Angelos cast a pall on otherwise glorious season
I agree with State Senate President Bill Ferguson that the Orioles lease deal for Camden Yards should have been signed already (“Maryland Senate President
Bill Ferguson says he wants long-term Orioles stadium lease to be completed ‘yesterday,’ ” Aug. 18). I used to be a rabid Orioles fan when we had Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray and the best pitchers in baseball.
During the opening years, our beautiful Oriole Park at Camden Yards was the place to be. There was always excitement surrounding the Orioles and who could forget my all-time favorite, Cal, and his record 2,131 consecutive games played. Those were the days. You were lucky to even get a ticket to a game. We even made the playoffs back in the 90 s.
And then, Peter Angelos got stingy with his money and wouldn’t pay for top talent especially after the fiasco with Chris Davis’ $161 million contract. The Orioles eventually faded from contention over the next many years and seats were empty at our showplace ballpark. I must say I started losing interest in the team. Angelos got old and sick and then his sons took over managing the team. Things went from bad to worse. Eventually, John Angelos was put in charge and since the hiring of Mike Elias as executive vice president and general manager (and after some very lean and discouraging years), the Orioles are now charging ahead of the pack and, hopefully, on their way to the World Series.
But, with John Angelos’ reluctance to seriously negotiate a long-term lease with yet another chair of the Maryland
Stadium Authority, I’m getting very nervous about the future of the Orioles. I’m afraid that my heart will be broken again like it was when the Baltimore Colts hastily left the city in the middle of the night in 1984 and it was a drought of 12 years without a football team before Art Modell gave us our beloved Ravens. Now, we could be ready to go through that ordeal again. Angelos only has until the end of the year to get this deal done and then it’s over. The Orioles become a free agent and could relocate anywhere the team owner thinks he’ll make the most money.
It’s a scary and vulnerable feeling that if I let myself become a great fan of these fantastic young Orioles and if
Angelos decides he’d rather take his team to Nashville where he and his wife work and live, how can I deal with being betrayed again by a professional team owner? Without that new lease being signed, Senate President Ferguson is right to be impatient.
Angelos needs to get this deal done as soon as possible. He needs to show his die-hard Orioles fans that, while Baltimore supported the bad teams in the earlier 2000s, Orioles fans are deserving of and, yes, entitled to reap the rewards of having a true championship level Major League Baseball team. If Angelos continues his stalling tactics, the only conclusion for fans to draw is that he does not intend to keep the Orioles in Baltimore and after 70 years, Baltimore will be without a Major League Baseball team.
That would be emotionally devastating to many and it’s why I’m afraid to embrace these exciting, talented young Orioles. They have so much promise, such a strong chance for great success and I can’t let myself feel the hurt again if another of Baltimore’s professional teams leave their hometown.
In signing the lease extension, Angelos can let Orioles fans know that without a doubt, our beloved team will be here for a very long time. That lease signing will let me trust that John Angelos has faith in Baltimore and its fans. And since he is making this strong commitment, I will make a strong commitment too and fully embrace, once again, my home team.