Nashville MLB effort adds another big name: Darius Rucker

Darius Rucker is an avowed sports fan with some previous tangential involvement in baseball–the Lexington County Blowfish (summer collegiate; Coastal Plain League) were named for his band, Hootie and the Blowfish–but the involvement in the Music City Baseball effort goes beyond that:

“I have always been a big fan of Major League Baseball so I’m excited about being part of bringing a team to Tennessee,” Rucker said in a statement. “Nashville is already a great home to several professional sports teams, and I believe baseball is the next step in continuing Nashville’s reputation as one of the greatest cities in the United States.”

The current investor group in the Nashville ballpark effort contains some serious star power; besides Rucker, it includes Luke Comb, Kane Brown and Justin Timberlake, as well as former Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George. But there have been some losses on the baseball side: Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa is now manager of the Chicago White Sox, and it looks like Dave Dombrowski will be departing to take another position in baseball, he’s reportedly headed to the Philadelphia Phillies.