Baltimore Orioles Owner John Angelos Makes Worrying Comments About Team's Future
The New York Times published an in-depth article about Baltimore Orioles owner John Angelos on Monday, and the billionaire revealed that the club may not be willing to spend the big bucks moving forward.
"The hardest thing to do in sports is be a small-market team in baseball and be competitive, because everything is stacked against you – everything," Angelos told the New York Times, despite his team being in first place for the last month.
The 77-47 Orioles, who are on pace to secure just their second AL East crown in the last 26 years, have a roster chock full of young talent. Catcher Adley Rutschman has anchored the lineup since arriving midway through 2022, shortstop Gunnar Henderson is one of the favorites to win AL Rookie of the Year and the outfield trio of Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander has already reached its All-Star potential.
Closer Felix Bautista has broken out as one of the top relievers in baseball, while Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez have been pegged as building blocks in the rotation.
According to Angelos, though, it may be difficult to extend all of them beyond their current deals.
"Let's say we sat down and showed you the financials for the Orioles," Angelos said in the interview. "You will quickly see that when people talk about giving this player $200 million, that player $150 million, we would be so financially underwater that you'd have to raise the prices massively. Now, are people going to come and pay that? I don't know if we're at the limit, to your point. I don't know if we're in equilibrium elasticity, supply and demand. Maybe we are. But really that's just one team. What I'm really trying to think about is macro."
Angelos volunteered to disclose the franchise's financials in January, but refused to do when March rolled around.
And even after admitting that the young core may not be able to stay intact in the future, Angelos cried poor and alluded to price increases coming down the pipeline.
"We're going to have to raise prices here – dramatically."
While Team Marketing Report's MLB Fan Cost Index showed that the Orioles have the fifth-cheapest gameday experience in the league, it still cost the average family of four $203.06 to buy tickets, parking and concessions for a single game in 2022. The 94-year-old Angelos family patriarch Peter, meanwhile, is worth roughly $2 billion.
The Angelos very recently squashed some serious internal squabbling, dropping multiple competing lawsuits regarding the future of the family estate in February. However, ownership has yet to extend its lease at Camden Yards beyond this season, creating uncertainty on a grander scale than roster construction.
For the time being, Baltimore will continue to make a push towards the playoffs. The Orioles have Monday off, but will open up a home series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.
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