San Diego Padres owner and chairman Peter Seidler died Tuesday, the team said. He was 63.
The team did not say how Seidler died. He was a two-time cancer survivor who previously battled Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, according to the Padres.
“The Padres organization mourns the passing of our beloved Chairman and owner, Peter Seidler,” Padres CEO Erik Greupner said in a statement. “Today, our love and prayers encircle Peter’s family as they grieve the loss of an extraordinary husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend.”
Seidler was a kind and generous man who was devoted to his family, Greupner said, adding that he was compassionate, especially toward the less fortunate.
“His impact on the city of San Diego and the baseball world will be felt for generations. His generous spirit is now firmly embedded in the fabric of the Padres,” Greupner said. “Although he was our Chairman and owner, Peter was at his core a Padres fan. He will be dearly missed.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred also mourned Seidler’s loss in a statement.
“I am deeply saddened by the news of Peter’s passing,” Manfred said. “Peter grew up in a baseball family, and his love of the game was evident throughout his life. He was passionate about owning the Padres and bringing the fans of San Diego a team in which they could always take pride.”
Seidler’s grandfather was longtime Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, the team said on its website.
Seidler’s investment group purchased the Padres in 2012, but he initially had a background role while partner Ron Fowler served as chairman, the team said. In 2020, Seidler became the Padres’ chairman.
He founded Seidler Equity Partners, a private equity fund that offers support to entrepreneurial companies in the US and Australia, according to his biography on Padres’ website.
Seidler also created an initiative known as “Tuesday Group,” a weekly gathering that discussed the homelessness problem in San Diego, his biography says. For those efforts, he was recognized as the San Diego Public Official of the Year by the Building Owners and Managers Association and San Diego Nice Guy of the Year in 2017.
The following year, he earned the National Conflict Resolution Center’s 30th Annual Peacemaker Award, San Diego Chamber of Commerce Award for Regional Collaboration and San Diego Downtown Partnership Founder Award.
Seidler and his family have also contributed philanthropic efforts to medical organizations including the American Cancer Society and various health and wellness activities at The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, his bio notes.
He is survived by his wife and their three children as well as his mother and nine brothers and sisters.