Orioles Owner John Angelos: Fans Shouldn’t Get Their Hopes Up On Retaining Young Stars Without Price Raise

In recent months, Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos has frequently contrasted his idea for Camden Yards with The Battery neighbourhood close to Truist Park for the Atlanta Braves.

Orioles Owner John Angelos: Fans Shouldn’t Get Their Hopes Up On Retaining Young Stars Without Price Raise

Only the Oakland Athletics, who in recent years had a similarly good young core but gradually moved those players away before becoming the majors’ worst team in 2023, had a lower player payroll than Baltimore when the season began.

The Orioles, on the other hand, have the best record in the American League and have a low payroll in part due to the fact that many of their players are young and have not yet reached the more expensive stage of their careers.

The Orioles are unlikely to follow the Braves in signing several of their core players to long-term contract extensions, according to Angelos, who spoke to The New York Times.

“We’re going to have to raise the prices here — dramatically,” Angelos told The Times in terms of what he saw as the only way for the Orioles to retain their collection of young stars.

Angelos elaborated on his remark concerning price increases, stating that the team will swiftly find itself “underwater” with significant agreements.

“Let’s say we sat down and showed you the financials for the Orioles,” he said. “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.”

The issue with Angelos’ accusations is that the company was able to maintain payroll levels up to $160 million not so long ago and still generate a profit. Payroll for this year is about $72 million.

For the Baltimore Orioles, the future is now. The Orioles have pulled everything together this season after years of rebuilding and are leading the very competitive American League East with a 77-47 mark, which also happens to be the best mark in the whole AL.

The Orioles have a much harder difficulty spending money to sign marquee players since they are a small-market MLB franchise. Their youthful, skilled core has been the foundation of their success this season, but Baltimore will need to spend money to keep them around. Angelos bluntly stated that, given their situation, prices are going to have to be increased for fans over the next few years.

 

 

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