New ownership has been a long time coming for the Baltimore Orioles. After a lifetime of watching the baseball franchise wither without hope, along comes a new protagonist who has immediately shown himself to be a man of the people. Bill Cole and Nestor discuss the first month of the David Rubenstein Era and the “Next Chapter” of Orioles Magic.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
people, solar, talk, owner, zoo, baseball, animals, rhinoceros, football team, happened, run, orioles, cal ripken, give, squirting, sashi, years, player, nestor, tickets
SPEAKERS
Nestor J. Aparicio, Bill Cole
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:02
Welcome home we are W n s t and 5070 Towson Baltimore and Baltimore positive we’re gonna be down to families giving away these the Maryland lottery giving me the Pac Man scratch. This has been one of the more popular scrap I mean, I give away the Ravens scratch offs I get but like these because they’re bright yellow and everybody wants a little cherry guys, you get the bonuses and all that Pac Man. It’s been a lot of fun. We’ll be the fate leads each and every Friday. I am putting the list together and wearing my costume shirt today. We’ll be back at cost this in June. I have Coco’s I have state fair. I had Pappas in the Parkville Pappas, where they’re all back on the docket. So the Maryland crab cake Tour presented by the Maryland lottery conjunction with our friends at Jiffy Lube, multi care as well as Liberty pure solutions, keeping our water clean and getting us out on the road. This guy puts us out on the road. Dude, I’ve had so much coffee that I’ve already decaffeinated. I don’t have my coal roofing mug here because I’ve been drinking from it. My Tom still coffee color from my coffee. Bill Cole is here from coal roofing and Gordion energy and solar and making things happen. First things first. Thanks for inviting me out with accelerant last week I had a really nice time at the zoo. I pet rhinoceroses and unlike Ed Mullen, I did not put the pictures up on social media and with my wife, I thought that like I had left her out of it. And I you know, I felt bad about it cuz we were smelling the rhinoceroses and touching rhinoceroses. And taking pictures that were cool people that I liked, like Barry Glassman was there are different people that you know, were there. And I thought, and I feel terrible that my wife couldn’t be here and she had the bow and she had the work. And then I come home and she’s like, You do know my sister and I did the rhinoceros encounter last year and I’m like, You did white? She’s like, Yeah, I remember when you dropped me off the zoo and me and my sister got hammered. You have to come back and pick us up. I’m like, Oh, that was brew at the zoo. She’s like, Yeah, we went early. We did the rhinoceros is in the morning. And I’m like, I honest to God didn’t know that they had rhinoceros is there I would have said they were hippopotamuses. I didn’t know. But there were nostrils thinks like a real thing. And you love the zoo and you love talking about the zoo? Yeah,
Bill Cole 02:10
I think what you’re hitting on is what I’ve find most intriguing. Like, most of us have some memory of the zoo as a child and like, whatever life takes you in a whole other direction. And
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:25
then you have kids and you go back to the zoo.
Bill Cole 02:26
Or maybe you even forgot about it right? Like that’s what I keep running into some people like man, I haven’t been to the zoo and you know, 40 years or 30 years I’m like, You need to go man it’s a totally different ballgame and like even the business of zoos is a is a different business you know like it’s it’s not a carnival anymore like this is about education ality and yeah, like you’re learning about the animals and conservation and I mean it’s they’re doing just phenomenal job they’ve got like the best people every time I meet someone that like works there you’re
Nestor J. Aparicio 03:01
impressed as hell right? Fascinated, like I can tell you are in love with the rhinoceros Girl Yeah, so while she was awesome and famous rhinoceros these grass balls and and run estrus came over wanting more bang that’s worn up that like, and we’re like, what if it gets out? And how do we you know, don’t get pinched. It’s it’s an 8000 pound creature there and you rough like, and they’re, they live in dirt. They have dirt on them the whole time? And I’m like, do you rinse them off? They’re like, No, they don’t like that. And I’m like, okay, man, like, I don’t know, I’ve never hung out with all right now. I’m just trying to figure out my cat. And I’m on the third one, you know what I mean? Getting good at it. It’s
Bill Cole 03:39
super fascinating. And some of the other stuff like that they’re doing with like, you figure technologies advanced and it’s like, sure, we all know we have a cell phone in our pocket and whatever your whatever software you use every day at work, and then like, wait a second, there’s this zoo and there’s these people who are like taking new technology and applying it to learning you know, behavioral analysis from the animals and trying to make better enclosures where they’re they, you know, are more active or then taking I think I might get the story wrong. I want to say it was a porcupine, but but it might have been like might have been an armadillo. It definitely wasn’t an armadillo. But it was a smallish mammal creature that was was really old. It was one of our geriatric animals. And it had kind of stopped climbing. And like this one zookeeper like, set up Wi Fi cameras, and like, built the enclosure in a certain way, and kind of saw where the animal stopped climbing. So he like changed it around and he changed it around. He changed it like every couple of months. He ended up getting this animal that hadn’t climbed in a long time was you like, you can’t have a conversation with him. But it sure looks like they are now living their best life again because now it’s climbing up all over these these three branches you know it’s just crazy that kind of stuff that’s going on there that they’re able to learn
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:12
the love of animals that they have here there and you love animals are interested in animals are frightened by animals, whatever it is. By the way, this gives me a perfect opportunity with Bill Cole to do exactly what he wants me to do with the Maryland Zoo and and if you’re watching on the video, I think you probably can just click on that. But let me read this to you all for animals June 6 from 530 to 830. Networking for a great cause. The this Maryland Zoo fundraiser features food and drinks, animal experiences and a silent auction where guests can bid for a chance to win a unique animal naming opportunity. If you win a donkey and you name it Nestor I’m going to kill you bilkul I’m just letting you know right now especially if it’s a long it’s a great idea. Donkey Yeah, it looked like I’m giving you I’m feed you now.
Bill Cole 06:00
I can raise money around that concept. So all right. There’s a couple people out there are a couple organizations that I think would pay money to have a donkey named after you had the ZIL That’s good stuff.
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:12
I hear Angelo says a nice honorarium. So maybe he could contribute. I need to talk to you about like ownership and entrepreneurial stuff. I went to the Oracle game last Thursday. Curio wellness gave me beautiful seats at four seats offered you you couldn’t go other people went Chris pike come up with me Greg Landry, executive producer from Blue Rock productions, and my childhood friend Brian Poole attorney pool of T Rowe. I was one of months um, a lot of Yankee fans down in the good seats where I was, I mean, you know, I was in the fourth row right behind the dugout scaring the players yelling at the player to Eklund doing all that baking. It was hot and it was hundreds odd. It’s crazy hydrate hot, you know, but um attendance, okay. I mean, disappointing. You know, like, you’re asking me for the truth. It was a Thursday against the Yankees it was 100 degrees. I couldn’t get anybody to go with me. You know, I finally Chris came along and took the for ticket. But you know, it’s tough breaking away from work and this and that. And but there, dude, the team’s never been better than it is like, let’s just sweep aside whether they win three this weekend lose to this, whatever it is the pure potentiality of the team and the franchise and everything that it represents you and I talked baseball a couple of weeks ago. And I don’t think we’ve talked and maybe two or three weeks. But the number one question that comes to me in my real world on my social media everywhere I go, especially after the documentary is are they going to give you a press pass back? That people are asking me this as though I have the answer to that I do not have the answer to that I given the only answer I can give which is I’m under review whatever under review is I’ve sent the documentary over to Mr. Rubenstein and his people at this point. TJ Brightman has lived teacher President knows that I’m a legitimate media person that he’s locking out he’s doing it because he enjoys it. Same thing with Greg Bader, Greg Bader knows I have a real radio station. They allow my Caucasian employee to go the problem we’re running into is on draft night where the Ravens won’t let me in and the Orioles will let me and we have a seat with only one person’s name on it. He’s only one guy and I can’t cut him in half. He can’t be at Oriel Park and Owings Mills. They threw me out of Owings Mills, because I didn’t go to Owings Mills enough, and yet they won’t let me come. So that’s the whole gaslighting part of all this and the Sashi brown thing I’ll get to in a minute. But Mr. Rubenstein, and buying a team for 1,000,000,007 and what you would think of on the outside, and what I would think of is, why did he do this? What is his Why did he want to squirt fans in the outfield? Does he want to make a billion dollars more? Does he want to make the city a better place? Does he want to win? Hopefully, yes, yes. Yeah. You know, yes, in every box, right. But where are you on watching? TV commercials that look like they’re expensive and bought by New York. You know what I mean? Like they look like they’re contrived, like storyboard commercials. About here’s an idea for you, Mr. Rubenstein. Do you want to do this? You want to squirt people? Do you want to sit in the box? You want to sit with Ryan Ripken and do a podcast? Do you want to? I don’t know what the next thing is when you’re squirting fans in left field, right? Like, I mean, I don’t I don’t mean to be facetious. I think it’s beautiful. It’s wonderful. It feels like it has some authenticity to me. But I’m not in a position to ask him about any of this. But I have so many questions bill and just watching it like mass in the broadcast what he wants, like what his vision is, I have real questions about his vision. And his why I’m, I am fascinated. And I have not watched I admitted this to Luke, because I haven’t met him. I haven’t talked to him. I have purposely stayed away from all of the interviews on the internet. I haven’t watched him with Cal Ripken last week, where he does an hour of asking your people for money to come to that which is beautiful. I just don’t want to be polluted by anything other than the man I meet, I don’t want to meet him on TV.
Bill Cole 10:06
So, you know, I think it’s, I do think it’s genuine, that he has a genuine humbleness about him that allows him to
Nestor J. Aparicio 10:23
have a sense of humor. Yeah, allow
Bill Cole 10:25
himself to enjoy, you know, what his life has now, you know, this what this opportunity has, you know, all the things that he’s done that have led to this? Well, I’m now the owner of this team and I had, you know, a childhood love affair and, you know, there’s lots of fun stuff and like, it’s, it’s okay to just kind of be silly and have fun with it. And, and I think that’s, it’s so good at times. And so I’m like, I’m skeptical. Like, I’m worried I’m, well,
Nestor J. Aparicio 10:53
the number one piece of advice I would have given him eight weeks ago is make us forget about the other guy as soon as possible, right? You need to make meat especially. And I told his guy, I don’t mean that. I said, I like I’m not bullshitting you. I’m traumatized. Like what’s happened to me, my family, my business to people around me to Mike Flanagan, the way I’ve seen everyone treat and including the fact that Cal Ripken is finally in and showing up tells you all you need to know Cal Ripken wanted no part of this for a quarter of a century either. Neither did lots of sponsors, lots of people, I said, you know, the unworking of not being Peter. And when I put it on not having that visceral feeling that Peter owns even being at the ballpark last week, I reached in my wallet. And I felt something I hadn’t haven’t felt in my my pocket a long time if my credit card, and I was thirsty. And I thought whom am I giving my money to? Oh, I’m giving it to nice Mr. Rubinstein who’s going to use it to sign Adley rutschman Like there’s a different thought, then then giving it to these creeps that still owe me 30 grand from 20 years ago that they didn’t pay me. i
Bill Cole 12:07
When you create the to do list of things that you want your baseball owner in the city of Baltimore to like, represent and work on and do and all that good stuff. Yeah, he seems to have created that list. You know, and
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:23
his list matches everybody’s list. What kind of owner am I going to be? Right? Yeah, like, and he’s
Bill Cole 12:29
just continues to nail it like one after another. It really is amazing, you know, exciting. He, none of it’s too big for him, right? Like if you if you think about the circles that he’s played in for the last decade or two, and you think about the Rolodex and the things that he has done. It’s one thing for people to write big checks. It’s another thing to write big checks, but also be involved to the point where you’re getting other people to write big checks. So this
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:08
is where I get after Bashaud because Bushati has disappeared, and really physically ran from me physically ran for me like a coward and darkness, because he wanted not to speak to me, because he was afraid of what I would say to him in some way. And I’m thinking to myself, This is how far we’ve gone here, where I spent my whole life chasing your football team around promote your football team. And this is where we are and not only about Nestor, he doesn’t show up for anything. He’s not here. He’s not present, he writes checks. And that’s when he shows up, he shows up says, Here’s a check for the poor folks, here’s a check for the people of a different color. Here’s the check for people less fortunate. And here only write the check and okay, I mean, if that’s what you got, that’s what you got. But I judge it as such, because I’ve seen it work differently. Yeah,
Bill Cole 14:01
I mean, it’s clearly not fun for him, right? Like He clearly doesn’t get any joy out of participating in seemingly any aspect of it. Right? Like, you know, the what’s the worst thing they say you can do is like figure out a way to make your hobby a job. So like, he might have been a football fan until he bought the football team and now it’s like a job and it just sucked the life out of it for him or, you know, there’s
Nestor J. Aparicio 14:23
that feeling if you watch the documentary, you know, I got into this because I love baseball. I got into this because I wanted to talk about baseball for a living and be able to pay my bills doing that, you know, and paying my bills even meant in the beginning of all this. All of this was rooted in. I love the baseball team and there was no football team to love. I love the concept of having a football team. And then we had it and loved it even more. You know, so imagine
Bill Cole 14:48
just to maybe draw some kind of analogy like like football. I don’t really know what’s going on in football. I mean, they’ve had some challenges they they continue to have the challenge of like the character of the players and that, you know, that happens a dozen times a season somebody’s misbehaving pretty.
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:09
There’s a level of arrogance in the NFL that just drips out of Goodell into every avenue including their officiating, including sitting Eric to cost in front of gambling. So, you know, I own a gambling lounge set talking about his football players, like, when I think about Steadman, because he was in the 25th anniversary, if he came back or my dad what they would recognize and what they wouldn’t, and what they would say, when did that happen? And that things like, when did they change the Redskins name? But things like, wow, how did they How did it get to this place? Where Steve Bushati bought this thing that we all saw as a local, you know, vested Baltimore thing and turn it into a world headquarters have one of 32 where each run by the you know, in a layer somewhere in the halls of justice, and they run Sashi Sashi brown this week? I got to tell you this one, Bill, good. I’m gonna break a little grand as they call the CEO club. I think you’re familiar with it. I’ve been familiar with it as well. I’ve attended their events, they bring business leaders in it’s $98 to have lunch. Nice guy named Doug runs it. I’ve been a part of it. I tried to attend this week with Sashi. Brown, and they would not let me buy a ticket. I was not allowed to buy a ticket to an event, a CEO and I am CEO, CEO club event that I’ve been every month I get the thing, please come buy a ticket, buy a ticket. This month, they told me to drink from another water cooler, because they promised the Ravens that they wouldn’t allow any media at the event. Well, we brought up the fact that I’m not media and they came back and re amended it to say that they promised the Ravens that there would be no media past or present at the event. So we now have the guy who is an out of town lacking every ounce of authenticity that you would say he is a hired gun. He has worked for the Cleveland Browns. He has worked for Mr. leonsis, he is now running the lair of the purple place that nowhere Dundalk is probably didn’t know there was a Key Bridge to live fell. And he is now banning me from buying a ticket on a golf course, for lunch, to hear his pitch. I mean, like all I really wanted to do was here like, What are you saying the folks that say golf course Why are you there? Are you there trying to sell them sky boxes or when they’re, that you’re showing the authenticity that you’re a real guy and you’re there when you’re banning other people from being like, this is where we are at the football team. And And meanwhile, that’s Thursday that’s happening at a golf course near you. Friday night, the new owner of the baseball team who also hasn’t given me a press credential is squirting fans out of left field and wearing a funny hat and doing commercials. Like I’m just saying, times has changed here, Madhu things have changed since Christmas around here. Let me just say that, you know,
Bill Cole 18:02
I like you know, not because I find the whole Raven’s thing just so generally bizarre, you know, I get your version, you know, there, nobody’s getting their version. So
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:14
because they won’t give their version. That’s the point. I get it, I get a half a million dollars and find a lawyer to get their version of
Bill Cole 18:23
what I’m drawing, trying to draw some analogies or trying to build some understanding around it. Like, let’s let’s go back. And what do you think it was like to be a baseball owner in the peak of the steroid era, where like you knew that your players were fundamentally destroying the integrity of the game by beating Roger Maris this record because of HGH, or whatever,
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:57
what they did, they went to New York and said, How can we sell more tickets? And they did a commercial called chicks dig the long ball. Remember that? Do you remember that chicks?
Bill Cole 19:09
Do I do right? So but as an owner, so like, if you know that all of this is going around, and you’re sort of like, well, we got to ride the wave. I mean, someday the you know, the House of Cards is going to collapse and when it does, we’re all going to have to walk in front of Congress and blah blah blah and all this other terrible stuff. Like
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:31
well, they had jettison their leadership at that point. Those guys Archie Ahmadi died fade Vincent came in they Vincent was a straight shooter. They fired him to pay Vincent was an honest guy and said, We got problems. We got to clean the game up. We got to fix the game. We have to win people’s integrity, we need to change and they they said failure out but but buddy came in and I mean, but Seelig was Che Guevara, I mean, but silly put together. The group of own There’s that jettison the commissioner that was in the best interest of the game Peter Ueberroth, right? Like we’re the fans were legitimately a partnership or thought about in any way as a customer. And that’s all gone away in a massive way really well, you know that the fans is the customer, the fans or the ATM, they’re not thought of as having emotions, or their emotions are there or mark like wrestling fans, like they’re addicted to this? If the Orioles or their family member and when they lose for 30 years in a row, people will still come out there and keep score, because that’s where they are.
Bill Cole 20:38
That’s what’s making Rubinstein so exciting. Because, like, so if you’re if you’re the owner in this story era, you are not being the guest. splasher. Right. You’re you’re trying to avoid anybody asking you a tough question. You don’t want to accidentally be the one that spills the beans and pushes it over the edge. Right. So everybody’s walking on pins and needles, and you’re as far away from transparency as possible. Rubenstein comes in, and he is behaving how a extremely wealthy fan would behave. Right? Like, like, guest splasher Hell yeah. Sign me up. I’m in no doubt. And like, that’s one of calrec and you mean, I can sit with Cal Ripken and talk baseball. Like we can talk about? Yeah, I want to do that. Like you think this guy’s calendar wasn’t full before. Like he’s, he’s getting off of other boards. He’s not going to other meetings. Like, his calendar just got absorbed by being the Oriole owner, and he didn’t he doesn’t have to do that. Like that’s a choice. He has people to run the team he has a 74 year old billionaire is having a blast. He’s having a blast, right? And that’s what gives everybody I mean not to mention let’s but
Nestor J. Aparicio 21:56
he also can affect massive change in stature,
Bill Cole 22:00
right, just by having fun. Yeah, just by having fun and treating people in the right way. Like, let’s not forget you and you I think you open with this comment. Like I don’t know when the last time there was a more better quality baseball funner group of guys to root for than there are right now. It’s
Nestor J. Aparicio 22:22
the best baseball team of my lifetime here. And I saw the second line Oreos and 83 Oreos, and I saw the bought off 96 Oreos with that guy from Toronto and that guy from Toronto and that guy from Texas, and you know that Jackass over there from Philadelphia, you know, like I was I was in a locker room for all that. And then it all went away for 15 years. And Buck brought a couple of guys together 10 years ago and Andy MacPhail and they stunk enough to get Manny Machado right and then fleece the couple of fleece Rangers on Chris Davis and got on the right drugs and he hit 50 home runs like I better for everything. There’s never been anything like this team right here. And especially now in radish means coming back and pitch it’s crazy. You You were rooting
Bill Cole 23:05
for Raphael Palmero and Roberto Alomar holding your nose. Albert
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:12
battle came here.
Bill Cole 23:14
Right? Right. There’s plenty of that, right? So do like, This is so great and fun to root for. And the old lady Anderson
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:24
looked like Popeye after he looked like the guy he went from the left side of the Charles Atlas ad to the right side of the Charles Atlas ad, you know? Yeah,
Bill Cole 23:33
I just there’s some element of like, warning signs on the football side that like you know, it was it was fairly obvious with the steroids like everybody was talking about it, but no one was doing anything about it. I’m not sure what’s going on in football. But like how many and we only know I only know the owner in Baltimore, right but you talk about like just keeping everything in an arm’s length and like not really wanting to be transparent and not really wanting to be involved and engaged and like the exact opposite of the guy who was thrilled to now be the owner of the Orioles so like what’s going on? You know, like, is it all just so terrible that he has to hold his nose to go to work and the GM you know, like Eric Decosta is like putting these terrible positions like I think for a decade people thought Eric Decosta was a really great guy and you know what I mean? Like look at this like as he’s grooming him and this is gonna be amazing and it’s gonna keep going and then he seemingly is a good GM like he’s gonna figure it out and they’re gonna be good and then there’s John and like, love him hate him whatever but but like all of that just seems so not well, it’ll never be like Ted March and Broda in the beginning and then it’ll never be like Billick in the middle and it’ll that you know what I mean? Like it’s fine that it’s not ever them. but it is a stark contrast between I’m
Nestor J. Aparicio 25:02
on the inside. And I’m not proud of them. I’m not proud of the way they’ve treated me. I’m not proud of the way they’ve treated other people. I’ve seen the arrogance on the inside I am the living embodiment of seeing it, feeling it. And the lack of integrity, just drips off of them in every way. And incomes, this new owner incomes, this baseball team that’s trying to win everybody’s hard. I don’t need to tell you for the last five years, the tickets that they threw me out of on the football team that I bought every year for 20. And they threw me out of my seats. They can’t give these tickets away. And week after week, unless the lions are coming in and buying 20,000 tickets. Tickets are 10 bucks. 15 bucks for ravens game so and they’re really good. This is as good a raven team as they’ve had. They don’t have Ray Lewis dancing. But you know, this is a this football team is expected. I bet the over unders 11 and a half on the wins for them this year. Right? Like they’re gonna be a very good football team this year. 20
Bill Cole 25:59
years from now, we will look back and we will have underappreciated how special Lamar was.
Nestor J. Aparicio 26:05
I don’t know. But he’s got to win a championship. I mean, I’m not that guy. But you know,
Bill Cole 26:09
just a special player. Yeah, he may never win a championship. And that may be, you know, the destruction of the way we remember him. But
Nestor J. Aparicio 26:19
well look at Tom Brady. He wants six of them. And now he’s admitted to cheating, right, which we knew all along, right. And you laugh about that. But it’s not fun. Like he cheated. But it was fun. Like they didn’t fumble at home. But cheap money.
Bill Cole 26:31
He cheats buddy. The minute that it stops becoming fun, is the part where you allow them to make a business out of it. And it’s not sports and entertainment. Right?
Nestor J. Aparicio 26:43
Like you’re betting your money on it, and it’s fixed. If you’re betting your money on it, and they’re allowing cheating and allowing, and it’s a Super Bowl. I mean, don’t tell Chuck pagano don’t tell John Harbaugh that Bill Belichick cheated and cheated him out of winning a champion. I mean, you know, that’s where I agree with the hardball on that I’ll burr up on that all day long. But like that roast happened this week. And I mean, what’s happened to Kaepernick? You know what they what the league itself? It’s just it’s a sleazy, it’s a sleazy operation. I mean, I had the New York Times writer call it organized crime on my airwaves like literally, that’s how he views it. He’s a journalist. And but that being said, the baseball owners outspoken people right now, tickets are 10 bucks to get in, if you want, you know what I mean? There’s a bandwagon there’s room on it. They might even let me back in. It’s under consideration apparently. Until I opened my big mouth. There’s
Bill Cole 27:38
like you we could not have two years ago, a year ago, even even when they were like winning the at least you could not have painted a picture. As exciting as it is right now. Like if I when I’m
Nestor J. Aparicio 27:55
in Arlington, and how great this could be when I’m in Arlington in October, and John as lied to Westmore. Westmore has embarrassed himself. It’s October, I’m down there. They’re they’re losing to oh, they’re about to get their ass kick. They are denying me clubhouse access after major league baseball gave me a credential. They had a sit at the kids table. They put our seats as far away from everything. They denied my reporter a clubhouse badge, I can’t begin to tell you that I’ve ever seen Luke Jones more upset than he was for the first six innings of that baseball game. And we’re down there. At that moment, if you would have told me that freakness week. Peter will be dead John will be gone. There’ll be a silver haired billionaire squirting fans in the fan zone. The team would be in first place Bradish would be hurt. But back Rodriguez would be coming back means would be pitching coming off a seven innings. And like I wouldn’t have said he will who did the Ravens draft? You know, like, I literally would have said you got to be kidding me. If you would have told me that back in October. It was my birthday week, October 14. If you would have told me that week that in May but Preakness the the series of events that have happened would have trade. They’ve traded for a number one starter. You know, like all of this that’s going on on the baseball side. They’ve got $600 million. They’re gonna do something with it. That’s why I want to be a part of it. That’s what I told Mr. Rubinstein’s guy. I’m like, You’re having a renaissance? Why are you locking me out? Like, like, Do you not want me to feel a part of it? Because I haven’t felt a part of it for the last 18 years. Why do you want me to not feel a part of it? Like what? What’s in it for you? To block me out? All I have are questions about your grandiose plans, and then I’m gonna hold you accountable to them and I’ll dare me, but then I’m going to hold you accountable for that. And that’s what my ask of the Orioles is, because this is universally good. One of the most exciting things that can happen to me, the city, my business, our businesses, downtown, the future of the city over the next 20 years. It’s as exciting a step as anything that’s happened here. And as a journalist, I’d like to ask questions, you know, like, that’s where I am on it, because I am fascinated by all of it. I really am. It’s fun to watch.
Bill Cole 30:24
I was trying to find there was an article, I think it was over the weekend just about him going to DC trying to get people to come up to the games. Well, that
Nestor J. Aparicio 30:35
was the Cal Ripken thing I haven’t watched it’s an hour and six minute video. Yes. But like,
Bill Cole 30:41
all the wonderful things you just said there. You know, it’s in the backdrop See, you don’t say it, because we just expect people to understand it. But they don’t. And we have to hold them accountable. He understands the magnitude of being the Baltimore Orioles. invulnerable. And what that can mean to the community, whether that’s positive or negative. And we’ve we’ve gotten so calloused to the negative results of no one going and the restaurants not being able to survive and like, oh, no, I don’t go downtown and all that madness that has gone on. Through all
Nestor J. Aparicio 31:24
of that nobody spoke up except me. That’s what I’m because there was an intimidation level for everyone that if you spoke up at WPA L, so they’re all fundamentally cowards. I mean, it’s like when I did the walkout, I had every one of those reporters come to my home, they’ve all been in my home. Everyone rock Ibaka came to my home, they all came to my home. And I told them, This is what I’m doing. I’m doing this walk out and Oh, six, I’d like to think that you know, as a journalist, you see the validity of what’s going on here to the city. And that new ownership would create a positive change here. I saw that when I was 37 years old. I’m 55 now, and we’re now seeing it. And I often think like what would have happened if this would have happened in 2007, or eight or 10? Or Peter would have died 15 You know, like, what would have happened to make this better? And we’re in the here and now this is where we are right now. I would like to ask him in more than three questions what the plan is because as as my reporter, my Caucasian employer, employer employee that they’ve that they give a pass to went to what he called a clunky press conference, because of the Key Bridge had gone down opening day. I was banned from that by the governor and the Orioles. I didn’t get in, and apparently was a lousy press conference. I mean by every imagine, like, nobody really got real questions in on him. He’s only sat with the nepotism of Ryan Rifkin and, and his own network to some degree in the Cal Ripken thing. It’s been very orchestrated. I mean, it’s been very handled. And that’s why I’m getting handled. I mean, I’m, I’m under review. I mean, I’m getting handled. Right. So these commercials aren’t accidental splash legs, not accidental. And I’m trying to send you, the
Bill Cole 33:16
professionals, a professional owner with a professional organization behind him, who seemingly has the energy and the desire to participate in what he believes is a positive way. Right. And the end, the story isn’t too big for him. Right? The helping the city, in you know, improving the economic outcomes of the stakeholders should be
Nestor J. Aparicio 33:43
what he wants to talk about, right? Literally, he wants to be on shows like mine, where that is the topic, the topic isn’t you can give the rutschman money you can shine, let rock Ibaka let your employees ask those questions about signing the baseball players because that’ll play out in time. And anybody that knows anything, and this is why I’m glad it’ll sit here and take phone calls. I mean, I sat in the stands last week and it was like the stuff I heard people say just the the information they’re not that they’re not privy to or don’t care enough about but like the gutter Henderson signing, like his agents never ever, ever, ever ever gone to market with a player before he’s gone to market with player. So the think that like you can love God our headset you can’t hold Mr. Rubinstein accountable if he doesn’t sign here, because it won’t be about money. It’s about time, because he wouldn’t sign here no matter what. I would think if you offered him $500 million right now, Scott Boras would find a reason to say, let me amortize that out over it’s not a good deal for you gunner, you know, so he’s not going to take the deal. So that’s if we’re holding if the standard is are you going to sign these players? He can’t do that today. You know, so like, that’s not even a good question to ask. Like questions to ask are about the city and About the 600 million and about the overall vision of gambling, television network city harbor investment, you’re gonna live here, you’re gonna work here. You’re 74 What? What’s the rest of your life gonna look like? Those are the questions I would ask him.
Bill Cole 35:16
And that’s pretty much why you and I participate together because you know, you know that’s the stuff I want to know about. Like I get it we got the baseball people they’re gonna go out there and play that game and then people are gonna come watch the game. I want
Nestor J. Aparicio 35:30
to talk to Mr. Rubenstein about John means in the rotation. I don’t know. Behind
Bill Cole 35:34
you. I want to know how we fill that orange building right there. Like why isn’t that orange building one of the premier like business office locations in the city? Like why why you shouldn’t that building this
Nestor J. Aparicio 35:51
point it’s our Lambeau Field right I mean, most people are don’t remember life before it right like literally Yeah, Bill calls here he’s called roofing he is Gordion edit the recording and energy sit you had to like a name change thing that I saw at the zoo last week it accelerate? What do I need to know about the the Gordian side of this the solar side?
Bill Cole 36:12
I don’t know. You tend to do this to me where you like, shocked me and surprised me with some information that I’m not aware of. was I saying it wrong?
Nestor J. Aparicio 36:20
I’ve been calling it like solar. But I should be saying Gordian energy systems, even though it is solar. Yeah,
Bill Cole 36:27
sure. You can do that. That’s cool. Yeah.
Nestor J. Aparicio 36:29
It is definitely be educated. That’s all I don’t want to say, Oh, gee
Bill Cole 36:33
systems, that is definitely what its name is. Yeah. Okay. But
Nestor J. Aparicio 36:36
solar is what it is. It is. So I should say that.
Bill Cole 36:43
It was not. We have participated in a number of projects that are related to solar or semi unrelated to solar. But the solar aspect of that business has gotten you know, so much momentum and is so crazy right now that yeah, it’s it’s entirely solar. Yeah. All
Nestor J. Aparicio 37:07
right. Well, they’re gonna take me to Vegas next week. I want to learn more about solar. Every time I hear solar, my first movie I ever loved was The Man with the Golden Gun. And James Bond. I had some James Bond references this week, but they Preston, who’s the James Bond, like, encyclopedia Wikipedia, James Bond, but they had the solar activation in that there’s a little solar thing when I was five years old, and the sun came down and it allowed scare man gonna blow the world up, or not blow but James saved the world. Of course he did. But that was solar. That was when I was five years old, and you put it on roofs now. It’s amazing. What a world what a wonderful world. It is. We’re gonna sit in the splash zone one day. Bill Cole has turned me down for Oriole tickets, but he went we’re gonna go to a game and buy expensive beer and sweat together. While we have a chance to watch great baseball. Oreos are home this weekend. We’re gonna be down to fade Lee’s this week. We’re putting Maryland crabcake door back out on the road. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery in conjunction with Jiffy Lube, multi care and our friends at Liberty pure solutions. Baseball Preakness all next week. This town’s coming together. I am Nestor we are wn St. am 1570, Towson Baltimore. Believe it Baltimore positive here to stay tuned.
