John Henry on base with his bid for McCourt mansion

Call it inside baseball. John W. Henry, commodity trader and principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, has ponied up $16 million for the 18,000-square-foot Brookline home of Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank H. McCourt Jr.

A deal for the property was first reported last week, but the sale price and buyer were not disclosed.

Yesterday, the Red Sox confirmed that Henry had scored the 7-acre property. The main building is a Colonial that features seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and two half-bathrooms. A separate wing was designed with fun in mind: It houses the pool, media room, and a playroom, along with the staff quarters.

The property also has a three-car heated garage, two courtyards, and a carriage house.

Records filed at the Norfolk Country Registry of Deeds confirmed the sale price and disclosed the buyer as Summera Realty Trust. Celebrities and other wealthy buyers often use trusts or other legal entities for real estate transactions to help ensure their privacy.

The Boston Herald first reported yesterday that Henry was the buyer of McCourt's house.

The deal further establishes Brookline as an enclave for Red Sox executives. In addition to Henry -- who already owns a house in the town -- Sox manager Terry Francona and chief executive Larry Lucchino also own houses in Brookline. And this month, general manager Theo Epstein bought a five-bedroom house in the section of Chestnut Hill that is in Brookline.

For several years, the mansion was considered a crown jewel of the local real estate market. It originally went on the market in 2004, after McCourt bought the Dodgers and moved to LA.

When McCourt first put the house up for sale, the $22 million asking price was a record for the Boston area. But McCourt and his wife, Jamie, who is listed as the seller, subsequently dropped the price several times.

The most recent asking price for the property was $20.2 million, according to the MLS Property Information Network, a real estate listing service.

Keith Reed can be reached at reed@globe.com.