March 02, 2018 – Chicago, Illinois: The baseball and business world was stunned yesterday when news of Oracle CEO and Crystal Lake Sandgnats owner Larry Ellison’s passing was revealed.  Despite rumors emerging last week regarding his deteriorating health, the Ellison family had publicly denied the speculation.  Ellison is reported to have died peacefully in his sleep after coming down with an illness, though full details have not been forthcoming.

Ellison, the co-founder and chief executive at Oracle Corporation, one of the world’s largest enterprise software firms, was also a pioneer in the Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance.

Ellison’s reported worth at the time of his passing exceeds $50 billion according to Forbes most recent index of the world’s billionaires.

The owner of the Sandgnats, Ellison has been credited with helping to build a sustainable business model for the league, and oversaw the construction of a franchise which has experienced unprecedented on-field success despite its inability to bring home a championship.  The adopted son of Russian immigrants, Ellison spent the bulk of his childhood in Chicago and seized the opportunity to bring a baseball club to his hometown market following MLB’s demise in 2007.

Ellison further entrenched his position in the PEBA in 2012 when he purchased approximately 98 percent of the Hawaiian island of Lana’i where he has since lobbied for PEBA minor league affiliates from the Surf and Snow Amalgamation to relocate. It was rumored that the Sandgnats were in the final stages of relocating some of their operations to the island at the time of Ellison’s passing, and it remains to be seen how this will unfold in his absence.

In the elder Ellison’s place steps his son, Bill Ellison, who has been the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Gnats since 2014.  The younger Ellison is said to bring with him a more relaxed and charitable attitude, though like his father, is known for being a tremendous competitor.  It remains unknown what, if any, plans Bill Ellison has for the franchise going forward following a season of unprecedented turmoil.

Though the team released only a short statement expressing condolences for the loss of its lead executive, plans are reportedly being made for a public service at Gnat Field in the next week, along with a possible procession through Larry Ellison’s adopted hometown of Crystal Lake.  It has been reported that the team will use their flexible spring schedule to attend services on the fifth or sixth of March.