1993 – greatly aided by a bevy of local investors plus the combined bid of Bill DeWitt and Bob Castellini, who now own the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds – is now worth $1.2 billion and the TV network he was gifted by his MLB – along with that $75 million check – is now worth almost $1 billion as well.
Let’s see: $1.2 billion, plus $1 billion plus the $775 million of profit that I can find publicly listed in the deal puts this thing at nearly $3 BILLION of combined profit and value since the Expos became the Nationals in 2005. And that’s not counting the Orioles profit from the 2015 season that Forbes will total in the spring. You can expect that it’s again in the $30-$40 million range with the infusion of the MLB national television revenue spike, plus the halo of an unusually successful season on the field in 2014 with the club advancing to the American League Championship Series.
So why are these two entities – MASN and the Baltimore Orioles – worth so much money?
Well – and this is simple Business 101 – it’s because they’re throwing off gobs of profit that support the growing value of the overall properties.
The higher the profit; the higher the value of the franchise.
The lower the payroll; the higher the profit.
But don’t expect the local “media” to report on these economic principles and how they are stifling the improvement of the club on the field.
8
Instead, The Baltimore Sun offers mindless drivel like this on the current state of free agency and the Orioles budget. And, then, there are little phrases dropped like “no one is more committed to winning than Angelos” and the apologists in the fan base on Calvert Street like Peter Schmuck, who encourage the owner to meddle and muddle with the likes of Scott Boras. As if that’s been a successful strategy over the past 23 years?
Angelos has clearly moved back into the forefront in recent months after working very hard to create a false perception over recent years that he hasn’t been involved.
For me, it was always a laughable notion that he ever stepped back from controlling the heart and soul of the franchise and its operation, especially when it was finally making incredible sums of money. Remember: the club languished in the red as Angelos drove the brand into the local sports gutter at the turn of the century.
Despite the pronouncement in the past that he’s in the background, the Chris Davis “rescind contract” fiasco last month made it very clear that Mr. Angelos is still very clearly guiding this franchise.
Angelos is “personally involved.”
The leaked quote from the Winter Meetings in Nashville via ESPN’s Buster Olney – an old confident of the Orioles managing partner from his work on the beat at The Baltimore Sun two decades ago – of “not a penny more” after the 7-year, $150 million “offer” was floated and then quickly rescinded.
8That could only come from the desk of Peter G. Angelos. Those aren’t the words of the manager or the GM.
Anyone thinking clearly would be naïve to think that the Angelos imprint isn’t on every facet of the Orioles business despite his desire to slither in the tall grass and the shadows of the organization. Of course, this time last year, his Chief Executive on the baseball side famously wanted to leave the company to take a promotion in Toronto. It created nearly 90 days of offseason turmoil behind the scenes – a surreal situation where the guy who was in charge didn’t want to be in charge and wasn’t allowed to leave for a clear promotion. In what has to be an unprecedented situation in any sane industry, Angelos forced Dan Duquette to honor the remaining years on his contract and he continues to “run” the Orioles today.
But, just ask Angelos about any battle he’s ever entered and, like Donald Trump, he’ll tell you he’s undefeated.
He’s a “winner.”
He has never, ever been “defeated” by a sports agent in the winter. In the modern era, Angelos has also never paid the most money for any free agent in the marketplace. Being the high bidder during the winter would implicitly mean he’s lost the most amount of his money at the poker table to a sports agent.
And, conversely, he’s never won a World Series in the fall.
But he’s undefeated in battles with Scott Boras. Well, unless you consider Matt Wieters’ pending heist of $15.8 million of Angelos’ money this summer after the team made a miscalculated qualifying offer.
But does Angelos really care about winning a baseball championship when he’s winning in his piggy …
