Martin Luther King's Son Has a Dream to Buy the New York Mets
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Mets' David Wright leaves the dugout with bats in-hand after manager Jerry Manuel took him out of the final baseball game of the season against the Washington Nationals in the ninth inning on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010, in New York. (AP)
Martin Luther King III has a dream: To buy the Mets.
The son of the late civil-rights leader is uniting with some heavy hitters, including Mets legend Ed Kranepool; entrepreneur Donn Clendenon Jr., son of the 1969 Mets World Series MVP; TV executive Larry Meli; and a number of unnamed deep-pocketed investors, The Post has learned.
"It's fitting with the legacy of Jackie Robinson essentially transferring to the Mets; what better place to have African-American ownership than with the Mets," Meli said, noting that Major League Baseball has no African-American owners.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The time and place are right for it. It just seems to be the right mix of people."
The time is right, and the names in this group are Amazin'.
According to Meli, King, 53, who runs the King Center in Atlanta, is scheduled to come to New York this week to set up a meeting with the Wilpons, who announced Friday they're looking to sell up to 25 percent of the team because of financial woes created by the Bernie Madoff mess.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}King declined to comment on the particulars, but Meli said he and his group are looking to purchase at least 50 percent of the club. That could be a roadblock, but Meli said he hopes the two sides can work together.
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