And what's this? Bill Maher now owns a part of the Mets.
No one has said what percentage of the team he has—almost definitely very small—or how much he invested (probably also small) or why the Wilpons made so little fuss about his investment. But apparently he bought in months ago, at a time when the Wilpons' control of the team was very much in doubt.
It's not entirely clear how much of a Mets guy he is, either. He identifies himself as a fan since the early '60s, but his visit to Citi Field last night was his first (He has also said in the past that he "grew up" on the Yankees. Hmmmm).
In any event, a vanity owner! There are lots of these. And he seems ideal for the position. Maher's L.A.-based HBO show is built around giving Hollywood a token seat on the edge of the D.C.-New York political conversation. ("We can have serious ideas here, too!"). Rob Reiner is a political commentator; Maher is a baseball executive. The Wilpons get a little tinsel.
So: what analysis does the new owner have about the state of the Mets?
"I'm really happy that it's turned out that this team is good this year, because nobody picked them to be good."
Indisputably accurate. And?
"I've never been back here—it's awesome. I've never been by a batting cage, really," Maher said.
He actually doesn't sound that much more awkward than the Wilpons.