Former Orioles All-Star Closer Talks About Team's Sale

Zack Britton had a lot to say about the Baltimore Orioles' sale and the Angelos family.

Former Baltimore Orioles All-Star closer Zack Britton says the Angelos family always treated him well during his time in Baltimore.

But he’s not surprised that the team was sold, as he told Foul Territory on Tuesday.

"I felt like it was a matter of time,” Britton said.

Last week the Angelos family agreed to sell controlling interest in the Orioles to a group led by David Rubenstein and Mike Arougheti, two private equity billionaires, for $1.725 billion.

Rubenstein is a long-time Orioles fan, but Britton said that at one time he heard that Rubenstein was interested in the Washington Nationals.

But the deal makes a lot of sense for both sides, beginning with the Angelos family. Peter Angelos bought the team as majority owner in 1993 for a mere $173 million.

That’s couch-cushion money in sports ownership these days.

“Look at that return on investment for the Angelos family?” Britton said. “Why wouldn’t you at this stage?”

The sale still needs to be approved by Major League Baseball and other 29 owners. But once the sale is complete, Rubenstein will be in charge. The co-founder of a private equity firm, The Carlyle Group, will control the team and be in charge of financial decisions.

For a team with a payroll of less than $100 million and one that possesses one of the best young rosters in baseball, that could be good news for Orioles fans who have grown weary of the Angelos family pinching pennies, Britton said.

“I think the resources, I think fans would expect that they’re going to get more resources put toward the team in acquiring free agents,” Britton said.

Britton broke in with Baltimore in 2011 and played eight of his 13 MLB seasons with the Orioles, where he went 30-22 with a 3.22 ERA and 139 saves. He last played with the Yankees in 2022 and had a career record of 35-26 and 152 saves.

In spite of how some fans feel about the Angelos family, Britton didn’t take shots. He said they always treated him well.

“I had a great relationship with them, my whole career they were great to me,” Britton said. “The whole Angelos family treated me really well.”