While trying to clean out the notebook and put an exclamation point on 2023, I was determined to steer clear of the ongoing saga about the impending deadline of the Orioles’ lease at Camden Yards, but I couldn’t help myself. Not that I can offer any assurances, but I did stumble upon what appears to be somewhat relevant information.
And since there have been some executions that haven’t caused as much debate as the one about whether the Orioles and Maryland Stadium Authority can meet the self-imposed Dec. 31 deadline, it can’t hurt to toss in a significant development that suggests an agreement beyond the well-documented “memorandum of understanding” will soon be in place.
When and for how long is still up to conjecture, but Levy Restaurants has agreed to an extension of least five years, according to sources. The group operated concessions at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on a one-year deal last season. Among the imminent plans for the future is making SuperBook Bar & Restaurant (formerly Dempsey’s) a full-service restaurant, something that couldn’t be done under the old arrangement.
Granted, this is a long way from saying the proposed 30-year lease is a done deal, but time is of essence for a concessionaire and this is at least an indication that the Orioles have moved on with this small, but certainly significant, part of the impending agreement.
As for the seeming uncertainty about the bigger picture of a 30-year lease — especially in view of the economic appraisals that emphasize taxpayers don’t get repaid dollar-for-dollar, and given the proposals for public land use in the area surrounding the two sports facilities — it would seem like the debate has run its course.
As long as there isn’t a lease in place, there will be a segment of the fan base fearful that the Orioles will pull stakes, as the Colts did in 1984. But these circumstances are not ever close to being comparable.
First and foremost, the Orioles are not owned by an erratic Chicago-based self-described millionaire, as was the case with the football team. For whatever your feelings might be, the Angelos family has a long history of being imbedded in the Baltimore community and it is unimaginable that Major League Baseball would allow the kind of subterfuge the NFL, in its own way, permitted back in 1984.
At the risk of being classified an apologist for current ownership, I’m not convinced past perceptions are the blueprint for the future of the franchise, which almost certainly will change hands in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, I don’t think Mike Elias came here to be an MLB bridesmaid. I think he’ll find a way to sign at least one, maybe two, of this core to reasonable extensions along the way.
The Orioles are never going to be the big spenders, no matter who owns the team, but history tells us, and no doubt will continue to do so, that long-term megabuck deals come without warranties and go before reaching life expectancy. If the reports and predictions hold true, the lifeline of the O’s current system is good enough to be sustainable for the foreseeable future, especially with the Latin America talent that is only now beginning to come into play.
I don’t know how soon the Orioles will resolve the lease issue, but I feel sure it will happen in due time, just as I feel certain the paranoia from the events of 1984 will eventually be put to rest. Maybe it’s the Pollyanna — or apologist — but at this point I’m content to let the two sides work it out, confident the lease will get done.
To be honest, and I didn’t always think this way, I feel the same way about the team, confident the turnaround will get done. I don’t think we’ll have to wait long in either case.
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On the subject of leases, teams coming and/or going, team names and colors — a little cleaning up is needed when it comes to perception at both Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium.
The Orioles’ original lease at OPACY was for 15 years, not 30, as it has become generally accepted. The original lease was negotiated by former owner Edward Bennett Williams, whose estate would benefit from the shorter term when the team was eventually sold (his health was such that EBW knew he might not see the end result).
It was the impending bankruptcy that, in addition to hastening the sale to the group led by Peter Angelos, led Eli Jacobs to tack 15 years onto the original lease in return for financial favors from the Maryland Stadium Authority and/or the city and state. By the time the Angelos group had control of the team there were 28 years remaining, thus the presumption of the original lease being for 30 years.
As for the NFL’s Cleveland franchise relocating to Baltimore prior to the 1996 season, another popular misconception is that owner Art Modell left behind the team’s name and colors as part of the move. Not so. During the press conference, held in the middle of the parking lot that now separates the two facilities, it was announced that the team would be known as the Baltimore Browns and retain the team brown and orange colors.
It wasn’t until the furor in Cleveland reached epic proportions that the league intervened, basically assuring the city not only of a new team, but also its identity. That, of course, was exactly opposite what happened when the Colts bolted Baltimore a decade earlier, taking the name, colors, horseshoe helmets and team identity, thereby ensuring Indianapolis of stepchild status when it came to team records and Hall of Fame recognition.
With the East Coast blanketed from Florida to New England, Baltimore was seemingly relegated to ancient history status when passed over for expansion by Charlotte and Jacksonville. When then commissioner Paul Tagliabue was reminded that Baltimore had a plan in place for facilities for a new team, he flippantly suggested the city could “build a museum.” To this day there are more than a few of us who feel naming rights to the stadium should include that phrase. Come to think of it, “M&T Bank Museum” kind of fits.
Of course, in view of what the economic projections and analysis have reminded us, maybe it wasn’t worth it.
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Speaking of things that might not be worth it, I have a few thoughts about the contract Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers. Yes, $700 million for 10 years is insane, obscene, extravagant, obnoxious … whatever floats your boat.
Why, you ask, is any player worth that much? Easy — because one team (at least) was willing to pay and that’s all it takes. The fact that it was a team supposedly in need of a starting pitcher more than anything else might pose a logical question, but since when does logic matter?
Two years ago, when he was both an elite pitcher and hitter, it was estimated that Ohtani’s value on the open market would start at $500 million. That jumped to $600 million even before he won a pair of MVP awards. Why it jumped to $700 million after it was disclosed Ohtani needed Tommy John surgery and wouldn’t pitch in 2024 is the unanswered question.
Here’s my evaluation of the deal: It’s like the Dodgers are getting Justin Verlander ($43 million) and Mike Trout ($35 million) — two players in one body, a bargain of about $8 million per year. Well, that’s one way to look at it.
Here’s another evaluation: The Verlander half of Ohtani’s body isn’t going to work the first year (2024), and where in the pitcher’s manual does it suggest that swinging a bat in anger in 500 to 600 at-bats a year is part of rehab for Tommy John surgery?
It’s not like the Dodgers needed Ohtani to draw more spectators, as they don’t have room for many more. They certainly don’t need him to make more money, which they already spend in the aforementioned obscene amounts. They signed him for one reason only — to dominate Southern California and the World Series, which they’ve won only once in the last 35 years.
I’m guessing anything less than that next year will end Dave Roberts’ career as Dodgers manager.
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Yet to be determined is how soon Ohtani will be able to resume a role as designated hitter. Recovery time for position players with Tommy John surgery in the paths has been as long as 12 months (former Oriole Matt Wieters was out from June of 2014 until the same time in 2015). Ohtani had his surgery last September, so Opening Day sounds like an ambitious time frame.
The inevitable debate/comparison of Ohtani and Babe Ruth will be put to rest if the Dodgers’ newest star can put together two more pitching seasons like the last two. But the most interesting note for me is that Ohtani’s emergence as baseball’s only two-way star began exactly one century after Ruth started the transition from full-time pitcher to hitter.
After rolling through three seasons logging almost 900 innings and winning 65 games, Ruth logged “only” 166 innings in 1918, while posting a 13-7 mark while reaching double digits in home runs (11) for the first time. That inning total, by the way, matches Ohtani’s career high to this point, suggestion enough that this dual capacity role still has a ways to go, since he’s yet to log three straight seasons of any duration and again won’t pitch in 2024.
My guess is the chances of Ohtani putting together nine more years combining pitching and hitting are minimal, and if nothing else Ruth’s history says five more years is a stretch, making the 10-year contract as heavily on the loaded front end for results as it is back end for payoff. Ohtani has already recorded better combination seasons than Ruth, but chances of surpassing career numbers are much greater in the pitching, rather than hitting, department.
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Some quick thoughts about the Orioles, post-winter meetings:
* It’s hardly the big expenditure some might have wanted or expected, the $13 million deal for reliever Craig Kimbrel had all the appearances of an overpay, probably to hasten closure of the deal. It won’t allay fans’ fears of frugality, but maybe it’s a start.
* From the beginning, I didn’t have the feeling the Orioles would get a pitcher who would automatically step in ahead of Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez in the rotation. And, barring what could be an expensive personnel trade, I don’t see anyone out there who would automatically push Dean Kremer, DL Hall, Tyler Wells or John Means out of the rotation.
* Hall’s admittedly limited numbers last year — five walks, 23 strikeouts, 3-0 in 19-plus innings — are enough for me to hope he gets the full extension in spring training. The lefty has the most electric arm on the staff. He still has an option left, but his time is now.
* Means is the ace in the hole for the O’s rotation, but until he goes out there four or five times without incident, it’s still a cautionary road.
* Wells is best suited to be the mid-game “closer” type out of the bullpen.
* I know in this day and age wins are devalued but you would think a 10-1 record would at least get you in the pitching mix – say hello, Mike Baumann.
* Joey Ortiz and Connor Norby would probably make a pretty good double-play combination somewhere other than Norfolk.
* Coby Mayo is the right-handed hitter everyone says will make left field at Camden Yards look like Fenway Park. Give him another year.
* If Jackson Holiday is going to make the Opening Day roster, there will have to be a major trade.
* Pitchers and catchers report sometime around St. Valentine’s Day. See you then.
Jim Henneman can be reached at JimH@pressboxonline.com
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox