With all of the questions about the next All Star Game coming to Baltimore, Nestor Aparicio once again asks John Angelos why the Camden Yards lease demands are so secretive as the Orioles win games and the stall with local government continues.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
game, star, baltimore, year, dennis, tickets, city, sit, dugout, baseball, angelo, hotel, week, day, orioles, stadium, watching, griffey, people, talk
SPEAKERS
Dennis Koulatsos, Nestor Aparicio
Dennis Koulatsos 00:02
Welcome back. 1570 m am Baltimore positive My next guest is Nestor Aparicio. Always fun to have you on s welcome in.
Nestor Aparicio 00:09
Hey, man. It’s fun to be here in the middle of summer. The all star games over the Orioles are home. It’s irrelevant, the Dodgers are coming. This kid is hitting 400. You know, I watched the all star game the other night. And you know, it’s the middle summer when I think at the All Star game, I went to 17 all star games. So I had to add it up. You know before was because while I was still going recently, I went to Washington a couple years ago, my wife had never been to an all star game. And when she got cancer back in 14 and 15, the summer of 15, we did the tour. And the tour was supposed to end at the All Star game in Cincinnati. But we had already been to Cincinnati on the tour. And we like literally we were just tired. It was 30 days. It ended on that Sunday. And we were supposed to go from Cleveland, to Columbus to Cincinnati for the all star game and we bailed on it. And I said, Look, I’ll take you next year to San Diego. And then she got cancer again. So she we didn’t go to San Diego the following year. And we didn’t go to a couple of them. And then it was coming to Washington. I’m like, hey, I’ll make sure you get to Washington. She wanted to go with your friend Michelle President while she was also a bone marrow transplant survivor who was her coach from there goes my hero, but she loves baseball. Michelle does too. So you know the all star game thing. We went the standup the cancer part. We had the signs in Washington. So I put that up. But I have so many All Star Game memories. But today, the day of your show Thursday, July 13 Not only live a day, which I didn’t realize everybody’s sharing Live Aid stuff because live and I went to that 1985 But it’s the 30th anniversary today of the major league baseball star game in Baltimore. And I don’t know man, that’s like a watershed moment, right? Like I don’t I don’t know how many moments we’ve had in adulthood but baseball bat Delmon, young Delmon, young, Cal Ripken, 2131 2131 was 1995, right? I mean, so these moments that you would want to have with baseball that we hope we’re gonna have this summer, right, like, that’s what we’re all hanging on to that. jerious is gonna get the big home run in the eighth inning to beat the tickets to the worlds whatever it’s gonna be. I mean, it’s always gonna be some Tito Landrum, you know, Rick Dempsey, that’s the star of all of it, right. But I love baseball. And my last name is Aparicio and things like the all star game. And this weekend I had, well, I don’t don’t tell Robbie senior but I cheated on him. I had Robbie Jr. on the show.
Dennis Koulatsos 02:35
Rob Robbie, Jr. is very good. In fact, they just did a segment with Fox News. Fox Business and they were invited right back and we they’re both I’m a very well spoken, very intelligent and very knowledgeable. But all things particularly sports.
Nestor Aparicio 02:50
have, you know, Robbie, Jr. Since he was born or a man? No, you know, Robbie for a long time.
Dennis Koulatsos 02:55
Long time. Yes, absolutely. Yes. Yeah. That’s great, great people. Absolutely.
Nestor Aparicio 02:59
Well, so I had Robbie on this week, Robbie, Jr. on because he’s a lot of fun. Well, the reason I had him on was because they’re doing the Babe Ruth museum this weekend. They’re doing the car show down there. Now, Bumbry. Like all of this stuff. I did that event last year. I went down there, Mike bordick was there last year, and I got to sort of reconnect with him. Because one of the thing about having my press pass taken away from I don’t have access to the people anymore. I don’t know Adam Jones, he knows me. But I don’t know him. So because I didn’t have access in that era. So spending time with people around sports around baseball around cards around collectibles around history. I love that stuff. You know, so sitting here talking about old baseball cards and talking about the all star game. So the 93 All Star game. Where were you? Did you go? Did you watch? Where were you in your life at that point? Because the Orioles let’s be honest, Dennis, you might have been watching the NFL Draft but you weren’t a Ravens fan yet?
Dennis Koulatsos 03:51
No, no, I wasn’t a Wege gonna kid you a little. I was grinding working 8090 hours a week. So no, I was not much into baseball even back then.
Nestor Aparicio 04:02
So you didn’t go to Fan Fest? You didn’t do any of that. None
Dennis Koulatsos 04:05
of the above and I was selling cars. You know, I was it was it was a tough economy at that point. And yeah, I was I was just humping selling cars. That was my only focus.
Nestor Aparicio 04:14
I was. I was a year and a half into a radio career. Right I had done. I’ve been at the paper, two different papers at Ford 86 and 86 to 92. So this is 93. We’re broadcasting at that point from the Radisson Lord Baltimore downtown. Back on the third floor behind the ballroom we had we had suites. We had six rooms that were the worst rooms in the hotel. They overlooked the alley. All you smelled was the T bone steaks coming off the grill and the cheeseburgers coming off the grill. And we had one set of rooms that was the executive offices, one set of rooms that were the studio and then one set of rooms that were the production that we had to hold back behind third floor Word of the Lord Baltimore. And also I mean I ran into Trent Reznor in that hotel from Nine Inch Nails. But that particular night all star game night, I ran into Johnny Bench I came down the elevator and there’s Johnny Bench and lob because the all star game, you know, Bob Euchre was there to just as an aside, but it was one of the five hotels kind of putting people up. There was no four seasons the harbor court but but Hyatt was the was the the main hotel, but I picked my credentials up at the Marriott next to the stadium, the Mary everybody forgets is there, the little Marriott that’s right by the Hilton. Like I was there a couple of weeks ago and I walked in there. I’m like, What memories do I have here? And I’m like, I picked up my All Star Game credential here in 1993. So when I you know, walk the streets to the city. But that day that time that weekend, that Fan Fest my son was nine years old. My son was born in 1984. So it was a big deal to him. I took him to Fan Fest. You know, I had a badge and like, I used to drink beer with Mike Messina before and not before games, but after games, but see him before games and walk the city I was at the ballpark at two o’clock every night. I was telling you stories about standing by Greg biagini. At the 93 All Star, the homeruns that Griffey was hitting and Gonzalez, those balls were juiced. Those balls were heated, a great big and he told me showed me gave me all the science behind it. He’s like I sit here batting practice every day. And Sam horn tries to hit anything he can they try to kill the ball, they hit the warehouse, and they can’t do it. They can’t do it. They can’t do it. Out of five people do it on one day, they hated the balls, right? So. So all these memories I have, but my mother and I wanted to go to the game. So I hooked her up. But I my buddies really wanted to go to the GamePad. And I didn’t have any access to tickets, but I knew players. And there were players in the locker room. They were talking like, Hey, I have some tickets, whatever. And nobody was trying to scalp anything. And I’m going to I’m going to tell you a good guy story. All right, so I covered those teams. I knew those guys I was on. Planes, trains, automobiles, hotels, Ben McDonald, Rick Sutcliffe, Brady Anderson, Mike Messina, Cheeto Martinez. David Ziggy, all those guys are my boys. Right? l rod always in the clubhouse. A cow senior who I never really knew I was very intimidated by him was very intimidated by Mike Flanagan. I didn’t talk to Mike Flanagan till we didn’t become friends for a long time after that, actually. And then we became kind of intense friends. We are wives. We did things together in Timonium, but I didn’t know Mike Flanagan when he was the pitching coach or the pitcher in 1992. I was scared to death of those guys. I really was even as a 10 year reporter I didn’t mess with Cal senior cow was more my age and I I got on with cow. But so in 93 I’m in the locker room week for the game. My body’s all really wanted to go to the game and I wanted to be a good friend. I’m on the radio. I’ve been on the radio a year and a half. Chris Hoiles had a couple of extra tickets. And he said, I’m doing my best. Ohio Chris. Hey, I got a couple of tickets. I know. He’s my want to go to the game. You know, they’re not very good seats. I mean, they’re on a moon. But you know, so I said, Chris apologetic? Like if I get these tickets from my friends, they’re gonna love me forever. He’s like, Well, I only have four of them. I’m like, Give them to me. So I think so. Kevin X swish Morrison, John Rafa, Letus may have given you all the way to David No, I don’t. But I wound up giving tickets to my friends. And I said to them, the only rule is this, I get the ticket stuff. I just want to have the ticket stuff. So I have the tickets. We’re in Section 388, which is where I told everybody to meet us for free the birds. It’s where I set. When I went to games with my son, we would go up and because it reminded me my dad, you know what I mean is like the worst seat in the stadium. And when I took my kid there 92 345 waist was full, there was nowhere to sit. So you know, like, let’s just sit up tight. It’s fun, ticket yet. Strike Zone. From there. I would always say I like to sit in the outfield, because you can see the strike zone way better than anywhere else in the stadium. Now my seat behind home plate when I was a media member we’re looking at it’s your second level up right behind home plate. It’s a great seat. I mean, it’s where you should watch the game if you’re a media member, right? But I liked the outfield seats. So they sat up on the moon, the free the Free Willy when the sign went over the edge. I was up there visiting them. And the auxilary press box was below that. So the auxilary press box was like in 286 Like where they have the bird feed room. It’s like it was the club level outlet center field. And that whole weekend was magical man. I was in the dugout during the Home Run Derby Dennis because the costumey I was there and I had a clubhouse badge and I just sat at the end of the dugout and they didn’t throw me out out and the thing started and it wasn’t live who was tape delay? So there’s Gonzales Mark McGwire sat next to me for 30 minutes during the derby like literally was just sitting next to me watching Gonzalez and before he hit, I saw him like taping himself up bats the whole deal. And I if you look in the videos, I’m in the dugout, Ken Griffey, with the hat backward. I’m in the first base dugout, watching the balls launch and the place was mobbed. You can see people celebrating up on the warehouse where boots barbecue is when Griffey was hitting the homeruns like people were cheering it all it was just wonderful, you know, like it’s it’s a beautiful memory. And it’s not when we talk about much here in regard to Camden Yards and I mean, the Pope came to Camden Yards, Cal Ripken, Delmon young and we’re waiting for the next thing right? But that was a special special thing the all star game being here.
Dennis Koulatsos 10:55
Yeah, absolutely. Well, like I enjoyed this last one. I I didn’t see the game but I did watch. The Home Run Derby really enjoyed led Weisman’s performance and also, coupled with his father pitching to him. I thought that was a wonderful moment for those guys and also for Orioles fans alike.
Nestor Aparicio 11:12
My dad pitched to me, you know, a little bit. You know, my dad was older. My dad was 55 when I was five, right? So like, I’m 55 now and I’m thinking, ooh, that would take a lot of energy. And I’m a pretty, you know, pretty sturdy, you know, but I don’t know, I don’t know that I want to be putting the heat on the wiffle ball, you know, but especially without missing his finger. So as an amputee, I’m nasty, wiffle ball. You don’t wanna mess with me. But I mean, as Mark Messina once said to me, I can’t throw a party anymore. You know, I got nothing left. I
Dennis Koulatsos 11:39
can throw a party. Right. But the one thing about the all star game to hear the little footnote and this is this is in your wheelhouse is that John Angelo’s had said that he’d like to have that new lease signed by the all star game, it would be a great gift. And I’ll put that in quotation marks right. And here we are. And you’re the only person in town still pounding the table. And letting people know that that lease hasn’t been signed yet. That five year lease is still out there.
Nestor Aparicio 12:07
I thought it was kind of amazing that Manford brought up you know, Atlanta to the places where they’re going to try to take an all star game, which is always um, it’s always a hostage situation, right? It’s like, if you get your act together, and you bid enough and you get us you do all the work, which I mean, they can’t even do the work of selling their own tickets right now. How could they host the all star game? We have 30 people shot in South Baltimore. I mean, like there are things going on. Like I’m trying to get the mayor on. I’m at Coco’s later this week. The Maryland crab cake tour is out. I’m really looking forward to seeing Marcel I have Senator Cory McRae on this week, we’re talking baseball with Dave shine. And he’s been a lot all star games. And we’re SIG my dear friend and one of my favorite people in the world. So but you know, this, this notion that the all star game, it’s been 30 years, there’s 30 teams, it’s our time, right? Right, we would have had the all star game here 1314 15 If Peter would have relented and fixed the lawsuit with his partners, he’s been suing his partners for eight teen years over a billion dollars and they’re fighting and they’re still fighting. And now the kids in the middle of it and the kid lives in Nashville doesn’t have a friend in the world here doesn’t have any advocates and now apparently is looking for federal money to do what I don’t know. I don’t I don’t know where they’re building. I mean, if you’re watching this on our YouTube channel, or on Facebook or anywhere video, the stadiums behind me what are they putting where Peter fought tooth and nail to get the hotel, couldn’t get it, the parking lots there. It’s got a viaduct in the middle of it. Staples is across the street, there’s a hospital across the street, like I don’t know where they’re building Wrigleyville in Baltimore, in the Federal Reserve is that this is where the money comes from. Like, I’ve seen the trucks it’s a highly guarded facility at the foot of 95 That’s strategically located with all sorts of tunnels underneath of our city that I saw Barack Obama get snuck into our city one night, you know, like our cities weird and that part of our city where like the train tracks caught on fire. Remember that Martin O’Malley tells that story he’s an ocean he’s at the crispy awakened bank and and there’s smoke coming out of tunnels that the governor the governor even know about he was the mayor of Baltimore for eight years didn’t even know it existed. So and they’re gonna get federal money to do what and who’s the who’s the architect of this Johnny Angeles has never had a popsicle stand let alone a car dealership or run an am radio station for 25 years successfully against all tides. He’s born on third hit a triple and and they’re gonna give him $2 billion of federal money to like build a casino i i don’t i don’t understand it. So this is where I get off as a journalist and and saying, Why don’t you sit with me and explain it to me? Explain it to me so I can sell your bourgeois to the people so we can further enrich you because that’s really what it’s about. It’s about it. Reaching steep Ashanti and Angelo’s and their families and their legacies, it’s really not about building the city off it really, if it is, come see me, come see me. Come sit and talk to me. Come tell me how it’s gonna make the city better. And I’ll tell Dennis to tell his customers and his employees and Mr. Coons and we’ll get a dealership downtown. And we’ll have a top golf and we’ll have, like, Great, let’s do what they did in Cincinnati, Atlanta, but give me the plan to come sell it to me, because you know, who did this Dennis. And we’re better Williams, Larry Lucchino when I had Marty Conway, oh, when I have Janet Marie Smith on when I have Charles Steinberg on when I have Rick Vaughn on, these are the real people that built this thing. And when I had them on, they were like, We were transparent. In every step, the first people we went to, were the Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post, because we knew that they had the customers that were going to fill our place and create excitement around this thing that we were asking our taxpayers to build. And then five years later, art modell came in and asked you and me and Mr. Koons for 10s of 1000s of dollars for the right to purchase seats that I would later be thrown out of by some guy named Chad Steele. It’s I mean, I’ve lived through all of this, so I get to write the book on it. But the next chapter needs to be about the city. For both of these franchises that have kind of done very, very well, you know, over the last 30 years, help us rebuild our city.
Dennis Koulatsos 16:25
Well, here’s the thing about the oil industry, they have a very low payroll, I mean, do you just think he just buying time to sell the team without making any other investments?
Nestor Aparicio 16:34
Everybody tells me that he has dug in, to the partners to his mother to his brother, that he’s here forever, that John’s gonna own the team till he dies. Okay. And that’s what he believes. Okay, so that now I don’t know that pick and I listen, Dennis, I hate to get flipping on your show. But I’ll get flipping on my own show. But like, he came out of the box lion on Martin Luther King Day, came out of the box, intimidating a guy that’s now lost his job. Right. Dan Connolly has lost his job. And he’s, I mean, other than Luke, and I’ll put myself in that category and a handful of other baseball people here, the Peter schmucks in the world, people that have seen at all that have chased Peter Angelos around that have been on airplanes that have paid their own way. Hotels, all star games, World Series, spring trainings. I’ve dedicated my life to this. And I haven’t gotten rich on it. Right. But like, there’s a point where if, if he sat with me, I wouldn’t believe what he says. He told me he was going to open the books in January. I’m not just a journalist. I’m a citizen. I’m a taxpayer. I’m a fan. I’m a lifelong fan. I’m Aparicio. I’m a vested business owner. I’m all of that. Don’t lie to me. And don’t lie to me. And he’s already a liar. So you know, and I don’t know what else to call it. And he’s a coward. He won’t come forward. And now tick tock, tick tock. Oh, but Dennis. Marlins are in town. All right. Fireworks night, right. Next week, you want to see the Dodgers play right? All right. Listen, let’s let’s wait the middle of the pennant race right now. Okay. It’s it’s Martin Luther King Day. We can’t we’re not here to talk about that today.
Dennis Koulatsos 18:18
I’m not talking about not having a lease. We’re not gonna talk about oh, no, no, we
Nestor Aparicio 18:21
were no questions about that says Chad’s deal. No questions about the quarterback and his contract in front of the head coach and the general manager. The only time we make them available. No questions about the quarterback. I mean, that’s what we’re running here, Dennis. And they’re getting away with it. And they’re getting away with it because Jason locker forest signing up to take Angelo’s his money. So now he Shut up 105.7 He’s just trying to say, have you seen Audacy stock lately? I mean, I don’t mean to be mean, but like it is what it is. They’re trying to stay in business over there without a sports property. And WNBA L is neutered, right. Um, so I don’t know who you know, Fox likes to ask all the tough questions, except when they’re in the running to get the rights and the Sinclair family is broke from the RSN implosion, that’s about to eat the Angelo’s family and whoever the learners sell to. And it’s going to be the next problem probably of Ted leonsis, because he’s going to be the guy that buys it. And hope you listen to this segment three years from now when all my little crystal ball sections come true. I mean, I we’re gonna get an all star game again, because we have a stadium in the city. But that being said, we’re already a decade late on that. And guess who doesn’t care what whether we get an all star game or not rob Manfred. He’s got bigger fish to fry with whatever lawsuit is gonna come out of the Oakland Vegas situation, whatever they’re doing down in Tampa, where I just had a 25 year executive who built this franchise here, say to me on these airways, I don’t know that baseball is going to work in Tampa. And I don’t disagree with it there and now there and he comes out this week, and he’s gonna give us an all star game. The commissioner when we don’t have a lease. And I like I don’t know, when they’re gonna expand it. That’s your thing. Did you hear that? I saw that yeah, they’re gonna expand so now they’re gonna get Portland and Vancouver and I guess Nashville and you know that’s gonna be John’s flip John’s flips gonna be look, they don’t like me a Baltimore UniLite me in Baltimore. I know Tim McGraw I know Garth.
Dennis Koulatsos 20:18
They Major League Baseball not allow that they’ll put a different team in Nashville, believe me well
Nestor Aparicio 20:22
hold on now the NFL held out to not let Mark Davis go to LA and he wound up going to Vegas, which is far better for him.
Dennis Koulatsos 20:29
Now it is. Let’s see what happens. These guys.
Nestor Aparicio 20:33
It’s a fascinating game the Pong game all this money in these billionaires. But you know who’s getting used in the status, the people that are going down and supporting the Orioles right now because as I’ve said this and I’ll say it really really loud if you don’t go down there, and we don’t start getting some people there that will be used against us. I’m sure. And that’s so they’re in the pennant race. They’re a great team. They got great players. They’re doing promotions of all kinds. If we’re if I’m not down there next Wednesday, watching the Dodgers play, then you know, shame on me. I’m a bad citizen. And I’ve talked to a lot of people about what I don’t know what they’re asking for, in regard to the lease to say, is it a good idea? Or is it not? I just come forth, be transparent. You’re asking the people for a lot of money. You’re asking for the future that we’re going to be a part of make us a partner in it make me make me and my family a partner in it.
Dennis Koulatsos 21:33
More often than not, the longer you hold out, the better the deal gets. So
Nestor Aparicio 21:38
Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. When banks compete, you win,
Dennis Koulatsos 21:42
you win. So the longer that that contract stays blank and unsigned, the better it gets for the Orioles, the worse it gets for the city and the fans and everybody else.
Nestor Aparicio 21:51
You know, I just think about this when I’m not on the air. So I have something to say. And I literally was laying in bed thinking about this and thinking John Angeles didn’t have a care in the world. I mean, like, not a care in he has no motivation. He has good problem the right thing to do anything and
Dennis Koulatsos 22:09
he has he has good problems. Not all problems in life are bad at the Delta to people all the time. He has good problems. He’s He’s rich and about to get richer. That’s a fact. Right? No matter what actually
Nestor Aparicio 22:22
gonna pay. He doesn’t need to sign lease. What are they gonna do? Kick him out? Nope. We’re gonna take the stadium elsewhere. I mean, there, there are no cards. Westmore has no cards in this, which no worries me.
Dennis Koulatsos 22:35
Yeah, I know. I know. Dealing with the wrong cat. That’s for sure. That’s Dr. Appreciate you your wisdom and your insight. We’ll see how your crystal ball works. That’s where you’re from. Now, when I told you to do that. Follow
Nestor Aparicio 22:45
me on social media. I’ll share some old pictures of ticket stubs and all star game galas and running into Geddy Lee and I have such great memories of it. I mean, I really, really do. And I want it back. And I want I want the greatness of that. I mean, that was a that was a great time in my life. And yeah, and we all want that back. And I think when you see rutschman versus rutschman and you see our players and you see that like we really have a pennant race here and the Orioles are significant again, I want them to be as significant as possible. I really do.
Dennis Koulatsos 23:14
There you go there. Nestor. Aparicio was a little nostalgia this morning. Yeah, I’m 1570 M W and est. We’ll take a quick break and come back right after this. Oops.
