NEW YORK — In an unprecedented move, baseball owners unanimously approved the takeover of the Expos by the commissioner's office and the sale of the Florida Marlins to Montreal's current owner.
Tuesday's votes, taken just three days before those teams start spring training, caused immediate management shifts. Montreal manager Jeff Torborg quit and became Florida's manager, and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was hired as the Expos' manager.
Larry Beinfest, who had been the Expos' interim general manager, resigned to become Florida's general manager and was replaced by Omar Minaya, who had been with the New York Mets.
Tony Tavares was appointed by baseball commissioner Bud Selig as Montreal's team president.
"From this day forward, in terms of the decisions they make, they are on their own," Selig said in a conference call.
Selig would not assure survival beyond this season for Montreal. He promised the Expos would be run independently and that their top young players, such as Vladimir Guerrero, wouldn't be traded.
The only previous time a major league team was owned by a league or the commissioner's office was briefly between the 1942 and 1943 seasons. The National League took over the Philadelphia Phillies on Feb. 9 from Gerald Nugent, who fell behind in his ballpark rent, and sold the team on March 15 to William D. Cox — who was banned for life that Nov. 23 for gambling on Phillies' games.
Never before has a major league baseball team been ownerless during a season.