In forum, incoming Orioles owner David Rubenstein shares priorities for organization
Speaking in a forum at the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse on Tuesday evening, incoming Orioles owner David Rubenstein shared that his top priorities for the ballclub upon assuming majority ownership of team include resolving the lengthy Mid-Atlantic Sports Network dispute, supporting executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias’ vision for achieving success and bringing franchise icon Cal Ripken Jr. back into the fold.
MLB owners are scheduled to take a formal vote Wednesday to approve the agreement that Rubenstein, 74, struck with John Angelos in January to initially buy a nearly 40% stake in the organization, with more to be purchased later. Once the vote, which will be conducted over a Zoom call, is passed, Rubenstein will immediately take over as the Orioles’ owner.
Rubenstein spoke in front of a crowd of more than 50 people for over an hour in the Main Reading Room of the Bar Library, touching on a variety of topics including his Baltimore roots and the upcoming U.S. presidential election. He spent a significant portion of the forum speaking on the Orioles, expressing his desire to resolve several outstanding issues with a priority on settling the MASN feud that has been a headache for MLB since its inception.
At the center of the MASN ordeal is the amount of broadcast fees paid to the Orioles and the Washington Nationals, whose television rights were awarded to the club by former commissioner Bud Selig when the Nationals moved to Washington in 2005. While commissioner Rob Manfred has the power to stipulate that the rights be returned to the Nationals in the event of a sale, Rubenstein expressed optimism in reaching an agreement after the sale is finalized.
“I am working on it,” Rubenstein said. “I just think it’s premature to say what the resolution will be but my goal is to take this away from the lawyers and give it back to the business people to resolve. So, I’m hopeful and I have reason to believe that I can get this done, but I’m not a miracle worker.
“It’s been going on for a long time but I think the commissioner of baseball would like to get this resolved. I think all the owners would like to get this resolved, and I would like to get it resolved. But I don’t have an easy answer yet. If it was easy, it would have been resolved of course, but I think it’s something I am really focused on and I think I have reason to believe that we can get something done.”
The Baltimore native also expressed confidence in both Elias and manager Brandon Hyde, who together led the Orioles to a 101-win season and American League East title in 2023. The Orioles built up their organization through a lengthy rebuild, hiring Elias and Hyde in the 2018-19 offseason. Baltimore has since developed Baseball America’s top-ranked farm system three years running and assembled a roster that enters 2024 among the World Series favorites.
Though he didn’t commit to a hard increase in spending or signing any immediate extensions of the team’s young stars, Rubenstein didn’t rule either scenario out. He later expressed that he hopes Elias will be a part of the organization “for a long time.”
“I’m going to rely on the best general manager in baseball and see what he recommends and I will follow his recommendations,” Rubsenstein said.
Rubenstein plans to attend the Orioles’ opening day game against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday with plans for Ripken to throw out the first pitch. The Orioles also plan to hold a moment of silence for the victims of the Tuesday morning Francis Scott Key bridge collapse. Rubenstein spoke highly of Ripken, who joined his ownership group as a minority partner and “wants to get more involved” with the team after maintaining a distance from the team with which the Hall of Famer spent his entire 21-year career. Ripken will take on a community engagement role with hopes of drumming up more support as the Orioles take aim at making a deep playoff run this season.