Are you as disgusted by the Orioles woeful leadership as we are?

The franchise with the “under new ownership” sign on its last-place standing in the AL East, an evaporating fan base and a cowardly baseball operation that is now fielding minor league tryouts at Camden Yards with the remnants of a bunch of No. 1 draft picks, decided to raise ticket prices while continuing to lower the bar for tone deafness. Luke Jones and Nestor discuss their mutual disgust with every aspect of the Baltimore Orioles, on and off the field – from David Rubenstein and Catie Griggs down to Mike Elias and the sloppy play on the diamond. Stink. Stank. Stunk…

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed their disappointment with the Baltimore Orioles’ performance and management. They highlighted the team’s poor attendance, with only 30,000 fans at Adam Jones’ Hall of Fame induction, despite his significant impact on the franchise. They criticized the new ownership’s handling of the team, including recent trades and ticket policies that alienate long-time season ticket holders. They also noted the lack of leadership and accountability within the organization, and expressed concern about the team’s future direction and fan engagement.

Orioles’ Anniversary and Community Engagement

• Nestor Aparicio celebrates the 27th anniversary of WNST AM 1570, sharing his excitement about the upcoming week, including community events and good food.
• Nestor mentions his plans to visit Fiesta Mexicana in Rosedale and Dundalk, and his upcoming trip to Ocean City, Maryland, for the Maryland Lottery’s 27th anniversary celebration.
• Nestor highlights the various guests and topics planned for the month, including football season, authors, and wellness.
• Nestor and Luke Jones discuss their recent food experiences, including a visit to Pizza John’s, and Nestor’s ongoing project of trying different foods for his 27th anniversary.

Orioles’ Game Experience and Broadcast

• Nestor expresses his disappointment with the Orioles’ recent game experience, including the low attendance and the focus on bobbleheads rather than the game itself.
• Nestor mentions the negative feedback from fans on social media, particularly from Justin Fenton, about the team’s performance and the lack of engagement from the ownership.
• Nestor shares his frustration with the team’s management, including the ownership’s lack of investment and the team’s declining revenue and morale.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the recent game where Adam Jones was honored, highlighting the low attendance and the focus on giveaways rather than the game itself.

Adam Jones’ Legacy and Team Performance

• Nestor and Luke reflect on Adam Jones’ legacy and his impact on the Orioles, noting his recent induction into the Orioles Hall of Fame and the positive reception he received.
• Luke emphasizes the importance of Jones’ contributions to the team and the community, despite the team’s current struggles.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the broader issues with the team’s performance, including the lack of leadership and the impact of recent trades and roster moves.
• Nestor expresses his disappointment with the team’s management and ownership, highlighting their lack of engagement and investment in the community.

Ticket Policies and Fan Reactions

• Nestor and Luke discuss the recent changes to the Orioles’ ticket policies, including the elimination of the 13-game and 29-game plans and the push for full season plans.
• Nestor expresses his frustration with the team’s approach, suggesting it feels like an attempt to exploit long-time season ticket holders.
• Luke shares insights from a fan-driven piece by Kyle Massey, highlighting the negative reactions from fans to the new ticket policies.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the broader implications of these changes, including the potential loss of long-time fans and the impact on the team’s overall engagement.

Future of the Orioles and Community Relations

• Nestor and Luke reflect on the future of the Orioles, including the need for significant changes in both on-field performance and community relations.
• Nestor expresses his skepticism about the current management’s ability to turn things around, given their past actions and lack of community engagement.
• Luke emphasizes the importance of long-term planning and investment in both the team and the community, suggesting that the current approach is not sustainable.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact of upcoming labor issues and the need for the team to address these challenges proactively.

Final Thoughts and Call to Action

• Nestor and Luke conclude the discussion with a call to action for the Orioles’ management to address the issues discussed and to engage more meaningfully with the community.
• Nestor emphasizes the importance of authenticity and community engagement, suggesting that the current approach is alienating long-time fans.
• Luke highlights the need for significant changes in both on-field performance and community relations to rebuild trust and engagement.
• Nestor and Luke express their hope for a better future for the Orioles, but also acknowledge the significant challenges ahead.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Baltimore Orioles, last place, ownership issues, fan discontent, ticket policies, Adam Jones, community engagement, team performance, leadership, broadcast issues, fan loyalty, ticket plans, season ticket holders, community relations, team morale.

SPEAKERS

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Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T AM, 1570 tasks of Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. And it is a another week of last place baseball already, but another week, and this is a great week for me, not only our 27th anniversary, and I’m getting to share delicious things that I’ve been eating, including Fiesta Mexicana in Rosedale this morning with my coffee in my Dundalk mug, which, if anybody is watching out and you remember what East Point look like, that’s good. We’re going to be out next week, not just getting around the community, but getting out and talking about some good stuff, some good food, some chefs, some football season, some authors. I will have scratch. Also the Maryland lottery. I have lucky sevens because it is our 27th anniversary. Also pressure luck. Hopefully we’re not getting any Whammies back this weekend, but I’m in Ocean City, Maryland this weekend, so I will dip my feet in the sand. It’s not as sexy as it sounds. I mean, I’m going to be in the convention. All we’re going to be doing Mako. We’re going to have some great, great guests. I’ve already confirmed the controller the state’s going to be by several congress people, senators, you know, people trying to make government better, trying to make our world better, and all of it this month, brought to you by our friends at Curia wellness. As I get tastiness. Yes, just like it sounds like Tasty Cakes, T, A, S, T, Y, NES, tastiness is the hashtag for our 27th anniversary and food that I’m enjoying trying to fatten Luke up, I caught you at Pizza John’s last week. By the way, you don’t just wear that I saw you eating the pizza on the internet.

Luke Jones  01:42

It was takeout. It was takeout, but, oh, it was good. It was very enjoyable. Join us next

Nestor Aparicio  01:48

Friday. We’re going to be there next Friday, and you can come by. We’re broadcasting for Peter John’s whole schedules up at Baltimore positive every day we’re eating something good, including on the road to Ocean City this week. You know, I want to talk football with you and but there’s not much to say in a week where they’re going to play in a blimp in Dallas for no one in particular, including their linebacker and the baseball thing i i spent a lot of weekend at home. I was working. I’m working on this tastiness thing, working on crab cake tours. I’m going to be in Ocean City some tidying up things, getting my getting my fares in order, and like all of that, I, you know, just watching the broadcast, watching Rob long Come on, watching red Hollander give out Adam Jones things, seeing the place kind of empty, and then they get their ass kicked and seeing people queue up for these bobble heads, and then they’re pissed off when they don’t get them. I had several people, I mean, Justin Fenton, who’s a bleeding heart and also really great reporter, but was beating them on beaten on him on Twitter, obviously they’ve sent out they want more money I’m making my my uh, McCauley Culkin, Home Alone. Really, they want more money. I could have told you that when they paid 1,000,000,008 for the team a year and a half ago, and everything’s down, revenue’s down, winds are down, morale is DOWN. Crowd was up for 20 minutes on Saturday night. But I tell you what, Luke, and this is like me having a coffee. Thank you to Thomas Rhodes over at Zeke’s. And I’m not going to begin this by being a prick, but I’m I must Okay. Adam Jones walked out into the in in to the box last weekend at a bananas game, at a bananas game that people were paying $200 to get into a bananas game, and got a World Baseball Classic USA Hall Of Fame thing. And I mean, if it took 48,000 bobble eggs to get pipe and pie for everybody get a little coconut custard pies, take home something like that, I just, I’m finding this to be really sad, dude. Like we talked about Superstar Billy Graham last week. Like, sitting here 42 years and like Rob long and rock cabaca were yucking it up in the pregame and there. And what else can they do? Kevin Brown and Jim Palmer having innings with Joe or select who I love, and he could have sat in there for three innings. Adam Jones could have sat in there for two. It would have kept me more with the ball game, especially once it got out of hand. And obviously Tom Davis is, I mean, his voice is an institution, and it’s Hall of Fame weekend, and I’m just, I’m not going to begin this with the depression of the depression of it. But, like. Uh, everything about it’s terrible, and then the broadcast, it’s just everything about it’s terrible. And I, I don’t know what all, and I wish it weren’t that way. And I wish I could be Baltimore positive in sunshine today. But like, the whole experience of this as it’s August, makes me want to shut my eyes, draw the curtains and come back when they have something to watch. And I think most of the world that aren’t guys named Aparicio. By the way, I was gonna give out like a pizza John’s card or something. Somebody took a picture of the plaque because I haven’t seen the Aparicio apparently, there’s plaques from the Oriole Hall of Fame players, and Luis is in the Hall of Fame. And I did hear Rocco Bacco drop the Aparicio name in the pregame reference in regard to gunner Henderson and hits and leading the team and hits and something out of the stolen bases. That’s where we are. I don’t know. I’m watching it, and I don’t know why, man,

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Luke Jones  05:59

well, I mean, I can’t speak to the broadcast. I was there Friday, I was there Saturday, I wasn’t there Sunday, because I was out at Ravens. But it’s, I think the thing for me, that was the biggest takeaway of the weekend. And look, I mean, we’re talking about a last place team facing the A’s who stink and don’t even have a city attached to their team name right now, right? So kind of speaks to

Nestor Aparicio  06:21

might as well. And the bananas out drew it right? Because it’s awful. I mean, it’s two last place. It ain’t, no, it out true Adam Jones. I mean, which is like, I hear nothing after Adam Jones. I mean, they don’t have any more ceremonies coming after Adam Jones

Luke Jones  06:36

agreed. I mean, the bananas thing, I know, you keep bringing it up, that’s a rock concert. I mean, it’s not, it’s not real, you know, like Adam Jones should be a rock concert then, well, and that, that was the point I was getting ready to make of the weekend look. They drew 20,000 on Friday night, you know, Sunday they had, they gave away corduroy Orioles cap. But actually, nice cap compared to what the normal, typical cap giveaways look like, but on Saturday, and I don’t think this is any reflection on Adam Jones whatsoever, because of what you just said, because of the reception that he got at the savannah bananas game, which no one who had a ticket to that knew that Adam Jones was going to be there, right? I mean, you didn’t buy that ticket, thinking, Oh, I’m going to go see Adam Jones, but you saw, what? If you saw the replay of it on ESPN, you saw what kind of thunderous Ovation he got. Same for buck. Showalter, same for Matt Wieters and Nick marcas The following night. So there’s clearly a reverence and a love and an appreciation for the Duquette buck. Showalter, Adam Jones era, 2012 through 2016 right? We all agree with that. They didn’t win a World Series. They didn’t get to a World Series. We understand that. But in the same way, we can appreciate the 1989 Why not Orioles, the 92 Orioles, who were better than expected, right? So you always have those teams that you still have an affinity for, even if they aren’t 6670 in 1983 or the three pennant winning teams. But on Saturday night for Adam Jones, who you and I have talked about Jones a lot over the years. I mean, I covered most of his career. You know, 2010 was my first year starting to cover baseball. I’ve said that while Manny Machado is a better player, I think there’s no question in my mind that Adam Jones is the most important Orioles player since Cal Ripken. When you consider what the bulk of the Camden Yards era has been and what the bulk of the post Cal Ripken era has been for them to only draw 30,000 on a night when he went into the Orioles Hall of Fame and they gave out a bobblehead of his. And I’ll fully acknowledge, I think I have three or four Adam Jones bobbleheads now, right? Of different ones they gave out over the years. So it’s not like that was a new, unbelievable novel kind of a giveaway, but knowing how beloved he is in this town, for them to only draw 30,000 for that, I think, speaks volumes about how this community feels about not Adam Jones, but this baseball team right now, and more specifically, this organization, more So than just the guys on the field right now, and

Nestor Aparicio  09:24

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this new ownership has been an unmitigated disaster. I mean, disaster. I don’t know the Whistler, he’s out there whistling the national anthem now for a last place team, the owners and witness protection. I mean, I mean, I was down on the field. He was pictured with Buck Showalter on the field for five minutes, but, like,

Luke Jones  09:50

he’s not doing his passing out the hat thing. Where’s the leadership here we’ve, I mean, we’ve talked about this for months,

Nestor Aparicio  09:57

but Katie Griggs, but bring. Think it’s just

Luke Jones  10:01

right now and look, we knew that this was going to look the way it looks post trade deadline, to to maybe not to this extent, because they played five guys in the outfield this weekend named Dylan Carlson. Okay, he he’s been on and off the roster all year, Jeremiah Jackson, Greg Allen, who they literally just signed away from the Cubs farm system, Ryan Noda and Jordan Adams, they went, and this is credit to Jacob common Meyer, because I didn’t. I was too depressed to look. Look up the numbers. They went a combined one for 28 at the plate over the weekend. I mean, there is, there is no louder signal to your fan base and to the actual real players on your team that this is meaningless right now, and that might a lot of people talked about Dylan beavers, which I expect to see him in the near future. Every indication is they’re waiting to try to protect his rookie status, which you know, because of the potential for rookie of the year and the draft pick, same with besides, right? I mean, we, we know that, yeah, there’s

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Nestor Aparicio  11:20

a shrewdness in all of that with Angelo’s, it always came to money. And we do, you know how much time we spend around here talking about Matt weters clock getting started back in eight, nine and 10, like, like, you know, sure, and I just didn’t get dumped off the boat if Mike Elias has got his eyes open, or David Rubenstein wants to figure out that there’s not going to be labor peace, you know, going on national television and showing your ignorance is not it doesn’t give me any confidence that I know more about this stuff than he does. But certainly the starting of the clock, all of the shrewdness, all of the how it relates to draft picks and valuations and all of that. That’s dude. We’re back to Rio Ruiz. And you know, when they’re employees, when Rocco Bacco is on making Ryan Cole Meyer jokes, and we’re all chuckling about it again, being in last place, I hope they’re not. I mean, I hope the organization, and I just wish I had some confidence in any of this, yeah, in the television network, in the owner, in the GM, in Katie Griggs, in Greg Bader, in anyone around there who would give me the confidence to think that they have the competence to move this thing in a different direction, from a brand standpoint, from a marketing standpoint, from a community standpoint, and just from the on field. But then, in addition to everything we’re talking about, that’s awful about the team, and I’ll let you go on and on and on. Last week they send out they they pissed off. Michael a lesker at the end of his life, all these people that hate me, and they’re numerous, and you’ve met them all, Luke, you’ve met them all in the press box. All of them hated me for telling the truth, and now they’re all telling the truth about this being a really bad ride with Rubenstein, this, this, this is not good. None of this is good. And that’s his people sending out more money. Yeah, that they want. It’s dude. It’s awful. It’s terror. It’s textbook terrible. And you don’t have to be nasty Nestor or Brett Hollander or rob long or anyone along the media chain to be into the ecosystem of the fan base to hear how disgruntled people are. I’m pissed off, and I don’t give them money. I gave them respect a year and a half ago, because I thought they would be better people than the creeps that were here for 30 years, and they might be worse. I don’t know. We’re a year into this, just the fact that they haven’t acknowledged how awful it is. And the place keeps getting emptier and emptier and emptier. And these lines for these bobble heads are absurd and just the whole function of what they’re supposed to be doing here, serving our community. I don’t get it as far as Adam Jones. I got out of bed two weeks ago, watched him speak at seven in the morning, gave him my card, told him I like to get coffee. He works for the Orioles. He’s not allowed to have coffee with me. I forgot that when I talk, when I talked to him, when I was done, I’m like, he ain’t calling me. Works for the Orioles.

Luke Jones  14:53

Um, yeah, I don’t have anything on that part of it. Um, I think, you know, for. Of all, I was finishing my thought on Dylan beavers and visayo. I understand why they’re doing that. I get that. I got why they made the moves they made. It made at the trade deadline. But I think you have to be and not you have to be. You need to be very careful about where you are. Look, fans are kicked off, and we’ll get I have thoughts on the ticket part of this in a moment, and they’re not different from what you were expressing just now, but there is such a vibe and an aura right now of none of this matters right now. And it’s it feels like it’s back to where it was five years ago. It’s and it’s not because of who you do have on the major league roster right now. And as I stress to you, when they came out of the trade deadline, the core was intact, right? Those are the guys that are ultimately going to matter, truly matter, even if they make good moves in the off season and spend money and all that. But that core has to be legit. And I just My biggest concern at this point isn’t that Dylan beavers isn’t here right now, because I think he’s going to be here in a week or two, and same with Messiah right at some point in the next few weeks. We’re going to see those guys, whether it’s August 16, whether it’s August 20, whether it’s September 1. But I just see everything that’s happened this year, and it just feels like this thing at the major league level is just rotting, right? I mean, part of this is also, you know, when they fired Brandon Hyde, the idea that you were gonna have an interim manager for four and a half months. And I’m not trying to

Nestor Aparicio  16:38

plan there, dude, let’s just throw him out the side of the boat and we’ll figure this out later.

Luke Jones  16:45

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Basically, I mean, and in fairness and fairness, you don’t see permanent managers hired in season that often. I mean, the buck Showalter thing 15 years ago, that is way more the exception than the norm. But that said, having said that there’s still four and a half months of baseball season when you make that move and you have a coaching staff. I

Nestor Aparicio  17:08

watch this guy on television, mancellino. He just looks in complete they’ve trembly did just looked like he’s not a manager. He you would not bring him in with 10 other candidates and hire him. I do. I

Luke Jones  17:22

think Dave Trembley looked the part of a manager more than man silly. No, if I’m being totally honest, and I’m not saying that, is that Dave Trembley was this amazing manager or anything.

Nestor Aparicio  17:31

Um, we had Juan Samuel between, oh, yeah, between that

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Luke Jones  17:37

the coaching staff that continues to inspire no confidence based on what’s on the field, right? I mean, the fundamentally sloppy play we’ve seen all year. I mean, let’s use Sunday as an example. I mean, Keegan Aiken gives up a two run double in the ninth inning. Right? Gunner Henderson’s relay throw was horrible. I mean, that was a play. Dylan Carlson made a really nice play to cut the ball off in the left field corner, prevented it from going to the wall. Made a nice play to gunner. Henderson, if gunner, and I’m picking on gunner here a little bit, because I think his defense overall, the last couple months has been far steadier than it was last year. I think his defense has improved in that way. But there is a perfect single, you know, small sample size, one isolated event, but a reflection of like, this team doesn’t do the little things well. They certainly don’t do the big things well. And there was a perfect example of, and I’m picking on gunner a little bit here, but heavy lies the crown, right? I mean, if you’re going to be the superstar that everyone in town is clamoring for the Orioles to sign you to a $600 million contract, or whatever he’s going to end up getting for which from whichever team that signs him in a few years, you’ve got to make that play. And those are the kind of plays that they just consistently have failed to make all year long. And it, and

Nestor Aparicio  18:59

I’ll say this, and Palmer brought this up. And they brought this up with Joe or select, who never really played on good Orioles teams. Right? When they brought or select into the booth the other night, they talked to him about that and how hard it is to, you know, he, he said, I came up. I was, you know, we were, oh, and 21 you know, all of that. It’s and I love Joe, right and slack, you know, he was on the first team, the team I covered in 92 then, you know, when I went on the air in 91 and 92 had that

Luke Jones  19:27

swing where it looked like he was chopping wood. I mean, that was what his swing looked like. Everybody loves

Nestor Aparicio  19:33

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slack, but they asked him about, like, playing through bad seasons, and they asked him why he kind of bird. I mean, I’m professional. You’re out there playing for your reputation, you’re playing for your job, you’re playing for your livelihood. You’re and now the eye in the sky does not lie. You know, we get LEM Jaworski in here for you and the late Steve Sable. Crisp baseball and fundamental baseball should never take a day off, right? I mean, you don’t have Cal Ripken throw. Went sloppy in that era. He played on all those teams, the Lord selective he can mention. He he was in every one of those games where they stunk, uh, Cal, was it? He didn’t get asked about that much. But, you know, now’s the time to talk about that. And, you know, crisp, you know what I mean. And, and these five or six guys, you know, the and the stars of this thing. I mean, Rodriguez is out now. We’re waiting on Bradish. I mean, the arm stars, Batista, you know? I mean Cano, they’re afraid to put him in his closer. They’re closed with everybody else. So then, I mean, they got five or six players and nothing, and an empty cupboard and a canvas and an owner who apparently has money and is asking for money and has shown himself to be a real thumbs down, just thumbs down. About all of this, I keep going back to that. I mean, I just keep going back to the vibe of all of it and how hard it is, and asking or select about it that gunner Henderson’s out there playing the ninth inning of games that don’t matter now, all of a sudden, just all energy of Adley rutschman Two years ago, when he came up all that ass Patton and rah, rah, and chatter it up in the infield and, you know, All of that stuff, it just feels like it’s,

Luke Jones  21:22

yeah, it just it, the whole thing right now feels like a joyless, soulless operation. And my concern, and again, I’m using that gunner throw on Sunday as an example, right? Because he’s actually someone, I mean, he had a big, big home run in Chicago this weekend, right in a game that they were going to lose. So it’s not as though he has has played poorly, but like that was just the perfect example of situation where just make an okay throw and you and you nail that the the go ahead run at the plate, right? And it’s still a tie game, at least. But does this

Nestor Aparicio  21:57

team have a leader? I remember when Johnny Oates came in, threw over the baked beans in the in the locker room after a particularly bad loss. I don’t remember 90 234, somewhere in there. Sutcliffe was involved. I think I mean cows in there. You know, Brady Anderson, all those guys, the media went in, and it was just beat fork and beans all over the place, and Johnny lost his mind in locker room, military style and like, I don’t need franks and beans. I just need like, manzalido is not elite. I mean, Mike Elias is not a leader. You’ll fire your manager on Saturday and show up on Tuesday in Milwaukee. David Rubenstein, I’ve seen his act where they don’t have any leadership at any level here, any accountability, just to give me a press pass to sit and ask him some questions, like, I’m just, I’m appalled, Luke, if you haven’t noticed, I’m appalled, and now they’re asking people for money. I’m just I’m appalled, and I don’t, and I don’t want to be the village jerk, but I’ve been waiting. I feel like Jack Nicholson in The Shining I’ve been waiting my whole life. You know, how much more am I going to give these people?

Luke Jones  23:17

Yeah, and let me just finish that thought, because I want to, I do want to get into the ticket stuff, but, and I’m trying not to rant about this. You know, you try to be rational about this. You know, there is a rationality, a rationale to waiting another week or so for Dylan beavers and Samuel basayo. I get it. I get it. We we’ve talked about the I get, it’s for five years, six years, when you’re talking about this current regime, with the rebuild and doing things the way they’ve done, and all of that, right? But, boy, at some point in time you look at how this season has gone, and the scar tissue being created, and the whole idea of, you know, the old adage, it’s really tough to stop losing, and just this is such a toxic season in terms of just how poorly things have gone, and I have the same questions about leadership, right, and who they’re going to hire as the manager, who’s going to be the coaching staff. What veteran ball players are they going to add to, one, improve this team and to help lead this team, because until I see it, I’m not sure who the leaders are among the young poor. I think Jordan Westberg is a leader. You know, I’m not saying these guys don’t have any leadership qualities, and I’m not saying we also know that a leader isn’t always. Ray Lewis out in front for the cameras, right? So

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Nestor Aparicio  24:38

close. Gunner Henderson up other than you and me, and says, Dude, the hell was

Luke Jones  24:43

that they traded those guys away, that they did that at the deadline, like Ryan O’Hearn and Cedric Mullins, and they traded those guys, right? I mean, we talked about that, but I’m just I have concern at this point in term from a culture standpoint, that you. You are operating as though these final two months don’t matter whatsoever, and you can’t say otherwise when you have quad A guys. I mean quad A guys littered quad A might be nice to describe a couple of these guys. These might just be triple A guys that have are littering your outfield, and let me be in full fairness. Nine Kong quad a hopeful in full, in full fairness. Here we’re being we need to not be disingenuous, and we need to acknowledge Colton cowser went on the IL on the concussion list on Friday. Tyler O’Neill’s back on the aisle, right? So this wasn’t, they didn’t plan to have an outfield of Dylan Carlson, Jeremiah Jackson, Greg Allen, Ryan, Noda and Jordan Adams, while we’re in last place, let’s just add an exclamation point, sure, but, but I just My concern is just this season being what it’s been, that it’s just rotting on the vine, and what kind of damage this is doing to the culture. And look, if you and I talking about it in terms of coverage, talking about it, in terms of just watching it, fans, just talking about it in terms of consuming the product. What do you think the guys in the clubhouse Think of what their roster look right now and look, let me be clear, if those guys had their way, they wouldn’t have traded any of the guys at the trade deadline, right because they would have been thinking, at least in some miraculous hope of still going on a run, right? So, I mean, players never want to sell. So I want to be clear about that. But when you do have Dylan beavers at triple A, and even, let’s put him aside, someone like Judd Fabian at triple A, you know, who doesn’t have great numbers to trip away. And let me be clear, he’s not really a prospect at this point in time, but he’s your in your system. And I would also say, and this, I think, is a bad reflection of Mike Elias. We’ve seen Michaelia draft college outfielder after college outfielder after college outfielder over the last six years, and yet they’re needing to sign away Greg Allen from the Chicago Cubs organization, and suddenly he’s your center not everyday center fielder, but he’s making multiple starts in center field for you. I mean, that’s like a guy playing right field. That’s not a right fielder. I mean, that’s just a bad reflection of the state of affairs. And look, we knew they’re going to lose a lot of games. And Sunday, they lost because they’re bullpens in the state that it’s in right and Saturday they lost, because Brandon young, to this point, doesn’t look like he’s a major league starting pitcher, and the bullpen came in behind him, and was even worse for three innings after that, and it ended up being a blowout. But I just I do have a concern. And you know me, I Mr. Analytics, i Mr. Stat guy. I’m a nerd when it comes to baseball, I openly admit that, but the human element is there, and I am concerned with the state of affairs and the mental impact this is having, the cultural impact this is having on this club right now. And to your point, who are the guys that are going to say, hey, we need to go out there and grind guys, you know, I mean, Adam Jones would say it for years, you know, you got to grind. You got to play through it. You know, he played on some terrible teams early in his career. But, you know, the worm turned and by the time 2014 1516, rolled around, you know, even, you know, year or two before that,

Nestor Aparicio  28:22

let me say something on him, because you weren’t watching the broadcast, because you were at the game. A lot of folks weren’t, but I was glued to it on Saturday night. Palmer’s respect for Adam Jones as a player, I have never Palmer almost cried, like Palmer got really emotional when he Palmer said to him, I have one regret that I didn’t get to play with you. And he meant it. He meant it. It wasn’t Palmer, doesn’t I mean. And Palmer kids around and with it’s a really weird sense of humor that’s really coming out in his old age, which is kind of funny and weirdly endearing to me having watched him, yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s sort of like it reminds me of the guy I drank with at the harbor Castle Weston 30 years ago, and the guy that pulled me up at Jim Edmonds funeral a couple of weeks ago. You know, I, I love Jim Palmer, and for Jim Palmer to dote on Adam Jones in the way that he did. I mean, like ball player, kind of Frank Robinson, kind of respect for him. And I saw that, and it I’m long way into this, Luke, you know what? I mean, I wouldn’t have, I wouldn’t have told you that on Thursday, that that’s the way Palmer felt about Adam Jones. I would have had to seen that to believe it. I didn’t know because I heard him call games every night. He was never as slapping Adam Jones in the Adam Jones era, I never felt like he really loved, you know? I never felt like he put it on for Adam Jones over 10 years on television, but he did the other night in a real heartfelt way.

Luke Jones  29:59

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Okay, well, it’s funny because, and, you know, I kind of said my piece about the on field thing, and let’s talk about this. And then I do want to, I do have thoughts on the ticket thing, but I was really trying to think about this a lot over the weekend. And I think about the history of this franchise, and, you know, for years. And go back 50 years, right? 60 years at this point, you know, it speaks to how long it’s been. There was always a sentiment there was never going to be another Brooks Robinson, and there wasn’t. But Baltimore was lucky and blessed that Cal Ripken. It’s almost miraculous that Cal came as close as he did to being another Brooks Robinson, right? And what Cal meant for my generation, and thinking about that. And look from 1965 when Brooks was was in his prime, to 1995 when Cal was running around, taking his victory lap. 2131 the sports world, the world in general, had changed so much in those 30 years. Right in 1965 you could go to a local establishment and see Baltimore Colts players having dinner, having a beer, and you could like break bread with them, right? Which, in 1995 that era, that that ship had long sailed, right? So, so now we look at 1995 to 2025 there’s never going to be another cow or another Brooks Robinson closes, Cal came and I mean that as a cop, an absolute compliment to Cal Ripken. There’s not going to be another Cal Ripken. My question now, Nestor and look, Brooks was, was almost like a saint, you know, a baseball saint, right? I mean, no one had a bad word to say about Brooks and Cal sim and similar to that not exactly the same, because, you know, you’d hear, you know, I mean, Cal wasn’t quite as open and warm and it was a little more guarded, but still signed autographs and signed autographs and signed autographs. I was one of those kids in post game in 1995 that summer that got his autograph after a game as an 11 year old, but I think about it now, rough around the edges as he could be, I just think about how important Adam Jones was to this 21st Century iteration of the Baltimore Orioles that doesn’t have any of the gravitas or history or success that the Orioles had from the mid 60s through the mid 1980s and my question now, Nestor is, will this club even have another Adam Jones at this point in time? And what I mean by that is not to be fatalistic in terms of like, obviously things are horrible on the field right now. We’re going to get to the tickets. But you think about what Adam Jones did, and he signed a contract, you know, signed an extension in 2012 he was, what, a year away from, you know, becoming a free agent. Could have got more money on the open market. Could have gone back home to California. I mean, he, you know, to this day, still, you’ll still see him tweet about the Padres and San Diego and his affinity and which is totally fine, but he signed. He signed for even though he was paid well, like, let’s not act like it was, like this terrible contract, but he could have got more money on the open market. But he valued some loyalty. He valued the idea of making Baltimore his second home, right? You know, not in the way that we think about it Brooks 50 or 60 years

Nestor Aparicio  33:29

ago, but he could have been an Oriole for life if they just didn’t, if they didn’t whisk him off to Japan. I mean, I thought they should have kept him and just paid him to keep him around, but, but it would have been really hard for him to be on a team like, sure, sure. No question, yeah. I mean, he didn’t want to be a team like

Luke Jones  33:45

this, but, but as rough around the edges as he could be, and look, I mean, Adam would be the first to tell you, there were some moments that he said, you know, some things were, you know, be a little rough around the edges and say, okay, probably shouldn’t have said that, but, but he was organic. He was real, right? It’s not this so much of what we see, not from the Orioles specifically, but so much that we see with players, interactions with media and all that isn’t necessarily always genuine, right? I don’t need to tell you that, but Adam kind of told you how he felt, and I’ll pull back the curtain a little bit, and I don’t think he would mind me saying this, but you know, we in the media that covered him on a daily basis, you knew that there was a good Adam after games, and there was a bad Adam, Adam after games. But you know what? I always respected. He was always there after losses, even at times when some other guys that were very well respected, even to this day, wouldn’t always be at their locker after a game. He would talk. He was better talking after losses than he was after wins. He was better on leadership. He was better talking about him, talking about his teammates, rather than himself having a big game if he had a bad game or had a mistake that he. He made, he owned it. So all of that. And we haven’t even gotten into what he’s done off the field for this community, and the fact that he’s still involved to this day in this community, you know, the work he did with the Boys and Girls Club, and

Nestor Aparicio  35:14

he’s been everywhere here. The last two weeks, he’s been ubiquitous. I’ve been in the room. What am I shook his hand two weeks ago, but he’s

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Luke Jones  35:20

been that way for a long time now, right? I mean, he signed that contract, that extension, 13 years ago. That was 2012 and I just think about that. And the thing that’s concerning for me, and I don’t say this to some of this, is a commentary on sports in general. Yeah, he’s one of

Nestor Aparicio  35:36

the few guys this stuff is important too. Where I just I

Luke Jones  35:39

question, no, we’re never going to have another Brooks Robinson. No, we’re never going to have another Cal Ripken. Are we going to have another Adam Jones? And that’s a compliment to him, but also a like the Orioles need to have that. And this is where we start to get into long term deals. And you know, the idea that nothing matters and it’s all about, you know, future value and service time and all and, you know, pay like all that. But there’s still, still something to be said for the human element and a fan base being able to attach themselves to a certain player, right? And I think the closest thing the Orioles have to that potentially right now would be gunner Henderson. I get it. He’s a Scott Boris client. The closer he gets to free agency, I mean, then it’s just, you know, you’re not gonna, you’re just gonna,

Nestor Aparicio  36:30

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as a stadium empties out and the ownership proves itself to be and the Yankees and the Red Sox and the Blue Jays and be difficult to compete with. This is what got Messina out of here, mismanagement. It’s what got Machado out of here. You know? It’s what got Chris Davis signed and you know, it was good to see he didn’t get booed or anything. He’s, I guess, still loved by the 20,000 real hard on those that were out there.

Luke Jones  36:55

Oh, and look, I mean, Chris Davis didn’t hold a gun to the Orioles head and force them to give him back like they could let him

Nestor Aparicio  37:03

walk, nor did Glenn Davis a generation ago. Sorry, so and again, I don’t

Luke Jones  37:09

I think it’s important the point I’m trying to make here, yes, it’s about the present day, but it’s also just appreciating that. But also I don’t want the Orioles to be the Tampa Bay Rays. And look, when I say that, I don’t mean so much in terms of their ballpark situation and the fact that they’re playing in a minor leagues. I mean in the sense that, yes, to their credit, the rays for the better part of going on 20 years now have stayed very competitive. But who did, who does that fan base attach itself to. I mean, they, Evan Longoria was kind of that for a while, right? And it’s not as though they haven’t signed anyone to any extensions, right? I mean, heck, their their shortstop, who is now out of the picture because of his, you know, dealings with a minor and everything you know what, wander Franco. I i think it’s Franco, right? I’m suddenly blanking on his name. But my point that I’m trying to make with that is the rays are kind of run in this soulless, joyless roster churn. Don’t get attached to any of these players whatsoever, because they’re going to be gone in four or five years. That’s the problem with college sports, too, right? Yeah. I mean, that’s what’s going to wreck college I mean, the Terps that the Terps this this fall. You know, when basketball starts up, not football, they’re gonna have an entire new team. I mean, everyone really enjoyed this team. I mean, end of the season aside, with all the drama with Willard, I mean, the crab five, and that was fun, not literally. None of those guys are back. None of no one on the bench is back. I mean, it’s,

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Nestor Aparicio  38:43

it’s, it’s like building a brand through a horse, yeah, Kentucky Derby next year. You better have the jockeys. You better have the trainers, because the horses won’t be the same.

Luke Jones  38:53

It really is. It tests the limits of what you always hear in terms of, I root for the laundry, not the players Baloney, right? There’s always been an attachment to players. Now, some more so than others, right? You can’t keep everybody, nor should you try to keep everybody, because there are plenty of guys that don’t work out. Chris Davis made a perfect example of that. They should have let him go, right? That would have been the smart move. You know, in hindsight, in hindsight, in a perfect world, you would have kept Manny Machado, and Manny Machado would have been, maybe not as revered as Adam Jones off the field, but he’s a Hall of Fame ballplayer, right? He’s going to be in the Hall of Fame one day. So I guess when I just see Adam Jones celebrate, I see the Ovation Buck Showalter got. I see the ovation that Mark Caicos got. I mean, Wayne Kirby got an amazing pop from the crowd because they know that him and Jones are are tight, right? I mean, the fact that Wayne Kirby, their first base coach, from a decade ago, was back and looked that speaks to one how much fans did enjoy that era as weird and unexpected and at times this. Functional as it was, they still won and still had a really nice five year run. But, you know, I just see that, and I see what’s happening right now, and how this thing, two years into what was supposed to be so much prosperity for a long period of time, has gone off the rails. And it doesn’t mean it can’t get back on the track. I’ve talked about that there is a path for them fixing this, but, man, a lot has to go right. And now this is where we get into the ticket situation, and what has happened. And I’ll say I don’t do many plugs. Kyle goon wrote a very heavily fan driven piece. Talked to a lot of people. You know, he put out on social media. Hey, talk to me, guys. What’s going on with the Birdland memberships? What’s going on with your situation? Where, where are your circumstances? Who, who’s okay with this, who’s indifferent to this, and who has major concerns about this? By the way,

Nestor Aparicio  40:57

I used to do that on the radio, taking phone calls all day long, but and when everybody’s pissed, it made me a bad guy,

Luke Jones  41:05

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but it did, but I just my big takeaway, when you’re eliminating the 13 game plan and the 29 game plan, and you’re pushing people to 20 game plans and 40 game plans, and you have individuals who even putting that element of it aside, you have individuals, and I’ve seen this on social media from multiple people. You know, I, I can’t say I have it vetted with 100% certainty, but it’s enough of a sample size of people that there’s, there’s something to it, that you have people who have had the same seats for years, in some cases decades, and they’ve now been told that those seats that they’ve sat in for the longest time are now seats that are only eligible to have if you have a full season plan. Boy, this is what the Orioles are doing right now in announcing all this is not about trying to get new people. It feels very much like they’re trying to exploit their p1 you know that I think that’s the right

Nestor Aparicio  42:07

feels like the thing you would do when you’re trying to move the team to Nashville.

Luke Jones  42:10

I mean, it is so tone deaf. It is so, I mean, it’s, I think, look, are they going to lose their entire fan base with that? No, but I think what you will see is you’re going to see a lot of 13 game people just say, I’m done up, not not done, meaning I’ll never go to a game again, but I’ll go one on one, I’m going to go to six or seven games, or maybe I’ll get 13 games, but I’m going to pick and choose when I go and I’ll see how the team is playing halfway through the year, I think that, I think your 29 game plan holders are going to go down to 20. Does anybody think

Nestor Aparicio  42:50

they can’t get a playoff ticket in this town? That you have to have a season ticket to get a playoff ticket? I mean that, you know all of that mystery is gone, all of that. We’re going to give you $5 beers that I can get across the street all of the you know, like the Camden Yards is the greatest place ever, except when it’s empty and they’re honoring one of the heroes of the only hero they really had this century. And, you know, I just, just all of it, just all of it. I and I’m gonna write my thoughts at some point here before it’s all over with and I’ve I can come on and vomit in real time with you about it, but and the disregard and treating fans like an ATM, that’s where I burned up with Angelo’s 22 years ago, and it got me on the wrong side of being a prick, because, well, I don’t like people being mistreated and and I like and these people are worse because they’re hiding and they’re they’re not even from around here, none of them.

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Luke Jones  43:49

And I think the other part of this that is not, you know, it’s the worst kept secret in baseball at this point, is you have this going into 2026 and even, even if the club does turn things around and they’re backed into wild card contention or playoff contention, whatever, next year, right? I mean, there’s a path for that. A lot has to go well. They have to make a lot of really good decisions this off season. But even if they do, you’ve done this also knowing there is a looming work stoppage in 2027 I mean, you talk about, this isn’t a double whammy. This is a triple whammy of disaster on the field. In 2025 second straight year you have alienated your Birdland membership. You know you’re you’re fans of the fans, right? I mean, the the hardcore, the die hards, the 15,000 people that are still going out there on a regular basis right now that you’ve alienated a lot of them, and you know, going into 26 and not knowing what this offseason is going to look like, and then, and this isn’t the Orioles individually, but they’re part of the 30 clubs and one of the 30 owners, you. That have already you know, everyone’s anyone who’s anyone that knows anything about major league baseball and business and that, and the PA and everything, they’re just assuming at this point that there’s going to be a lockout for 27 and now that doesn’t mean the entire season is going to get wiped out, but that doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t lose the first month of the season, or it’s going to impact another off season in terms of how you spend and you try to improve your club and all that that, man, that is a triple whammy right there. Of, I mean, you might burn your fan base down to the ground the way, the way you’re operating right now, so very I mean, it’s, it’s disheartening, it really is, because those are the Birdland membership people. They’re the ones you should be taking the most care of right now. My goodness, those are the ones you should be kissing their their rear ends right now, because they’re the ones who’ve paid for and to watch this mess, and are continuing to pay to watch all

Nestor Aparicio  46:00

these people know is they put 1,000,000,008 into this. And Katie Griggs came in here as a genius, and Mark fine came in here from his rodeo show and working for that, you know, the creeps that run UFC, and they were all going to sprinkle magic dust onto this 100 win team, and they were just going to roll the ball out with their arrogance, because they don’t need people named Aparicio or people named bordick or people you know, they don’t. They don’t need Rick Dempsey. They don’t need, you know, they don’t. They don’t need Baltimore people they know better. They know better. They have, they have statistics. They have, they have analytics. They know better.

Luke Jones  46:38

I mean, it just comes across as, I mean, you use the term arrogant. I’m not going to disagree with that. I mean, just in terms of how it comes across. You know, I Are they as individual human beings, arrogant? I mean, I don’t some of the names you mentioned, I don’t know very well, but, boy, it exudes that. It the fact that you

Nestor Aparicio  46:59

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don’t know them, talks to their arrogance, but you’re in the media, you’re down there 5560 times a year. But the fact that they don’t come in and have a handshake with you and everybody else in the media, all 10 of you, they let in like it, you know, it’s

Luke Jones  47:14

just, it’s, it’s not good right now and again. That’s not to say that they can’t fix, I mean, they’ve got to fix the on field product, right? I mean, you can get $5 tickets away. I’ve been Look, maybe they should, they should be doing that the rest of the year because, I mean, it should be minor league prices for a minor league product right now. I mean, that that’s where we’re kind of back at that, at least for these last two months of the season. But they’ve got to fix the on field. But, man, there’s so much work to do. And we and we, you know, we’ve talked about this going back to what I thought was going to be the most telling was last off season, what changes did they make?

Nestor Aparicio  47:53

You know, it’s and what changes are coming this off season that are going to get people excited, and that’s what, well, on our next program, will do that. But, yeah, I mean, that’s, that’s the inherent problem here is that if gunner Henderson and holiday do this and that, and Rogers does this and that, and Bradish comes back, and you and I sit here and rah, rah rah shish, boom. By them plenty. I just, I watched the broadcast over the weekend, and I watched the internet, and I watched the way they’ve behaved, not just with me. They validated everything I’ve talked about how arrogant they’ve been over the last year and a half, and they they have no authenticity. They have no way to buy it. Cal Ripken, they tried to buy him into it, and he said, by home plate, has his hands up in the air. I mean, I don’t buck comes back for a night the, I mean, the bananas, as much as you keep telling me it’s bananas and oranges,

Luke Jones  48:47

there are lessons to take from that. Don’t get me wrong. I mean, the bananas

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Nestor Aparicio  48:51

got some excitement down there that they can’t do with the primary product. And that’s, that’s criminal.

Luke Jones  48:56

Oh, I mean, product stinks right now. I mean, it’s just they’re bad like no one wants to no one’s going out of their way to come watch a losing product. So again, they have to fix that like that. That has to be number one, right? Because two years ago, three years ago, we were talking about, still talking about many of these other issues, business tickets, sponsorships, community relations, you know, community relationships with local businesses, all of that, all that was there. But you could say what they’re really good on the field. They’ve got to fix that part in in, you know, in concert with fixing all those other things. But man, this season ticket announcements and changes and all that that is not inspiring confidence whatsoever. And at the point now where I think you have a fan base that went from and when I say fan base, I mean the people that were actually still going the people that are still engaged with the product, which we know the casuals tuned out months ago, understandably so, right, it’s a last place team

Nestor Aparicio  49:57

dude, Angelos and his family treated these people. People like trash every minute for 30 years, literally, I mean, like Angelos treated these people like they were underneath of the sole of his shoe, and his punk kid sat there and treated Dan Connolly and anyone that showed up on Martin Luther King Day. This is a this is two years ago. I mean, this is not other than winning a little bit two years ago and Delman young and five minutes of Buck Showalter and Cal Ripken doing this 30 years ago. Now, there ain’t been much here. I mean beyond Springsteen and Billy Joel and so these people who shat upon me 1516, months ago, when I came like Oliver Twist, you know, with my hands out, saying, I’m here to help you. They, they, you know, they they’re not good people, they’re not smart people, they’re not community people, they’re not authentic people, they’re not people that have really thought anything about embracing the community here, um, or getting out or even knowing you and you’re down there sitting in their seats while the press box still is where it is. I mean, it’s just surprising they’re not coming in there with carpenters over your shoulder, you know, getting the measurements out with Schneider in there while you’re in there in the middle of the third inning, because, you know you’re enjoying your last month or two there. But I mean, in all sincerity, I run a business. I’m a local person. I talk to people that run businesses all day long, everywhere here, this has been a special operation for a long, long time, getting by on where are the Orioles you treat us? Yeah, yeah.

Luke Jones  51:58

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And I mean, so not only has the new ownership group collectively not really acknowledged that scar tissue that’s there, and a lot of it trauma now, but now I what, whatever, however you want to describe it. Now, it feels like not only are they ignoring that, they are now trying to drain every last penny they can get from people that still, were still riding

Nestor Aparicio  52:27

on the fence to begin with. Yeah, 401 wins game two years ago.

Luke Jones  52:31

So it’s man, it is not a good, it’s not a good state of affairs right now, I’ve kept an obvious statement. I get

Nestor Aparicio  52:39

that, yeah, well, who’s gonna I’m gonna go back to the Johnny oats. We’re the leaders,

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Luke Jones  52:43

joyless thankless right now to it feels joyless and thankless to be an Orioles fan right now, especially those folks who had season ticket plans. Had a plan for a long time, and now they’re being told we need more from you. You know, I know what, uh, if I were in that spot. Now, I’m not someone who’s paying ticket for tickets. So full disclosure there, boy, I would feel a certain way about that, and I don’t think the Orioles would like my answer.

Nestor Aparicio  53:08

And you love baseball and I love baseball. We sit here. We love baseball. And I know how I’ve been treated by these people who I’ve done nothing to except offer them coffee and offer to help and give them free advice. Then I’m going to give them either way and free criticism. And you know, on loan, stink stank stunk. I’m Nestor. He’s Luke. We’re Baltimore positive. Stay with us. You.