Jim Crane can finally breath a sigh of relief, well that is if the sale of the Houston Astros goes through as planned, pending the approval of Major League Baseball. For Crane this isn't his first attempt at purchasing a baseball franchise, as he has in the past been linked with attempts to purchase the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers in addition to having interest in the Astros since 2008.
Crane was involved in some of the drama surrounding the sale of the Rangers in late 2009 to a group lead by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.
The question becomes why such a high price tag of $680 million when the Astros net worth according to Forbes is only $474 million? Well the price was driven in part due to a new regional sports network that will be shared between the Astros and the Houston Rockets. Television contracts are high dollar items for teams, even if it is a regional package, and Crane certainly hopes it will pay off.