Robert Nutting

Robert Nutting (born March 29, 1962) is a businessman and sports team owner. He is currently the principal owner and chairman of the board of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. His other business activities include serving as president & CEO of Ogden Newspapers Inc. and chairman of Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley Resort, and Laurel Mountain Ski Area.[1]

This article is about the entrepreneur. For the Maine politician, see Robert Nutting (politician).
Robert Nutting
BornMarch 29, 1962 (1962-03-29) (age 58)
Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materWilliams College
Known forOwner of Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball franchise and Seven Springs Mountain Resort

Sports ownership

Nutting became the sixth principal owner in Pirates history on January 12, 2007. He has served as Chairman of the Board and represented his family's interest in the club since 2002.[1] The Nutting family had become the largest shareholders in the Pirates at some point after 2005 (the exact date is not known since the Pirates are privately held), and eventually acquired controlling interest. However, Kevin McClatchy remained CEO and operating head of the franchise until the end of the 2007 season.

Nutting led the construction of the Pirates' new training academy in the Dominican Republic, which had its grand opening on April 30, 2009. The facility was built on a 46-acre site just outside Santo Domingo, and included two full fields, a half field, batting cages, clubhouses, dorm rooms and class rooms. In 2007, he had also led the efforts to modernize Pirate City and McKechnie Field, the Pirates' spring training facilities in Bradenton, Florida. Pirate City improvements included a new dormitory, clubhouse, staff offices, enhanced training/rehab facilities and a fifth field. Lights were installed at McKechnie Field, making night baseball possible there for the first time in 2008. In order to take further advantage of the upgraded facilities, Nutting led the purchase of a Florida State League franchise, the Bradenton Marauders. The addition of the Class A-Advanced affiliate was part of an effort to further the development of Pirates minor league players, in addition to rehabilitation assignments for major league players. The Marauders won the Florida State League title in 2016.[2]

The highlight of Nutting's tenure as owner of the Pirates to date has been the three-year period from 2013 to 2015 when Pittsburgh compiled a 280-206 record (.576 winning percentage). It was the second-best mark in Major League Baseball during that period behind only N.L. Central Division rival St. Louis (287-199). The Pirates captured an N.L. Wild Card spot each of those three seasons. In 2013, they compiled a 94-68 mark and defeated Cincinnati in the Wild Card Game before losing to St. Louis in the Division Series, three games to two. Pittsburgh went 88-74 and 98-64 during the regular season in 2014 and 2015, but lost to San Francisco and Chicago respectively in the Wild Card Game. The Pirates hosted all three of those Wild Card contests at PNC Park.

After the Pirates' highly successful 2013 season, Nutting was named Newsmaker of the Year by the Pittsburgh Business Times [3]). In the article that announced the honor, Craig Davis—president & CEO of VisitPittsburgh—said: "Thanks to Bob Nutting and the Pirates organization, 2013 marked one of the most exciting baseball seasons in decades. On top of that, the exposure the city garnered with the Pirates getting into the playoffs was absolutely phenomenal." Former Pittsburgh mayor Tom Murphy added: Since becoming the managing partner, Bob has just as quietly, with a fraction of the resources of other teams, built an exciting team. The Nuttings deserve Pittsburgh's support and thanks."

Nutting is also chairman of the Pirates' philanthropic arm, Pirates Charities, which constructs baseball and softball fields for youth in the Pittsburgh region and Bradenton, FL, through its Miracle League and Fields for Kids programs. Pirates Charities also supports military families and veterans as well as those who are battling cancer.[2]

Criticism

Due to Nutting's perceived tendency to put profits ahead of a competitive product on the field, he is often ranked in both the local press and nationally as one of the worst owners in sports,[4][5] earning the nickname "Bottom-Line Bob".[6][7] Despite being the 10th richest owner in MLB,[6] the Pirates have constantly been in the bottom third of payroll under his direct ownership and that of his predecessor and former business partner Kevin McClatchy when Nutting was a minority partner.[8][9] Following McClatchy turning away Dallas Mavericks owner and Mt. Lebanon native Mark Cuban from buying the team around the time the Nutting family was becoming majority owners,[10] Nutting has also turned down bids by Pittsburgh Penguins owners Mario Lemieux & Ron Burkle, as well as Pittsburgh Steelers minority owner Thomas Tull, insisting that the team isn't for sale.[11][8]

He has been the subject of harsh criticism due to trades the team made in the 2017-2018 offseason, moving pitcher Gerrit Cole to the Houston Astros, and center-fielder Andrew McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants in an apparent fire sale. Following the two trades, Pirates fans began signing a petition on Change.org forcing Nutting to sell the team to someone who would make the team more competitive.[12] The McCutchen trade did net pitcher Kyle Crick and outfielder Bryan Reynolds. The former made 116 appearances as a late-inning reliever for the Pirates in 2018 and 2019, and the latter finished 7th in the N.L. batting race with a .314 mark as a rookie in 2019. Nonetheless, the trades, along with similar trades made that offseason by the Miami Marlins, has led to the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to investigate both teams on whether or not they are using their revenue sharing funds to improve the team's on-field performance, as required in the current collective bargaining agreement.[13] On February 23, 2018, MLBPA filed a formal grievance against the Pirates, Marlins, Oakland Athletics, and Tampa Bay Rays over the teams use of revenue sharing funds, which MLB responded that the claims had "no merit"; the grievance was never heard.[14] Miami (63-98) was the only team named in the grievance to post a losing record in 2018. Oakland went 97-65 and captured an A.L. Wild Card spot and Tampa Bay (90-72) and Pittsburgh (82-79) finished above .500.

On February 1, 2018, it was reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Weirton Medical Center, a major advertiser for three of Nutting's papers (Weirton Daily Times in Weirton, West Virginia, Herald-Star in Steubenville, Ohio, and The Review in East Liverpool, Ohio), were pulling its ads from the papers over “the failure of the Pirates to craft a deal to keep Andrew McCutchen a Pirate.”[15]

Ogden Newspapers, Inc.

Nutting serves as the President and CEO of Ogden Newspapers, Inc. headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. He is the great-grandson of company founder H. C. Ogden, and is the fourth generation of his family to run the company. Ogden Newspapers publishes 40 daily newspapers, multiple weekly newspapers and magazines as well as many phone directories. The company has newspapers and other media forms in 12 states.

Seven Springs Mountain Resort

Nutting is currently the Chairman of Seven Springs Mountain Resort, a four-season resort located approximately 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. In late 2013, Nutting acquired nearby Hidden Valley Resort when it was purchased by Seven Springs.[16]

Personal life

Nutting was born on March 29, 1962 in Wheeling, West Virginia. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Nutting enjoys the outdoors enjoying his time fly fishing, skiing and flying his personal twin-engine aircraft. Nutting and his wife, Leslie, have three daughters. An avid conservationist, Nutting is the driving force behind the Pirates' "Let's Go Bucs. Let's Go Green." initiative to make PNC Park operations more environmentally friendly.[1]

References
  1. Kovacevic, Dejan (13 January 2007). "Nutting becomes Pirates' principal owner". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  2. "Robert Nutting, Chairman". Pittsburgh Pirates. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  3. https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2013/12/27/2013-newsmakers-of-the-year.html
  4. Pirates' Nutting ranked among worst owners Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (07/30/2007)
  5. Dunlap To Pirates Owner: Mr. Nutting, It’s Time KDKA-TV (11/03/2016)
  6. Sounding off: Let's trade Billionaire Bob Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (02/10/2018)
  7. Kevin Gorman: Pirates owner Bob Nutting now face of franchise Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (01/20/2018)
  8. Steelers minority owner Thomas Tull is not trying to buy the Pirates, source says Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (10/18/2017)
  9. Nutting balances Pirates' payroll versus tough decisions Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (02/20/2017)
  10. Pirates tell Mavs' owner Cuban team not for sale ESPN.com (11/07/2005)
  11. Pirates Owner Rejected Mario Lemieux’s Offer to Buy Team New England Sports Network (01/31/2010)
  12. Fed up Pirates fans petition MLB to force Pirates owner to sell after recent trades CBS Sports (01/18/2018)
  13. Why the MLBPA is suspicious about the Marlins’ and Pirates’ revenue-sharing practices SBNation (01/26/2018)
  14. MLBPA files revenue-sharing grievance against Marlins, A's, Pirates, Rays ESPN.com via Associated Press (02/27/2018)
  15. Andrew McCutchen trade sparks advertiser boycott in Bob Nutting-owned newspapers Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (02/01/2018)
  16. "Deeds: Seven Springs pays $7.5 million for Hidden Valley". WTAE. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
Preceded by
Kevin McClatchy		 Owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates
2007–present		 Succeeded by
current
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