Nationals honor Ted Lerner after his passing at age 97

Ted Lerner, the billionaire real estate developer whose family bought the Washington Nationals in 2006, passed away at the age of 97 Sunday.

Ted Lerner, the owner of the Washington Nationals since 2006, passed away due to complications from pneumonia at his home in Maryland on Sunday night, the team announced. He was 97.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Founding Managing Principal Owner Theodore N. Lerner,” the team said in a statement. “The crowning achievement of his family business was bringing baseball back to the city he loved — and with it, bringing a championship home for the first time since 1924. He cherished the franchise and what it brought to his beloved hometown.”

The billionaire real estate developer and lifelong baseball fan purchased the Nationals from Major League Baseball in 2006 for $450 million after the team was moved there from Montreal, per ESPN. He was managing principal owner of the team until ceding the role to his son Mark in 2018.

The team won the World Series in 2019, after being one of baseball's worst team over a decade long stretch.

“It’s been a very great day for the Washington Nationals,” Lerner said at the championship parade, per MLB.com. “They say good things come to those who wait. Ninety-five years is a pretty long wait. But I’ll tell you, this is worth the wait. This is for the city that’s always believed, the players that always fought and the fans who were with us every step of the way.”

The Nationals tweeted a video tribute to Lerner on Monday:

https://twitter.com/Nationals/status/1625173587119202304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1625173587119202304%7Ctwgr%5Ea90c029f6f2818b243da0a51b0090926ebec92d3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fmlb%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F35652224%2Fwashington-nationals-owner-ted-lerner-dies-97

“I have great appreciation for Ted’s impact on his hometown and the game he loved,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Ted’s entire family, including Annette Lerner, Mark Lerner and Judy Lenkin Lerner, Marla Lerner Tanenbaum and Robert Tanenbaum, and Debra Lerner Cohen and Edward Cohen.”

Lerner is survived by his wife of 71 years, Annette Morris Lerner; his children, Mark D. Lerner, Debra Lerner Cohen and Marla Lerner Tanenbaum; nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, according to MLB.com.