Investigative journalist Pablo Torre’s eponymous show hinted on social media on Thursday that the Los Angeles Dodgers and owner Mark Walter could soon be facing more scrutiny, something that surely will raise concerns around Southern California.
It’s frightening for Dodgers fans to think that “Pablo Torre Finds Out” could be targeting Walter and the Boys in Blue just days after a sprawling multi-part investigation led to record penalties for the LA Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer.
But given that Torre’s show shared an image of Walter and the Dodgers presenting President Donald Trump with a jersey at the White House earlier this year alongside the caption “New investigation. Tomorrow.,” that concern is well founded.
What happened to the Clippers after Pablo Torre investigated?
As many Southern California sports fans likely know, the NBA’s investigation found that the Clippers and Ballmer indeed tried to get around the salary cap by setting up no-show endorsement deals for star Kawhi Leonard.
As a result, the Clippers are losing five first-round draft picks and are being fined $30 million.
In addition, Ballmer is suspended from all NBA activities for a year, and two of his top executives were also given lengthy suspensions.
Of course, baseball doesn’t have a salary cap — at least, not yet — so that wouldn’t be the subject of the investigation here.
Walter is, though, under investigation by the federal government over alleged improper loans involving his insurance companies, which could be related to Torre’s upcoming investigation.
The impact of Mark Walter being under federal investigation
In the aftermath of that report, Walter has sold the Los Angeles Lakers after he owned them for only about a year.
Walter has said he has no intention of ever selling the Dodgers, but could that change given the investigation?
It’s possible, and that could be catastrophic for the Dodgers.
Much of this recent success hinges upon Walter’s willingness to spend big, and there’s no guarantee that a new owner would want to proceed in the same fashion.
Furthermore, as happened when previous Dodgers owner Frank McCourt placed the team in bankruptcy during a contentious divorce, an element of chaos is introduced that limits MLB’s ability to control who buys the team next.
It’s impossible to say at this point what might happen next, nor that bankruptcy would ever even be an issue here, but a lot can happen in a year.
If you asked Steve Ballmer a year ago if he ever envisioned himself banned from his own stadium, he would have laughed in your face.
Now, he’s on the outside looking in for an extended period of time.
Dodgers fans shouldn’t panic yet, of course. Torre’s Clippers investigation took almost a full year before any concrete action by the league.
And given that Walter’s investigation doesn’t even tie directly to the Dodgers, there’s plenty of buffer room.
That said, plenty of Dodgers fans will be tuning into Torre’s show on Friday with fingers crossed.
