In progress- Jackson Holliday's baseball journey

 

The top draft pick last year has become the top prospect this year, and he is already dominating Double-A.

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Might the Orioles promote Jackson Holliday to the big leagues this season? - Camden Chat

Former Shorebird Holliday moving up again

 

Jackson Holliday who started this season with the Delmarva Shorebirds and then was promoted to High 'A' Aberdeen is on the move again heading to Double 'A' Bowie.  It was just last summer when the Baltimore Orioles selected Holliday as a top choice in the MLB draft.

Orioles top draft pick

Might Delmarva be on his route to Camden Yards? 

(Baltimore Sun)

Orioles agree to terms with first overall pick Jackson Holliday; record deal pending physical

By Andy Kostka

Baltimore Sun

•

Jul 21, 2022

The Orioles have reached an agreement with first overall draft pick Jackson Holliday, pending a physical, for $8.19 million, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told The Baltimore Sun.

The bonus for Holliday, a high school shortstop from Oklahoma and the son of former Major League Baseball All-Star Matt Holliday, is a record for a high school draft pick and narrowly edges the bonus top selection Adley Rutschman received in 2019 for the largest in team history.

The slot value for the first overall pick was $8,846,900, so Holliday’s agreed upon deal is slightly lower. The Orioles’ policy is to not comment on deals until they are official.

Holliday is the second top pick the Orioles have made under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and the third in the franchise’s history. The signing bonus the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to with outfielder Druw Jones, the second pick in the draft, was $8.189 million, according to multiple reports.  That broke the previous record for a high school draft pick, set in 2019 by shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Holliday was considered the third-best prospect in the draft by Baseball America and the second according to MLB Pipeline. The Orioles passed on Jones, an outfielder from Georgia and the son of former MLB All-Star Andruw Jones, and made Holliday the first high school position player Baltimore has chosen with its first pick since infielder Manny Machado in 2010.

“It’s hard to explain what it means,” Holliday said Sunday night. “It’s like a video game, honestly. Every video game you play, you’re the first pick, so that’s kind of what it felt like. Something that I’ll never forget, and it’s a true honor.

“I want to honor the Orioles for selecting me and I’m going to work as hard as I can to make it to the major leagues and have a great career for them and for their fans.”

Manager is "Out"

 

(Baltimore Sun photo)

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was ejected in the third inning of Friday's game with the Minnesota Twins while claiming there was a disrespectful exchange between the home plate umpire and the Baltimore dugout.  The Orioles lost 3-2 on Byron Buxton's walk-off homerun in the ninth.

The O's

 

(Sports Illustrated)

Baltimore Orioles Chairman Responds to Relocation Speculation

Orioles chairman John Angelos pushed back Monday against speculation that the team could be relocating in the near future.

“As I have said before, as long as Fort McHenry is standing watch over the Inner Harbor, the Orioles will remain in Baltimore,” Angelos said in a statement.

John’s brother, Louis Angelos, filed a lawsuit against his older brother and his mother in Baltimore County Circuit Court last week, alleging that his brother took over total control of the team in defiance of his father’s wishes for the sons to share the franchise.

According to The Baltimore Banner‘s report regarding Louis Angelos’s lawsuit against his family, the Angelos brothers have been at odds since their father and longtime owner of the Orioles, Peter, became ill in 2017. When Peter Angelos got sick, he reportedly appointed his wife and sons as co-trustees of a trust governing the family fortune, which included the Orioles franchise.

In the suit, Louis hinted that John could sell the team or move it to Nashville.

“John intends to maintain absolute control over the Orioles—to manage, to sell, or if he chooses, to move to Tennessee (where he has a home and where his wife’s career is headquartered)—without having to answer to anyone,” the suit says.

John dismissed the accusations of his brother on Monday, saying in a statement: “For [my mother and father] as for me, the Orioles will forever play at Oriole Park, and at no time ever have we contemplated anything different.”

Feathers ruffled?

      

                             

With Baltimore’s Angelos family in legal battle, the prospect of an Orioles sale or move looms larger

By Jean Marbella and Hayes Gardner

Baltimore Sun

Jun 11, 2022

In a divorce, the question is often: But what about the children? When a privately simmering fight between the sons of Orioles owner Peter Angelos erupted publicly this week, it was: But what about the Birds?

Periodic rumors that the team, beleaguered on the field yet beloved by generations of Baltimoreans, could be sold or moved out of town gained greater currency with the lawsuit filed Thursday by Louis Angelos against his brother, accusing John Angelos of trying to seize control of the team and the rest of their father’s considerable holdings. The suit also named their mother, Georgia Angelos, as a defendant.

The case — coming just as the Orioles and Camden Yards prepared to host Paul McCartney for a widely anticipated concert Sunday — publicly disclosed not just that the brothers were feuding, but that some family members indeed intended to sell the team.

“If a family is not getting along, it’s easier to divide up cash than the responsibility of running a baseball team,” observed David Nevins, a longtime Baltimore-area marketing executive and former president of a Comcast regional sports network. “It seems more likely a sale will be in the offing.”

Nevins, who knows the Angelos family but said he has no inside knowledge of the troubles that led to the lawsuit, said he is taking John Angelos at his word when he likened the Orioles’ deep roots in town to that of Fort McHenry in a 2019 pledge to keep the team here.

But, Nevins added, the fact that the team’s lease on Camden Yards expires next year, coupled with the Angelos brothers’ fight, only stokes fears of the city losing the Os as it once lost its prized Colts. While the Angelos family surely wants to avoid its name becoming a city curse word like that of the late Robert Irsay, who spirited the NFL team away in 1984, Louis Angelos raised just such a specter in the lawsuit. He invoked previous rumors that the Orioles might move to Tennessee by saying that should his brother take full control of the team, he could move it there, where he makes his home with his wife, a country music singer-songwriter who owns a Nashville-based entertainment company.

“For those Baltimoreans who are a bit paranoid about the future of the Orioles in Baltimore, perhaps there is a reason to be paranoid,” Nevins said.

There are local efforts in Nashville, Tennessee’s largest city, to attract an MLB expansion team, but an aide to Mayor John Cooper said there are no current conversations between the Nashville mayor’s office and any member of the Angelos family.

And it should be noted other rumors of impending abandonment have failed to materialize. The inferences in the Angelos lawsuit may well never go further than a point in a legal document. The suit presents Louis Angelos’ version of events; neither John Angelos nor attorneys for him and his mother responded to requests for comments.

It’s also significant that while a threat of leaving town can be a bargaining chip, only once in the last 50 years has a Major League Baseball team relocated, when the Montreal Expos moved to Washington and became the Nationals.

The Orioles currently are barred from leaving Baltimore by a clause in the team’s lease on Oriole Park at Camden Yards. However, the lease with the Maryland Stadium Authority for the state-owned ballpark expires at the end of next year and long-running negotiations have yet to yield an extension.

Meanwhile, any change in team ownership and location requires approval from three-quarters of MLB team owners. The league did not return a call for comment.

Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott said Friday that Baltimore and its gem of a park are too important to the league for the city to be left without a team.

“It would be a travesty for MLB to allow [the] city that really changed the game — the ballpark that changed America — to not have a team,” he said.

He said believes John Angelos’ previous assurances that he has no interest in moving the team.

Others, though, worry not just about the Angelos family turmoil, but longer-ranging trends of the bottom-scraping team. Despite the recent emergence of highly touted prospects this spring, the Orioles have not had a winning season since 2016, nor been to the World Series since 1983 — a decade before Peter Angelos bought the team.

“When you look at the Orioles attendance and revenues, if for no other reason than that, you have to be concerned about their long-term viability in general,” said Bob Embry, president of the nonprofit Abell Foundation, which researches and funds social and economic improvements to the city.

Indeed, the Orioles were the only major league team to lose value last year, according to Forbes. The business magazine values the team at $1.37 billion.

Its average attendance so far this year ranks in the bottom third of baseball’s 30 teams, according to ESPN.

Embry said questions arose at a meeting of the Greater Baltimore Committee, the civic leadership group, during a presentation about the Maryland General Assembly’s approval of up to $600 million in improvements to Camden Yards.

“‘Why spend that money if the Orioles might not be here?’” Embry said members asked stadium authority Chairman Tom Kelso.

The money is contingent on the Orioles signing a long-term lease. The $600 million should provide a financial incentive for the Orioles, whoever might own them, to stay put since such substantial public investment may be hard for a new owner to find elsewhere.

“It certainly sweetens the pot,” said Nellie Drew, a University of Buffalo sports law professor.

The Maryland Stadium Authority said in a statement late Friday that, “with the success of recent legislation, MSA looks forward to continuing our work with the Baltimore Orioles on our shared long-term vision for the beloved ballpark,” including increasing its economic benefit to the state.

Drew noted that a non-relocation clause like the one in the Orioles current lease would decrease the team’s market value.

“Any team is worth more if it’s mobile,” Drew said.

While Peter Angelos has been at odds with MLB at times, the league may be reluctant to approve a relocation.

“Major League Baseball has a long, storied history in Baltimore and they don’t like watching their teams get up and move,” Drew said.

Politicians in Annapolis treated news of the brothers’ feud and questions about public financing for improvements to Camden Yards like a third rail.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s office did not return multiple requests for comment Friday about whether he has concerns about approving the money for the team. Democratic Comptroller Peter Franchot’s spokeswoman, Susan O’Brien, declined to comment about potential concerns over the stadium spending, saying those decisions would be made at a later time. And Democratic state Treasurer Dereck Davis, who also would consider such spending in his role on the Board of Public Works (along with the governor and comptroller) did not return requests for comment.

Nor did Democratic state Senate President Bill Ferguson of Baltimore, or Democratic House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones of Baltimore County, whose chambers passed the bond authorization this year with broad bipartisan support.

Louis Angelos answers a question at a 2018 news conference at Camden Yards. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

While the lawsuit filed Thursday shocked many, given how privately the family has tended to operate, there have been other similar squabbles. On the same day, Los Angeles Chargers owner Dean Spanos was sued by his sister for, among other things, “breach of fiduciary responsibility,” the same allegation Louis Angelos is making.

Even without a sale or move, the local lawsuit dredges up the uncomfortable subject of Peter Angelos transitioning from his role as one of Baltimore’s most influential figures. Now 92, he has been in failing health for about five years, during which his wife and sons took more authority over his holdings. He suffered an aortic valve failure that was successfully repaired surgically, but his mental abilities began deteriorating, and by the summer of 2018, his legal career was over, the lawsuit said.

There’s also a delicate issue of timing: If the family were to sell the team now, the sale would be subject to significant capital gains taxes. Those taxes, likely amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, would not apply to a sale after Peter Angelos’ death.

While he has been a polarizing figure — it is a local sport of its own to complain that he didn’t spend enough to field a winning team — many remain grateful for his rescue of the Orioles from out-of-town ownership in 1993, as well as his past generosity to schools, hospitals and other local institutions.

The spectacle of his family engaged in a pitched legal battle saddens more than a few in town.

“Nobody should take any joy in seeing a family coming apart so publicly,” said John Maroon, a former public relations director for the Orioles and before that the Cleveland MLB team.

Maroon, who now runs his own communications firm, said the coming weeks and months will be critical for “the future of baseball in our town.

“Ultimately, what all Orioles fans want is stability, success and a promise that the team will remain in Baltimore,” he said.

The stadium authority said in its statement that it respected the family and “offers our support as they work through these issues.”

Jim Palmer, the renowned Orioles pitcher and now a color commentator for the Orioles-owned Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, is among those who want to see the legal battle settled.

“When Peter bought the club, he said the Orioles are a statewide treasure,” Palmer said, “and this doesn’t change that.

“All I care about is this gets resolved,” he said.

Nevins said Baltimore cannot lose the Orioles, and hopes “a long-term, ironclad” lease will keep the team in town.

“A city has certain institutions that define it,” he said, “and the Orioles are one of them.”

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Sam Janesch contributed to this article.                                                

Former Baltimore Oriole's Pitcher Found Dead

(CNN) -- Mike Flanagan, a former Cy Young Award winning pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles, was found dead Wednesday evening, the baseball team said.

"It is with deep sadness that I learned of the death of my friend Mike Flanagan earlier this evening. In over a quarter century with the organization, Flanny became an integral part of the Orioles family, for his accomplishments both on and off the field," Orioles owner Peter Angelos said.

Flanagan also worked as a broadcaster and executive with the Orioles after his 15-year career pitching for the team. He also played several years with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The lefty's best season was in 1979 when he won 23 games for the Orioles and garnered the Cy Young Award.

Authorities found Flanagan's body on a trail near his Maryland home, CNN affiliate WMAR reported.

Authorities are investigating the circumstances that led to Flanagan's death, the affiliate said.

Source;  http://www.wbaltv.com/r/28969985/detail.html

Increase In Ticket Prices For Orioles Games

For the first time since after the 2006 season, the Orioles are raising single game ticket price the s at Camden Yards.

All tickets -- except for the cheapest, left-field, upper reserve seats which will remain at $8 and $9 -- will increase in cost for 2011, ranging from $1 to $7 extra depending on the game desired and when the tickets are purchased.

Greg Bader, the club’s director of communications, said non-prime, advance tickets will increase on average $3, which would make the average price for those tickets roughly $28. The average season-ticket price remains at about $23, below the 2010 Major League Baseball average of $27, according to Bader.

“We believe that the average increase of $3 per ticket is not going to negatively impact someone’s decision to buy, although we recognize no one ever wants to pay more for anything. We certainly understand that point,” Bader said.

Season ticket prices did not go up for 2011 and this is the first, full seat hike for advance tickets since after the 2003 season, Bader said. The increase after 2006 affected some but not all of the tickets sold.

However, this increase comes after the Orioles lost 96 games in 2010, their 13th consecutive losing season. Fans who have not seen an increase of production on the field are being asked to pay more for that product.

“I understand that reaction, but the reality is that there are other factors that are part of that decision-making process,” Bader said.

The Orioles will also continue to implement higher prime-game prices – for all contests against the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox as well as Opening Day on April 4 against the Detroit Tigers – and an extra charge for walk-up ticket purchases the day of the game.

Gameday charges were implemented last season and Bader said it had little to no effect on the number of walkups in 2010. The drop in attendance to an all-time low at Camden Yards last season had more to do with a drop in advance sales after the Orioles began the year 2-16 and 9-24, he said.

“The 2010 walkup figures were essentially unchanged from previous seasons. The difference in attendance from 2009 to 2010 was directly attributable to the lack of advanced sales, which was directly attributable to the team performance during the first two weeks of the season,” Bader said. “So from early April until July, we simply were not selling tickets in advance at the rate we did in previous years. But game day sales were practically identical. And we do not believe that the average $2 difference (for walkups) is going to prevent most fans from making a game-day purchase.”

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Cal Ripkin, Jr. And Orioles Celebrate Anniversary

Cal Ripken Jr. was never big on self-promotion as a Hall of Fame player for the Orioles and though his name is now attached to a stadium in Aberdeen, a street outside of Camden Yards and a youth baseball league, he is still not one to remind anyone of his greatest career achievement.

The 15th anniversary of that achievement — breaking Lou Gehrig's legendary streak of 2,130 straight games — was marked before Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays with Ripken, who recently turned 50, throwing a perfect strike from the pitcher's mound to Orioles utility player Jake Fox.

It was 15 years ago Monday that Ripken broke Gehrig's streak, Baltimore's Iron Man passing New York's Iron Horse.
"It seems like time has gone by really, really fast," Ripken told reporters in the press box after Sunday's ceremony. "I only realize it when I look at the age of my kids. In many other ways, it seems like the whole night that happened out here is just a couple of years ago. But 15 years? We all get old. Time goes by much faster when you leave the game then when you play it."

But the memories of that night against the California Angels , highlighted by Ripken's impromptu victory lap around the stadium high-fiving with fans, remain.

"I have a special memory, a special feel of it from inside my spikes," Ripken said. "It was a wonderful human moment, a wonderful family moment, a great baseball moment. But I guess the farther you get removed from it, in some ways it feels like maybe it wasn't you who did.
Though it seems doubtful that anyone will ever break Ripken's record, the man who played every game for 16 straight seasons in a 21-year career thinks it can be done.

"I sit inside my own shoes and say, 'If I can do it, certainly somebody else can'," Ripken said. "Somebody else can come along with grit and determination to go out and play every day. It's not much different playing 162 or playing 158 or 155. Looking back on it, the years went by fast and it was pretty remarkable that I was able to stay healthy."

What was also remarkable was how far Gehrig's record Ripken wound up going, playing in an additional 502 straight before stopping late in the 1998 season. Ripken retired in 2001.

"I think it was important for me to keep playing with the same attitude that I did coming into that record-breaking night," Ripken said. "I never set out to break the record. It wasn't my goal. I wasn't hopeful that it would be my identity. I thought it was the right way to approach the game. My Dad was there to enforce that sort of approach; you come to the ballpark; you're an everyday player and if the manager wants you to play, you play."

The late Cal Ripken Sr. remains very much a part of his son's life. As the famous son sat in the dugout with Orioles coach John Shelby before Sunday's game, an image of his father flashed on the big screen in centerfield, looking down as he did from a private box the night Gehrig's record was broken.

"I got a great charge of seeing him today," Ripken said.

Ripken admits that Buck Showalter's hiring as Orioles manager has strengthened his interest in his old team – and the possibility of becoming involved in an official capacity once the younger of his two children goes off to college. Ryan Ripken is a junior at Gilman. "Buck turns on my baseball brain," Ripken said. "I had a chance to sit and talk with him when he came up to Aberdeen to watch [Manny] Machado up there perform. Our conversations wouldn't be that interesting to other people. I always thought Buck was one of the best baseball guys I ever had a chance to talk to. I still have my timetable… and I still value the flexibility and the time that I have now, and you wouldn't have that if you came back to the big-league scene."

As befitting Ripken's style, Sunday's ceremony was brief, though he received a warm ovation from the crowd.

There was no victory lap this time.

"You can't recreate that moment that happened," Ripken said. "I was embarrassed to take the lap that night. I'd be extra embarrassed to take it even now."
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