John Angelos has overseen the Orioles and their TV networks since 1999. — BALTIMORE ORIOLES
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
John Angelos wears many caps with the Orioles in Baltimore, from executive VP to chief operating officer of the team’s network to the son of longtime owner Peter Angelos. He’s held these posts for more than a decade.
Upon reading today’s column about Russell Martin and Major League Baseball’s lack of a salary cap, Angelos reached out to me by email to call it “the best piece I’ve read on the topic in 20 years.” And remarkably, it’s entirely likely he didn’t mean it as a compliment.
“There’s just no one writing about this issue, no one talking about it,” Angelos said in a later phone conversation. “And I don’t understand it.”
Angelos is that rarest of rare birds in baseball, an outspoken advocate for both a salary cap and salary floor in baseball. He’s given countless speeches and interviews on the subject. And in the past, any critic could counter that it was sour grapes, but not this year with the Orioles having beaten out the far richer Yankees and Red Sox for the American League East Division title.
“Baseball is a great game. To me, it’s the great game,” Angelos continued. “We’re talking about 75 million tickets sold, unprecedented revenue … but it could still be so much better, so much fairer. And there are no voices on this in the national media. Just none. That’s incredible to me. I don’t know how people can just walk away from an issue like this.”
He cited the NFL’s cap and popularity as comparison points.
“It’s not like you need to do a whole lot of theoretical research. The NFL is staring you right in the face. In markets like Green Bay and Indianapolis, you’re talking about incredibly small markets where each one will have had two huge star quarterbacks over about two decades. That builds the brand. It builds faith among the fans. Why are these guys not writing this? Why don’t they care?”
Just thought I’d share. Incredible overall conversation. And more than a little uplifting.
November 12, 2014
Exclusive: Orioles exec questions media on cap
by Dejan Kovacevic • News/views • Pirates
John Angelos has overseen the Orioles and their TV networks since 1999. — BALTIMORE ORIOLES
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
John Angelos wears many caps with the Orioles in Baltimore, from executive VP to chief operating officer of the team’s network to the son of longtime owner Peter Angelos. He’s held these posts for more than a decade.
Upon reading today’s column about Russell Martin and Major League Baseball’s lack of a salary cap, Angelos reached out to me by email to call it “the best piece I’ve read on the topic in 20 years.” And remarkably, it’s entirely likely he didn’t mean it as a compliment.
“There’s just no one writing about this issue, no one talking about it,” Angelos said in a later phone conversation. “And I don’t understand it.”
Angelos is that rarest of rare birds in baseball, an outspoken advocate for both a salary cap and salary floor in baseball. He’s given countless speeches and interviews on the subject. And in the past, any critic could counter that it was sour grapes, but not this year with the Orioles having beaten out the far richer Yankees and Red Sox for the American League East Division title.
“Baseball is a great game. To me, it’s the great game,” Angelos continued. “We’re talking about 75 million tickets sold, unprecedented revenue … but it could still be so much better, so much fairer. And there are no voices on this in the national media. Just none. That’s incredible to me. I don’t know how people can just walk away from an issue like this.”
He cited the NFL’s cap and popularity as comparison points.
“It’s not like you need to do a whole lot of theoretical research. The NFL is staring you right in the face. In markets like Green Bay and Indianapolis, you’re talking about incredibly small markets where each one will have had two huge star quarterbacks over about two decades. That builds the brand. It builds faith among the fans. Why are these guys not writing this? Why don’t they care?”
Just thought I’d share. Incredible overall conversation. And more than a little uplifting.