Former owner of the Miami Marlins for 15 years, Jeffrey Loria, has agreed to sell the franchise for $1.2 billion to a business group led by former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter and businessman Bruce Sherman. Loria has been unpopular with Marlins fans since he first bought the franchise back in 2002, and is now retiring from his position at the age of 69. He sold the team to a business company headed by Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman.

Derek Jeter is a 20-season veteran of the Major League Baseball (MLB), all of his seasons playing at shortstop for the Yankees, before retiring from baseball in 2014. He is one of the most iconic names in all of baseball, winning five World Series Championships and 14-time All-Star titles, and is expected to bring that expertise to the management of the Marlins, hopefully snapping them out of their several consecutive  losing seasons.

Bruce Sherman is a businessman and co-founder of Private Capital Management based in Naples, Florida. He is expected to manage the financial status of the team, while Jeter takes care of the individual players and employees of the Marlins franchise in the 2018 season.

The Marlins and the Sherman-Jeter group finalized their purchase agreement on Friday, Oct.11, and forwarded the deal to Major League Baseball who later approved it. The change in management is not just an on-paper formality, however, it may bring major changes to the team as they enter the season next year.

Jeter published a letter on Oct. 3 to the City of Miami and Marlins fans all around the country, laying out his plan for starting a new era in the history of the Marlins. He starts the letter off with a story from his past- visiting Miami at the age of 17 on a recruiting trip for the University of Miami. Aside from the diverse music and culture, the young Jeter noticed something else unique about the city.

“One thing really jumped out at me. It was the way people talked about Miami — with such a sense of pride. Everyone I met seemed to go out of their way to tell me why their city was so special,” Jeter said.

He continues to lay out his plan for making the Marlins team something to be proud of- not just by improving their record, but also by improving the attitude surrounding the team.

“The way I see it, doing things the right way, over and over, leads to sustained success. I’m not just talking about wins and losses — winning games is very important to everyone — but also about developing a winning culture throughout the organization”.

The new owner will most likely attempt to change up the roster of the Marlins as he has already hired a new scouting agent, Gary Denbo, to look for new players. There is also the possibility of the Marlins dismantling the dynamic outfield trio of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna, which will certainly displease many fans.

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“Now they’re thinking of dismantling the outfield, which consists of the three main players on the lineup; it makes the team less organized,” freshman Natalie Falls said.

Regardless, many are hopeful that the change in management will bring about the promised ‘new era’ for the Miami Marlins.

“I believe that the switch in ownership of the Miami Marlins from Jeffrey Loria to multiple partners, one of them being Derek Jeter, will be a great change for the Marlins as it will be a driving factor for fans to go see the Marlins since the team is now owned by a famous former baseball player,” senior pitcher for the baseball team Nicolas Jacks said.