Barely a month has passed since Jeffrey Moorad, the agent-turned-owner from Modesto, took over the San Diego Padres.
He's come a long way from the graduate of Downey High and Modesto Junior College who admitted he couldn't swat a baseball from the front door to the mailbox. Since those days of innocence, he has blossomed from Leigh Steinberg's money manager, to respected sports power broker, to the surprising CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, to the managing partner of the 12-person investment team now in charge of the Padres.
But there's still a lot of Modesto in Moorad.
SaveMart Supermarkets CEO Bob Piccinini, entrepreneur Dan Costa and wife Denise Costa have joined the Moorad ownership group in San Diego.
"Going back to my hometown," Moorad said, "is a most natural way to create an ideal partnership."
Moorad, 53, and his local contributors have made it a habit to work together. Hall of Fame Racing, the NASCAR syndicate owned by Moorad (Bobby Labonte drives the No. 96 car), has Piccinini as one of its investors. Costa joined Piccinini's group that nearly bought the Oakland Athletics in the fall of 1999.
Piccinini and Costa have illustrated their passion for baseball for years. Piccinini has owned both the Modesto Athletics and the Sacramento Solons, and Costa parlayed a friendship with Will Clark into a catering job for the San Francisco Giants and visiting teams at Candlestick Park during the late 1980s and early '90s. Locally, Costa has sponsored Modesto Junior College baseball for 20 years.
Moorad can only hope his Padres on the field eventually will match the energy of his investors. Former NFL star Troy Aikman, who's evolved from Dallas Cowboys quarterback to Fox game analyst, joins the Modesto connection.
"We have a lot of confidence in Jeff. He's good at what he does. We thought it would be fun to be involved," Costa said. "The only thing I wanted from Jeff was the same deal Bob got. No different."
Moorad laughed as he retold the story.
"I didn't have the heart to tell him everyone had the same deal," he said. "Dan is an incredible entrepreneur, and Bob has been a friend for most of my life."
They're all on board with a group, already possessors of a 35 percent stake in the team, which expects to own it all within five years. The only man Moorad brought with him from Arizona is team president Tom Garfinkel. And at the top is the only former player agent among baseball's 30 CEOs.
Simply, Moorad loves his new baseball address, though he's learning about San Diego as he goes.
"It's been a little like drinking out of a fire hose, using the time to acquaint myself with the organization and the market," he said. "I'm confident we're on a path that time will prove successful."
Moorad already assisted in rehabbing one organization. When he arrived in Arizona 4½ years ago, he was greeted by fellow MLB owners wary of his motives and a team en route to 111 losses. Three seasons later, the Diamondbacks nearly reached the World Series while the owners acknowledged that their former enemy -- the guy who negotiated Manny Ramirez's through-the-roof contract in Cleveland -- had become one of them.
His entry into San Diego mirrors his trip into the desert. The Padres lost 99 games in 2008, their worst season in 15 years, and a salary dump was under way when John Moores, the majority owner since 1994, sold to Moorad and Company.
"When I went to Arizona, I had a high degree of confidence that I knew what I was doing. In retrospect, I admit I did not know much," he said. "Now the second time around, the issues are more clear and the challenges are familiar. That said, it's been a whirlwind."
Moorad walks in with two advantages: An attractive venue in Petco Park in the heart of the bustling Gaslamp District ("as nice a baseball situation as I've seen in the country") and the pressure-valve release of low expectations.
The Padres can add more: Their new boss is 1-0.
Bee sports writer Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com or 578-2302.
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