Dover - AFP
Major League Baseball has asked an American court to order the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers, saying it is the only way for the team to successfully emerge from bankruptcy. Lawyers for Major League Baseball filed documents on Friday in a bankruptcy court that claimed Dodgers owner Frank McCourt was using the baseball team to try to solve his financial woes. They also said that McCourt's scheme to auction the team's television rights without league approval could result in banishment of the club from the league and was a breach of the Dodgers' current television deal with Fox Sports. MLB lawyers say the only way for the Dodgers to now successfully get out of bankruptcy is for a judge to order the sale of the team. A hearing has been set for October 12. The team filed for bankruptcy protected June 27 in Delaware. McCourt, embroiled in a bitter divorce fight, had tried to make deals that would allow him to keep control of the Dodgers while giving him the funds to complete a settlement deal with his ex-wife. But Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has stepped in to thwart any deal that would see club assets used to help McCourt's personal woes, even as McCourt vows to retain ownership of the Dodgers and find a settlement.