Jason Freier is the chairman and
Chief executive officer of Hardball Capital, which is based in
Atlanta. On February 20, 2006, Hardball Capital purchased the
Fort Wayne Wizards. Following the 2008 season, the Wizards were renamed to the Fort Wayne TinCaps, in reference to
Johnny Appleseed who lived in Fort Wayne and was buried in the city. In July 2006, Hardball Capital purchased the
Salem Avalanche. The team was bought for $8 million from Kelvin Bowles who had owned the team for 20 years. In December 2007, Hardball sold the team to
Fenway Sports Group. On March 20, 2008, Hardball Capital purchased the
Savannah Sand Gnats of the
South Atlantic League. In August 2015, Hardball moved the
Savannah Sand Gnats to
Columbia, South Carolina and they became the
Columbia Fireflies and moved to the
Carolina League. In March 2015, Hardball purchased the
Chattanooga Lookouts of the
Double-A (baseball) Southern League. There were over 15 members of the ownership group. == Sports properties ==