SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco Giants President and CEO Larry Baer is set to return to work Tuesday following a suspension and nearly four-month absence after a video showed him in a physical altercation with his wife.
The Giants said Saturday that Baer attended a “regular counseling program and has recommitted himself to the organization.” Baer was not paid during his suspension in which Commissioner Rob Manfred stipulated he have no involvement with the team.
Board member Rob Dean handled Baer’s duties during his time away. The team said Dean will become chairman, continuing as the designated control person with Major League Baseball.
Baer took a leave March 4 after TMZ released a video of a confrontation March 1 between Baer and his wife, Pam, in a San Francisco plaza. No charges were filed.
Baer said in a statement he has loved the Giants since childhood, and he apologized to the team’s employees, fans and community.
“I am truly sorry for letting you down,” he said.
He added that the past four months have given him “opportunities for introspection and, with the help of some wonderful people, growth.”
“I’ve been able to step back and take stock of myself as a person and as a leader,” he said. “I am wiser for it, and the work continues. The journey of self-discovery, like so much in life, is ongoing and never-ending.”
The TMZ video showed Baer reaching to grab a cellphone from his wife. She toppled sideways from her chair to the ground, screaming, “Oh, my God!” The couple later said they were embarrassed by the situation and regretted having a heated argument in public.
Baer helped bring home run king Barry Bonds to San Francisco in 1993 and was part of the ownership group that bought the Giants in ’92 to keep them in San Francisco, where the club won the World Series in 2010, ’12 and ’14. He took over as CEO in 2012.
Baer returns to a team that is in last place in the NL West. He said he looks forward to spending the next weeks and months “listening, learning and discovering” how to best serve the team and community.
“The Giants are in a major transition on and off the field,” he said. “This includes some structural changes, which I fully embrace. Major League Baseball is a complex and ever-changing industry, now more than ever. Success requires leadership that listens to and learns from all voices.”
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