Larry Baer, the Giants President and CEO, has quietly built up a superstar network of local business, political and social leaders with the focus being centered on the franchise's financial heath and overall well being.
It's impressive to say the least and with the Giants headed to their third World Series in five years that vast cachet of clout that Baer has established within his own inner circle only gets more pronounced.
Speaking of such, how's this for starters: Baer stands to receive a whopping $10M "service" bonus from the Giant's partners if the team wins another title and they're the odds-on favorite against the Kansas City Royals.
That's a 10 MILLION! bonus. That doesn't take into account Baer's multi-million dollar salary but the Giants are making mountains of money, more money than you can imagine with a waiting list of corporate sponsors, a sold-out season ticket base, and a nearly paid-for waterfront ballpark palace that is the envy of all Major League Baseball partners.
Baer's influence extends from the Giant's TV partnership; its cable affiliate, (and limited owner, Comcast), all the way to KNBR, with an extraordinary say on virtually all commercial broadcasts and beyond. Baer oversees all of that and then some and before anything gets hitched, Baer must see it and OK it. You'd be surprised to know just how much cachet and clout Baer carries, it's gargantuan and it's only going to get bigger and bigger.
Have you seen those frequent crowd shots of Baer schmoozing with some celebrities from the music, entertainment or political world? Baer works the room very well; the Giants are flush with cash and sitting on millions in profits and Baer is the captain of the ship. The next time you plunk down a hundred bucks for a few polish dogs and panda hats, a beer or two, Larry Baer says thank you.
He should.
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