“This never really came out, but I had an agreement to buy the Oakland A’s, literally,” Lacob confirmed after Schott briefed me on those negotiations. According to Schott, his attorney told Lacob, “Here’s the deal right here. If you want it, you can have it for this number. Meet the price, and it’s yours.” The number was $180 million, and both Schott and Lacob said qualifying wasn’t an issue. A verbal agreement was reached, and Lacob said he was in Southern California playing in a golf tournament the day he was supposed to hear from MLB. Lacob brought his phone onto the course but didn’t get a call. Through his adviser, he tried calling MLB the next day, and no one was taking his calls. This went on for four days, and Lacob eventually realized Selig felt more comfortable with an old acquaintance — Wolff.