Freund

Peter Freund has a deep appreciation for central Pennsylvania that he plans to nurture with Wednesday’s announcement that Diamond Baseball Holdings has purchased the Altoona Curve.

Freund is CEO of DBH, a minor league conglomerate that owns 21 teams and has become the third owner in the Curve’s 25-year history, taking the reins from the Lozinak family.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

Freund (pronounced Frund) currently owns the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Railroaders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, and the Williamsport Crosscutters, who compete in the MLB Draft League, along with the State College Spikes.

His family owned a packaging plant for many years in the Lewistown area.

“I’ve got a fondness for Pennsylvania and central Pennsylvania,” Freund said Wednesday.

He also understands this area’s fondness for the Curve.

Despite being one of minor league baseball’s smaller markets, the Curve continue to average more than 4,000 fans per game.

This year’s average of 4,363 marks the highest in franchise history at this point in the season.

Freund and his DBH management team met with the Curve staff on Wednesday morning at Peoples Natural Gas Field to reassure all stakeholders — employees, sponsors and fans — that the transition will be smooth.

“We love the name, we love the brand, we’re not going anywhere,” he said. “This (acquisition) is an easy one for us.”

Freund, 47, said general manager Nate Bowen and the management team “will remain in place” and pledged organizational stability.

“If you look at every one of our acquisitions since January 2022, all of those management teams and staffs are still in place,” he said. “We love the management and how it’s run. We don’t come in and cut jobs. We’ve taken a lot of pride in the people who are on the ground.”

Team president David Lozinak called his family’s decision to sell “extremely difficult.”

His father and mother, Bob and Joan, were the team’s original owners for the inaugural season in 1999, along with Tate DeWeese, before selling the team to Chuck Greenberg in 2001 and buying it back in 2008.

“We feel confident Diamond will be keeping and maintaining the club here,” David Lozinak said. “They’ve given us that assurance.”

The ballpark

“The Curve is the pride of our family and will continue to be so,” Bob and Joan Lozinak said in a joint statement. “When this all started over two decades ago, we felt confident that — despite being one of the smaller markets in the minor leagues — Altoona was the right community for affiliated baseball. That has been proven true by the tremendous support of Curve fans.”

The Lozinaks are proud of the recent improvements at PNG Field, mandated by Major League Baseball, and a reason that, when 40 affiliated teams were contracted two years ago, the Curve maintained their Double-A status.

“We are thrilled that our most recent investment in player-centric improvements to the stadium has solidified the future of baseball in Altoona, and we know that our fans will continue to support this team like it is their own,” Bob Lozinak said.

David Lozinak will remain in his position through the remainder of the season and then will reevaluate.

“For this year, everything will be status quo. I’m not committing one way or the other. I love living in Altoona. It’s been great raising my family here,” he said.

David Lozinak has three children, including a son, Will, who works for the team.

“We appreciate all Dave and his family have done,” Freund said. “We’ll sit down and see if there’s potentially a role, but we’re obviously buying the club. It’s great he’s here for the transition.”

Freund has been here in the past and came away raving about the stadium.

“Excellent,” he said. “One of the things that’s really critical in minor league baseball is stadium compliance for MLB development. The stadium is immaculate.”

Freund has known the Lozinaks along with Greenberg.

“There’s a lot of connectivity in minor league baseball,” he said, adding “we have great respect for all of them.”

Acknowledging that change sometimes brings concerns about an uncertain future, Freund said, “It’s going to be Pirates, and it’s going to be Double-A.”

The Curve are the Pirates’ longest-running affiliate, with an agreement through 2030.

“Our relationship with MLB and the Pirates is important,” Freund said. “We’re hyper focused on having the best workout facilities and batting cages and everything on the player development side.”

The Pirates praised the Lozinaks and support the deal.

“The Pittsburgh Pirates would like to thank the Lozinak family for their partnership and dedication to our staff, players, and the Curve for the past 25 years,” said Ben Cherington, general manager of the Pirates. “Today, we are thrilled to welcome DBH, whose ownership of the Altoona club comes with a strong commitment to the local community, the Pirates organization and Minor League Baseball.”

The team said the sale is subject to satisfying standard closing conditions but the transaction is expected to be completed quickly.

Bowen, in the midst of his second season as general manager, said Wednesday brought mixed feelings.

“We’re excited to be joining DBH and at the same time reflective of not only what the Lozinaks have done for each of us but the Altoona community as a whole,” he said. “They’ve been a staple here.”

Freund said DBH remains in “acquisition mode” and expects to purchase another half-dozen teams in the future.

In addition to Altoona and Scranton, DBH owns 20 teams that are in Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A, and Ballpark Digest projected “the group could be on its way to owning 50 minor league teams.”

Freund described DBH as a “lean” organization with about 20 employees but that each affiliate “has 20 to 40 employees.”

“Diamond Baseball is about strengthening our teams,” he said. “We use best practices for all our clubs and have regional and national sponsors and want to own a whole corridor. From travel, purchasing, concessions, we have the opportunity to be as efficient as possible. And for the employees in Altoona, you can be part of a bigger organization with more opportunities.

“This is a real win for us, the Pirates and, most importantly, the community.”

Ownership timeline

â-  June 1997: Altoona native Bob Lozinak joins a group pushing for a minor league baseball franchise to be established in Altoona.

â-  April 1999: Owned by Lozinak and minority partner Tate DeWeese, the Curve open their first season at newly-constructed Blair County Ballpark.

â-  October 2001: Curve majority owner Bob Lozinak sells the franchise to a new group headed by Pittsburgh sports attorney Chuck Greenberg.

â-  December 2008: Chuck Greenberg announces his group is selling the Curve back to original owner Bob Lozinak.

â-  June 2023: The Altoona Curve is sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings.