2 years ago, if someone were to ask me what my 2 biggest wishes were as it related to my sports teams, I would not have said to win a championship. I would not have just wanted a good season for my favorite teams. No, the dream scenario was that my 2 favorite sports franchises, the Washington Redskins/Commanders (I still have real difficulty calling us the Commanders and prefer just “Washington”), and the Baltimore Orioles would have new ownership. I would much rather prefer to have a good, classy, respectable franchise and culture, vs. having an occasional good season. I also came to the realization after years of getting beaten down by arguably the 2 most dysfunctional ownership situations in sports, that because of the toxic ownership situation of my 2 favorite teams, winning a championship would be so incredibly difficult. Ownership change was indeed a dream. And especially for Washington with Snyder ownership, it seemed like a pipe dream that would never happen!
But in Washington, the dream became the reality last July, officially on my birthday! And in Baltimore with the Orioles, while there were years of speculation and hoping for a future Angelos family sale, including Thom Loverro who insisted it was in Peter Angelos’ Will that the Orioles would be sold when he passed, there was never of course 100% certainty that this would ever happen.
It was one thing to dream about my 2 teams having new ownership. It was another next-level pipe dream to imagine both sales happening, within the same calendar year! In December 2023, stunning and thrilling news broke, that David Rubenstein was in talks with John Angelos, about buying the Orioles! As expected, Orioles fans in Birdland were ecstatic. Hoping. Praying!
And then on January 30, 2024, an official agreement was reached between Rubenstein and John Angelos, setting off the celebration in Birdland that we were dreaming for!
But wait, there’s more! Next-level excitement, finding out that as hoped and also dreamed about for years: my favorite player- in all of sports…Cal Ripken, was indeed an integral part of the ownership group! This was happening.
Then on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, the day before Orioles Opening Day at Camden Yards, MLB owners unanimously approved the sale to the Rubenstein group! The celebration was officially, official!
David Rubenstein statement when sale became official
Also on Wednesday after the sale became official, Cal and David Rubenstein sat down with Cal’s son, Ryan, for their first exclusive interview together. Lots of really good stuff here. And there was also a video of former players congratulating the new ownership group.
I’m not going to spend time rehashing all the mistakes that Peter Angelos made. And on a personal note, taking a moment right now to pray for the Angelos family as they mourn Peter’s passing last Saturday. I hope he had a personal relationship with Jesus when he passed and is in heaven now. It needs to be said that Peter Angelos loved Baltimore. And he loved the Orioles. He wanted to win. And in his first few years, he needs to be recognized for having the highest payroll in MLB. My Nats fan friends will not like this, but Angelos also needs to be applauded by O’s fans for shrewdly negotiating the MASN deal with MLB, controlling the majority of Nats TV profit in perpetuity, as a concession for the Nats moving to DC, affecting the Orioles market. Peter Angelos also needs to be applauded for hiring Andy MacPhail in 2007, then Buck Showalter, when he finally realized it was best that he not meddle and let baseball people make baseball decisions. And something else not to be missed, is how Angelos kept ballpark costs relatively low- including allowing fans to bring in their own food- in a desire to maintain family friendly expenses. And then John Angelos also needs to be applauded for going all-in on a needed rebuild- the first true rebuild in the illustrious history of the Baltimore Orioles- and hiring 2023 MLB Executive of the Year, Mike Elias and similarly, giving him full control of baseball operations, leading to the consensus elite pipeline the Orioles now have.
Just amazed that this new day, this new era is here. The “Next Chapter” for the Baltimore Orioles. Opening Day was filled with so much excitement, beginning with the official Rubenstein Intro press conference. Then the ownership group also bought fans beer at then annual packed out Pickles Opening Day tradition. The entire day was filled with so many things to be excited about, on and off the field.
Let’s recap what we have to be excited about in Birdland:
Elite Pipeline- MLB ranked #1 Farm System
MLB #1 Ranked Prospect in Jackson Holliday
101 wins, reigning AL East Champs
2023 MLB Executive of the Year
2023 AL Manager of the Year
2023 AL ROY
30 Year Extended Camden Yards Lease
A True “Ace” in Corbin Burnes- who dominated in his O’s debut
I can honestly say that experiencing this dream of new ownership groups with my 2 favorite teams over the past year, in the bigger picture of franchise altering trajectory, is much better than experiencing a championship. No more of the old ownership challenges, and wondering what would be said or done that wouldn’t make sense, or could be damaging to the franchise. Everything changes now. Everything is possible. Sustained, more consistent winning is possible. Having widely respected and classy ownership is now possible. It’s a new day. A new chapter. Let’s go Orioles!