EXCLUSIVE: The widow of late San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler has spoken out against her brother-in-law who claimed her lawsuit against him prevented the team from signing star pitcher Roki Sasaki.
Seidler’s brother, Matthew Seidler, provided a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday suggesting that Sheel Kamal Seidler’s lawsuit against him came during a “critical time” of negotiations with Sasaki. Matthew’s statement also claimed that their recruitment efforts were impacted by the fact her lawsuit claimed that he and his brother Robert were trying to relocate the Padres elsewhere.
Sheel Seidler’s representatives provided a statement to Fox News Digital, saying her lawsuit would not have prevented the team from signing Sasaki if she was involved in the recruitment process.
“Matt and Robert Seidler must be relieved to have an easy scapegoat for their failure to sign Roki Sasaki. The outcome could have been different if they hadn’t blocked Sheel from participating in the recruitment process, despite her many pleas to put aside any differences and help do what’s best for the Padres,” the statement read.
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Sheel Seidler throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in San Diego. (Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Sasaki himself said that one of the reasons he chose to sign with the Dodgers was because of the organization’s stability, at his introductory press conference last week.
“The No. 1 thing that stood out [about the Dodgers] was the stability of the front office,” the pitcher said via a translator.
Seidler’s lawsuit against her late husband’s brothers, Matthew and Robert, was filed in early January, as she attempted to seize control of the team from them for her children.
She claimed that Peter, before his death, revealed his dying wish was for her to take control of the Padres, followed by their children, and that her children hold the largest stake in ownership. She added that Peter’s two brothers, Matt and Bob, “are trying to erase Peter’s vision and legacy, as well as falsely cast themselves as Peter’s true heirs.”
“I made this decision as a very last resort, but I am confident it is the right one, and the best way to protect the Padres franchise and ensure the vision that Peter and I shared for the team will continue,” she said in a statement after filing her initial complaint on Jan. 6.
The suit also alleges that Robert’s wife made multiple “racist, profane and hateful communications directed at Sheel—a woman of Indian descent—in communications,” and that the two brothers are trying to “wrest control” of the ball club to prevent “an Indian-American woman” from taking what they “saw as their family business and ancestral right.”
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Peter Seidler speaks during the pregame ceremonies honoring Joe Musgrove, #44 of the San Diego Padres, and his recent no-hitter before facing the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 16, 2021 at Petco Park in San Diego. (Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)
Peter died in November 2023 at the age of 63. He had been ill for months, though it has not been disclosed what exactly he was dealing with. Seidler is a cancer survivor who had health issues for quite some time.
The Padres are currently owned by Peter’s estate, while John Seidler, Peter’s oldest brother, has been named as the interim control person for the team. However, John cannot be officially designated until three-quarters of Major League Baseball’s owners approve.
In addition to claiming the widow’s lawsuit prevented the team from signing Sasaki, Matthew’s response claimed that Peter never indicated he wanted Sheel to have control of the team after his passing.
“Peter could have chosen to (a) give Sheel the right to be, designate, or approve the individual that controls the Padres, (b) give Sheel direct ownership or control over the Trust’s interest in the Padres, (c) give Sheel the right to approve or veto any transactions by the Trustees, or (d) require the Trustee to make any principal distribution that Sheel demands,” the response read.
The response claims Peter amended his trust at least seven times after their marriage and never named Sheel a successor trustee in any version and that she was precluded from “ever serving as a successor trustee under any circumstance.”
The response also claims that Peter said during his life that he wanted his siblings and niece to take control of the team after his death.
“Peter had numerous conversations with his siblings and others about successor Control Persons and consistently identified five Seidler family members as candidates: Bob, Matt, John, his brother Tom (who has a 30+ year career in baseball, including 12 years with the Padres), and his niece, Monica,” it read.
“In none of these conversations did Peter ever suggest or even imply that he wanted Sheel to run the Padres. As Peter told people close to him, he moved his family to Texas in 2021 in significant part because he wanted to ‘take pressure off Sheel and the kids’ and to ‘get Sheel out of the limelight.’ Peter knew all too well the potential effects of media attention, as well as the other pressures, stresses, and demands that come with owning a sports franchise.”
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Roki Sasaki and Sheel Seidler. (Getty Images)
In a separate response provided to Fox News Digital, Sheel’s representatives expressed confidence that she will win in court.
“The response, for all of its bravado, is especially thin in responding to the very specific and serious allegations of Matt and Robert Seidler’s breaches of fiduciary duty. It’s ironic that they accuse Sheel — Peter’s wife of two decades and the mother of his three children — of misusing his assets, while at the same time they have reaped the benefits of Peter’s generosity for decades. The fact is, we will win in court because the defendants have shown they have no case. In short, their response is a total strike out.”
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