Nolan Ryan-Chuck Greenberg Group Wins Texas Rangers Bid

FORT WORTH, Texas - A group led by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan early today won the bidding for the bankrupt Texas Rangers.

The packed courtroom in Fort Worth erupted in cheers and a standing ovation when Ryan's group was announced.

Ryan and sports attorney Chuck Greenberg won with a $593 million bid, including $385 in cash, surviving a bid from billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Houston businessman Jim Crane.

The confirmation hearing on the bankruptcy plan is scheduled for today. Final approval of the Rangers sale rests with MLB, which had endorsed the Ryan deal.

Cuban, who also made an unsuccessful bid for the Chicago Cubs last year, said he wanted to buy the Rangers but remains an enthusiastic fan of the team -- and of Ryan.

Top creditors will only get about $75 million from the Rangers -- being sold by Tom Hicks, who also owns the NHL Dallas Stars.

The judge has said lenders, who are owed about $525 million after the Hicks group defaulted on loans, can go after the Dallas businessman's other companies.