Baseball owners approve Johnson as Giants’ control person

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Greg Johnson was approved by the major league clubs as the new controlling owner of the San Francisco Giants.

Following the decision Thursday at the owners meetings in Arlington, Texas, Giants president and CEO Larry Baer still will represent the club at the meetings, along with Johnson and Rob Dean, who had been handling leadership duties since March. Baer was suspended without pay from March 4 through July 1 after a video showed him in a physical altercation with his wife.

Johnson is the son of Charles Johnson, part of the group including late managing partner Peter Magowan that bought the Giants in 1993 and kept them from relocating to Florida. Greg Johnson will be chairman and Dean the vice chairman, and both will be managing members, the team said in a statement.

Baer and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi will report to Johnson and Dean.

Dean is the son-in-law of late Giants principal owners Harmon and Sue Burns. Dean had been serving as the interim control person with Major League Baseball and the team’s board of directors. The Giants planned the changes to their governance structure after Baer’s absence.

The video posted by TMZ showed Pam Baer seated in a chair when Larry Baer reached over her to grab for a cellphone in her right hand and she toppled sideways to the ground in the chair screaming ”Oh my God!” The couple later released a statement saying they were embarrassed by the situation and regretted having a heated argument in public.

Baer, long the face of the franchise, sat a few rows back rather than on the podium when San Francisco introduced new manager Gabe Kapler at the ballpark last week.

Bruce Bochy retired after the season following a 25-year managerial career that included the past 13 with the Giants and the previous 12 with the Padres. His teams won World Series championships in 2010, ’12 and ’14.

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