SoCal sports lawyer Mark Rosenthal dies at 61

Mark Rosenthal, a sports lawyer who represented the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Angels, the Atlanta Braves, the Texas Rangers and other sports teams in arbitration, has died. He was 61.

His Los Angeles law firm partner, Marc Marmaro, says Rosenthal died of cancer at a Burbank hospital on Feb. 3.

Rosenthal worked with the firm of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler and Marmaro for 24 years and chaired its National Sports Law Group.

Marmaro says Rosenthal's detail-oriented approach helped him in cases where millions of dollars could be at stake.

Rosenthal represented the Dodgers in a successful arbitration with pitcher Eric Gagne and a 2008 arbitration for the Angels against Francisco Rodriguez.

Rosenthal, who collected baseball cards as a child, was a graduate of the University of Michigan law school.

He's survived by his wife and two sons.