Peter Seidler, the owner of the San Diego Padres who spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the still-elusive goal of bringing the city its first World Series title, died Tuesday in San Diego. It was 63.
His death was confirmed in a statement from the Padres. No cause was given.
Mr. Seidler, who has twice been treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, said in September that he would miss the rest of the season as he recovered from a medical procedure in August.
Mr. Seidler was not shy about his ambitions to win a World Series with the Padres, no matter the cost. Under his leadership, the team spent heavily on players in the hope of winning a title.
“I like to spend money,” Mr. Seidler told The San Diego Union-Tribune last year. “You can’t take it with you.”
The Padres franchise, which began in 1969, made history in 2019 when it signed third baseman Manny Machado to a 10-year, $300 million contract. At the time, this was the largest contract given to a free agent. In 2020, the Padres reached the postseason, ending a 14-year playoff drought. They reached the National League Championship Series in 2022 but lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Mr. Seidler, as Commissioner Rob Manfred noted in a statement on Tuesday, “grew up in a baseball family.” He was the grandson of Walter O’Malley, who owned the Brooklyn Dodgers and stunned the baseball world in the late 1950s when he moved the team to Los Angeles. He was also the nephew of Peter O’Malley, who took over the Dodgers from his father and oversaw the team to World Series titles in 1981 and 1988.
Peter Seidler was born on November 7, 1960, in Alhambra, California, to Terry Seidler and Roland Seidler Jr. He earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Virginia, where he was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity. He received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
In 1992, after working in the lending arm of Bank of America, Mr. Seidler founded Seidler Equity Partners, a private equity investment firm. He made a fortune with the firm, which manages more than $5 billion in assets, according to the Padres.
Mr. Seidler’s foray into sports began in 2012, when he formed an ownership group to buy the Padres from John Moores. The team included his uncle Peter O’Malley, who had left the Dodgers in the late 1990s. Mr. Seidler took over as Padres president after Ron Fowler stepped down in 2020.
As president of the Padres, Mr. Seidler took an aggressive spending approach, acquiring pitchers Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove before the 2021 season. The Padres reached the playoffs in 2022.
By the start of the 2023 season, the Padres had one of the largest payrolls in Major League Baseball, and some people — including the commissioner — questioned whether that spending was sustainable.
“I don’t spend much time, if any, thinking about what other people are thinking,” Mr. Seidler said in February. “We believe we have a great opportunity to follow that trophy and deliver San Diego its first parade — and with great seriousness and humility.”
He told The Union-Tribune in July that he planned for ownership of the team to remain in his family after his death.
Mr. Seidler is survived by his wife, Sheel, as well as three children, nine siblings and his mother.
Petco Park, home of the Padres, opened Tuesday afternoon to allow fans to pay their respects.
