in that regard with that amount of money, I have to be very precise. And so, you know, we felt comfortable with the amount of money and we felt comfortable with the amount of years, but Scott wanted more years. A good deal is one that’s good for both sides and I think it’s great for the team and I think it’s great for Jose and he’ll be here a long time and Scott didn’t probably have as much influence on the final decision. It was Jose’s decision.
Barry Warner: What’s it like though when you look at that massive of a number $151,000,000?
Jim Crane: It’s a lot of money. It’s a good thing we don’t pay it all at once. But listen the team has done well, we’ve been able to increase the payroll like we said we would all along when the time was right and we’ve invested a lot in the team and the ballpark.
Barry Warner: The very first time that we interviewed you after purchasing the team, you are a steward for the city of Houston and I never heard that term before. Could you amplify on that please?
Jim Crane: When you own a ball club it’s kind of like the fans club. What I’m really proud of is what we’ve been able to do with the foundation. We’ve really been able to raise a lot of money for some very good causes. We’ve got thousands of kids playing baseball that wouldn’t be playing where we’ve been able to do some things for the homeless and that’s really important and you know, our fans get behind that and we really appreciate their support, but you know, giving back is key to this ball team and the sport. And I think it’s our job to do that. We’ve renovated a lot of city parks or a lot of ball fields that got damaged with the flood so the kids could get back playing this spring. It’s good stuff and we appreciate the support of the fans on that.