With the Ravens on bye week and the Orioles dormant during the early stages of baseball free agency, Nestor Aparicio tells Dennis Koulatsos why he’s ramping up the neighborhood and community aspect of his Maryland Crab Cake Tour and taking it to the streets for the holidays around Baltimore.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
orioles, ravens, talking, give, coco, years, nestor, week, baltimore, kiss, franchise, baseball team, angelo, sign, family, great, games, idea, crab cake, win
SPEAKERS
Dennis Koulatsos, Nestor J. Aparicio
Dennis Koulatsos 00:02
Welcome back. My next guest is Nestor J. Aparicio, doing great things in the community and enjoying his crab cake tour during the ranges by week. Nestor welcome in.
8
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:13
That is what’s it by week. We don’t have any by weeks here at wn St. Paul, or the by week’s Akun spoiler for it. I think there are right
Dennis Koulatsos 00:20
we have a buy day on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day. And that’s about it.
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:23
The Orioles are having a buy off season. So far, you know, but cricket? Yeah, yeah. You know, I’ve been at it all week. And we could sit here we can do sports, we can do civics, I’ve done it all. And I’ve just been out in the community a little bit this week. It’s been it’s been. It’s really nice to be me at this point, you know, 25 years into doing this, and it’ll be my 32nd. year on radio. No, yeah. 32nd year on radio on December the 13th. So I’m trying to do all the math on this. It’ll be my 40th year in January. I think it was January 11, or 12th was the first day I ever walked into the news, American. So before two years, since I did that. And you know, it’s crazy, like I was at everywhere I go and do these shows people are there right now. That’s the beauty of doing it. And I sort of told my wife that back during the plague, I’m like, I’m gonna do this crabcake tour. And I’m just gonna find myself in random places, and Baltimore restaurants from two to five or in your case, you’re coming to State Fair. On Tuesday, we’re doing a breakfast thing from nine to noon. And sometimes it’s a few listeners that show up sometimes some listeners come through. I’ve had Uber drivers who listen roll through and say hello and pick up a crab cake and or salad for lunch or whatever. But it’s not like the barn show where it’s autographs and Ray Lewis and people. But it’s it’s different than that. But it’s almost like better than that in some ways because I’m sitting in Coco’s and and I’m not going to ask this human because she’s going to come on. She works with a local charity, but she was an original Raven employee. Uh, David Modell first person in 1996 Raven employee who was there for, you know, the beginning part of the shotty era, I think I think she may have worked there eight or 10 years, the first 10 years and I saw her and like she was just getting a crab cake. She works for charity. She was picking up a check for a do good thing for Susan G. Komen. Over near Coco’s, and I want him to seeing her and then there’s a table of six older fellas, we’re all playing golf, and they all sort of knew who I was and we’re you know, talking sports with me and golf and ravens and, and then there’s a table two brothers up at the bar didn’t recognize me my hair’s longer, like I’ve given them lottery tickets, and they won and then there was a dude at the bar that came like halfway through the show. He’s like, Hey, I saw you on Facebook. I live in the neighborhood it’s the best crabcake in town sign my book for me you know like so I get this out while I’m and in addition to hanging with Marcel and hanging with Ron Cassie hanging with received who? If you know we’re sick your lover sick is one of my
Dennis Koulatsos 02:45
8favorites. I met him once because of you. And He still owes me a caricature of myself at some point.
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:52
Well, the he’s, look, here’s the problem with received over the weekend. He had his grandkids in town. So once that happens, thanks, stop, you know, Thanksgiving holiday, but I dragged him out. Yeah, he lives two blocks from CO CO so I dragged him out. He’s my co host Kayo co host when I’m over the cocoas icon it goes because he lives in the neighborhood. And I told this great story because kiss was in town this week. And you know, I had Wendy brown fine often curio wellness and foreign daughters. They her family sponsors, the CFG Bank Arena, right like so they are on the sweepstakes, and they give tickets away and they do all that stuff. And I asked why she like my family loves music and kisses in town. I listened. I fell in love with music two blocks from Coco’s my you talk about being Greek and your immigrant family and Cydonia. Right. I drove through there with my wife the other day where the Popeyes is there, right. And that park side gardens apartments on the other side, that’s where my family lived. That’s where my Venezuelan family lived in the apartments, four blocks from where you were in 1972 7374. Exactly. Right. Okay, so they moved from those apartments when my uncle Nelson did well and got a job and he worked at Chesapeake Cadillac. He was the mechanic at chsp Cadillac in 1974 567. And they moved into this big house on Tyndale Avenue, two blocks away from Walther and where Coco’s is and it was there in the in the attic that my cousin my older, bigger brother at that point in my life cousin, Nelson introduced me to kiss alive one, he put the album on, and I, you know, I heard kiss for the first time and I heard Alice Cooper for the first time and share in 1974. And it just it it put me on a musical pathway. So the data kiss played their last show. Here I was, at Coco’s I was two blocks away. So I wore my kiss belt buckle. So I’ve had like this fun. I haven’t even gotten to Gertrude yet today. And then on Friday, I’m in Hollywood casino and we’re telling the story with Tom Kelsey, and we’re doing a stadium for dummies. He’s, and by the way, the most viewed listen to thing piece that I’ve done here in the last month or two most listened to pieces and viewed pieces or my piece with Tom Kelso and my piece with John Eisenberg talking about the journalism and the stadium and the money, then it’s I think there’s a little Awakening on this story, I think, are they talking about it at the fan? Are they right? Are they talking about your diet? I think people are now talking about the Oreos don’t have a lease and like I’m not the only one talking about what are they doing? Yeah,
Dennis Koulatsos 05:29
the drumbeat is getting louder and louder. Nestor the silence is deafening. Coming from Camden Yards, not just with the front office and the lack of moves this offseason, but also with the mayor, the mayor, the governor, everybody, right. All the politicians involved in regards to the money. They
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:46
can’t sell you a ticket right now. Their tickets aren’t on sale. It’s crazy. It’s Christmas. I mean, you’re a businessman. I’m a business. It’s just it’s not. Marty Conway used to kindly call it unorthodox. That was just the same thing that Vince McMahon called George the animal Steele, if you remember, right.
8Dennis Koulatsos 06:05
He called George a lot of things, but that’s another story.
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:08
But oh, is that that’s not kayfabe they had a real problem. George Thielen.
Dennis Koulatsos 06:13
Right, perhaps George was very Jordan was actually Greek by the way, you know that and he was uh, I did not know that. He was. I forget what his last name was. But he definitely was Greek and they temperamental. He and Vinny did not get along. Well, you get along well, Caulfield Manda, one
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:27
8of the things about him. He certainly worked summers because he was teaching school and yeah, he was a very smart man. Absolutely. Yeah. Just, you know, I mean, I could go wrestling all day with animals deal, brother.
Dennis Koulatsos 06:37
Yep. That’s good stuff. Good stuff. Well,
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:39
you I did a whole thing on the CFG Bank Arena. And like, if you mentioned wrestling or any of that of that era, that’s we read the Baltimore Civic Center. And it just gave me you know it every time I go down there and I see a show, I’m thankful and I say that out loud to say that bill, we dealt with CFG bank and I actually said at the Curia. I mean, I don’t know how many businesses have invested in that or signage. I like paid much attention to it. But it’s an important thing. And that’s an important thing for the Orioles. You bragged about your sponsorship on Masson and the Orioles and go into games. And that’s what we should be doing. That’s what should be doing is, you know, I mean, the businesses that support me that support the baseball team or the football team. We’re all you know, it’s it’s a community right? And I think that that’s the part that’s missing from the Angelo’s family certainly missing from Steve shoddy and Sashi Brown and Chad Steele. You’re telling me who from my company could be in LA the other night covering the team and who can, their letters are coming along through the holidays too. But I’ve just been immersed in nine and three football, the baseball team’s interest, everything they do or don’t do is interesting now, because the spotlights on them, they want 101 games, you’re not going to have a lease it’s not back page anymore. It’s not something it’s the most clicked on thing on my website. So you know, I know I’m on to and in a time when the ravens are nine and three and Luke’s embedded and but I know this to that good news, and when the Ravens would win and I’ve done this for 25 years here, right when the Ravens win and a really good the phone calls were always lighter, you know, you know after victories and they were after losses, and certainly for the bye week. The Ravens stand in a position here when they come back online next week, right? When they start practicing again and we get rams here you know good then you go on the road Jacksonville. Then you go on the road Christmas night with San Francisco, you sit around watch all this football. I mean, the ravens are going to be a real serious focal point here. And I don’t know if the Orioles sign like Snell which are not right. I mean if they gave a lot of money to a player, or they went and gave 150 million to gunner Henderson right now and made a splash whatever a splash could be sign a friggin lease, maybe do that right. But whatever their splash or their news would be. I mean the headline here is still the football team might win the Super Bowl. I mean, like if you had $1 to bet on Friday and I went up to Hollywood casino and you said pick a team um you know I don’t know if you could you give me $1 I put 50 central Kansas City 50 cents on them and say one of them will be in the Super Bowl.
Dennis Koulatsos 09:10
Also I think it’s fair to say that if the football team was having a mediocre season, perhaps a spotlight would be greater on the Orioles but the football team is having a great season right nine three it’s a by we would all sign up for that of course so that’s kind of taken push the Orioles a little bit further back
8Nestor J. Aparicio 09:27
on the baseball team draw 2 million people this year not other Tickets on sale not have a Winter Carnival not have Adley rutschman and Gunnar Henderson were at Christmas hats down. They’re not opening the club level of serving free apple cider and eggnog not just to their orange brick holders. I’m talking about to people that just want to come down and engage with the baseball team. You know, they had a snow good. The last time my wife and I went to a game when they suck before they got good was three four or five years ago whenever it was during the plague. And they were doing this Christmas. In July, they’re playing the Padres ready Yeoman lucky tickets that night I had free tickets at nights I didn’t pay. This was a couple four years ago. And they and this is when they, I mean, they were 30 and 70. And it’s July and it’s and it’s 100 degrees. And they had snow machines. out where the where the, where the statues are out in the picnic garden. Thinking, you got a whole stadium. You got Christmas, you got lights, you’re downtown, throw a party for the city. So winter carnival for people that have an idea TJ Brightman enacted over there, uh, Ray moly, you know, I mean, come on.
Dennis Koulatsos 10:40
Speaking of ideas, somebody put Lamar Jackson in an oil uniform with an NFL uniform out if you saw it with black uniform had the black helmet with the oil burn. And I’m thinking man, talk about marketing. Can you imagine the Ravens coming out and Baltimore oriole black uniforms with the orange bird and also during the summer? The Orioles wearing you know perhaps some ravens type uniforms. If the MLB and NFL come somehow come together? It would talk about brilliant marketing
Nestor J. Aparicio 11:09
on selling and that way you compete on selling cars. Oh, by the way, I compete with WB Al and they just think like I mean, man
Dennis Koulatsos 11:19
8that level. Yeah, that synergy would sell a lot of a lot of merchandise Nestor because it was a really cool look to see Lamar Anna and the Orioles. All Black orange trim. The big orange bird on his helmet. NFL uniform was really just a cool visual. Back.
Nestor J. Aparicio 11:34
I remember back when the Orioles gave away a purple hat with the Oriole bird on it. And it was it was Preakness night. This is 20 years ago. And then the Orioles sent the Ravens the bill for the hats. Oh come on, man. No, come on. You gotta come on now. I do. I can’t make this stuff up. You gotta be kidding me. You know, with all the things all the truth I’ve given you why would that be the lie?
Dennis Koulatsos 11:58
That free advertising, you know, all that free advertising. This
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:01
was at a time when Jeff Conan was there, you know, and I mean, if this was literally 2003 Four, it was a long day, but I can look it up. I mean, it was a long, long time ago. It’s when the Oreos were hurting so bad that they were willing to acknowledge that the ravings existed. And that was always a problem for Peter. I mean, still, it seems like it’s still a problem for John. I’ve never seen John wearing a raven hat. I’ve seen pachadi wearing an Oriole hat. Yeah, recently. I have no but but not recently,
8Dennis Koulatsos 12:28
I just seem to can’t get along because that synergy would definitely benefit both both franchises for sure. Let
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:33
me come on. I mean, I was talking about that then, like they had Keith Urban plane down at the Science Center. And I’m out in Denver watching Peyton Manning still four touchdowns you have 10 years later. But look, it’s been 10 years since the last Super Bowl, we had that period from Oh, one to 13 that 12 year period. And you know things change and times change. But I’ll tell you this, and and certainly, the fact that they sent me an email every other day having me buy my own PSLs back and some perch that they’ve made up that reminds seats so they can get the browns and the Bengals and you know fans and Lions fans out of the stadium. I would say this for them, that they’re in a period of time here for totally get eliminated or something catastrophic happens which we’ll be getting eliminated. They’re going to be on the tip of people’s tongues here. And I don’t know what the Orioles can do about that other than try to make news. But this is really where you make the hay with staying relevant to your fan base and last season where you went 101 games you’ve been waiting a generation to be this good. And all they can do is fight with their team announcer try to screw over the local media guy me and Luke in Arlington. Can you imagine the effort that they put into to going to John Blake at the Texas Rangers and saying Don’t give him a clubhouse pass and sit him at the kids table on the day they’re being eliminated? This was five weeks ago, Dennis so like, this isn’t the bird in 2004. Free this is this is six weeks ago. They’re winning 101 games, we’re committed to covering them. We are where we are. They treat their own people. They treat Kevin Brown like trash. And then that season ticket holders in the fans. Where do they factor in to this money play? Because we’re the ones that are going to come down for the big idea and my whole thing in December as much as I’m going to pitch about this and talk about this and have Tom Kelso on until whatever the final hours were Westmore sits next to me and whatever we say and what’s the idea? I’m gonna keep saying that. I’ll give you $5 billion dollars. John Angelo’s Walt Disney cover Shaffer Jim Rouse. The David Bramble. I, you know, like, I’ll give you all the money in the world. I’ll give you a Vegas money. Fix it. What’s the idea? The idea isn’t baseball games. The idea isn’t a casino. The idea isn’t. Let’s hit a golf ball down at the Inner Harbor. The idea is in eight football games a year the idea is and we’re gonna get Beyonce or Billy Joel or Paul McCartney or I mean Jimmy Buffett’s dead right Van Halen is over with you know the kind of bands that that they could play there. I, what’s the idea? I mean, I think
Dennis Koulatsos 15:05
I think the bye week is indicative of the lack of ideas necessarily what they shouldn’t be trying to steal headlines right now during the Ravens by week.
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:14
8I think she’d be doing something. Right. I
Dennis Koulatsos 15:16
mean, something, what are they doing nothing crickets. The picture
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:20
that I that I shared last week of Baltimore, because I’m going to share this with a lot of people because it’s also it was the most viewed thing I did on LinkedIn last week, I’m going to try to find the picture I put up. I found this picture of Baltimore in 1971 72. I don’t know if and I don’t have screenshare privilege with you. But if I had it when you’re on my show, I’ll remind me and I’ll share it with you. Because it is it’s it’s cranes in the Inner Harbor. You could have an app by the way, but go ahead. Okay, so I want to share No, worldwide, please, I want to share this with everybody. So yeah, I do have share privilege. Okay, so I put this this on my Facebook page. Dennis, did you see this picture that I shared?
Dennis Koulatsos 16:06
I did. I did. And I thought to myself, dang that. But first of all, I didn’t have knowledge back then. And second thing I didn’t have money invested in place like that, my God.
8Nestor J. Aparicio 16:16
Well, I you know, you look at it, and I can see the news American building on the left hand side and I can see everything that were the lightstream pavilions, everything that was that became the aquarium and pier six everything. They became the Science Center, everything they became rash field, everything that became the four seasons, everything that became something bigger for Federal Hill and the actual Hill and the Hyatt and the Sheraton and the McCormick and the place I spent 19 years of my life and the beautiful little church that I saw out my window, you know, all sitting there. And at some point in 1972, they had all of this and they envisioned every girl you ever kissed that the Inner Harbor every child you ever took there every event you ever saw there, every crab cake you ever ate there. Every time you ever park there, every firework you ever saw there, every baseball game you went to, like everything that ever happened in that space over 5050 years now 51 years happen because there was a Walt Disney, who said we’re going to build a science center, we’re going to build an aquarium, we’re going to have a festival we’re going to have a villian. We’re going to give people a place to come. bring their families enjoy the view. Enjoy food, enjoy. community, you know, gather celebrate. Yeah, I’ll leave that there for you for Westmore for Johnny Angelo’s for Steve Ashati for David Bramble for anybody that that should inspire you. That’s my TED talk for the day. What is it you got a parking lot to stadia that have been there for 30 years, you’re going to bells and whistles that what is going to make Dennis Colossus and Nestor Aparicio and our kids and our grandkids want to go down there and participate in some way and feel like I need to be there. And until they come up with that. Yep, exposure, you know, to borrow the words of John Belushi, you know what I mean? Like, it’s all a cash grab. It’s skimming the 15% off the top to be the developer pocketing the money. I mean, Ron, Cassie said this to me, and I hadn’t brought this up. And this is why I tried to get smart people on. Ron was on crabcake tour Coco’s it’s gonna air this week, you can listen to it. Ron is a senior editor at Baltimore magazine. He’s written books on how much he loves Baltimore. He’s a jersey guy. He’s not even from Baltimore. He came here 40 years ago, never left. And he said this to me. There’s nothing that would stop and Kelso and I are going to talk about this Friday. There’s nothing that would stop if they gift the land to the Angelo’s family and Orioles. That when the sale of the franchise happens, that the land doesn’t get scammed off the top by the engine. In other words, when they sell the team, they just keep all the
Dennis Koulatsos 19:01
property if the land Yep.
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:04
And they create a new model where the people gifted me the land, that it gifted me all the money to build the hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place. And, and we we throw away the baseball team, because we don’t have the TV network and we could never figure out how to run it. And you know, up into those ballplayers and their agents are, you know how much it costs to run a baseball team.
Dennis Koulatsos 19:28
8Right? They’re all nonprofit organizations, we’re aware of that.
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:32
It’s an amazing thing. 140 $5 million of leverage money $29 million of cash that has now began a $2 billion entity. And there’s not one scintilla of any evidence that they’ve done anything good for the community, that they’ve done anything good for you or for their own family name, that they’ve done anything that there’s even any money left. I don’t even know where the money went. Because they’re playing poor crying poor fighting with the Whether it’s a $2 billion entity, their $600 million of free money to give them free rent into perpetuity, and a television network that is what’s throwing off 225 to $250 million a year for a generation. And there’s no money, but there was hardly Richmond’s got it all. They want more. Well, I mean, I don’t know what to say. This is the reality of the realities. They want 101 games, they have a pipeline. They have great players. I talked to John Eisenberg about that. I talked to Lou Jones about that. But then there’s the reality of how they’re running their business and all of the nonsense of the crying poor. And then next year, they’ll say, Well, there’s nobody in the stands. We didn’t do anything in the offseason, you didn’t mark it. You got a football team, that’s nine and three on by we’ve taken a nap. And you’ve you’ve amassed billions of dollars in equity, and you’re unwilling to buy a pitcher even after the people and Ron Cassie brought this up to Ron Cassius, like, the citizens got the bill for the $4 million it cost to move the wall back, right. Like the Euros didn’t pay for that. We paid for that. And then we pay for that under the guise of Michael is saying this is a good idea, John, let’s do this. We’ll pass the cost on to the citizens. They’ll move the fence back and we’ll be able to sign a picture. Oh, yeah, we’ll be able to retain pictures. Great. What a pitchers cost. Well, we can’t afford that Mike, you know, so what is Elias think of this forget what Joe Sixpack or the fans or the fan or any of the fans are? Camping chat or you and me or Luke, whatever any of the baseball people think of their offseason. What does Mike Elias think of this? We’ll find out one way he’s this close to winning and and doesn’t have the resources, the real resources to go down the hallway and do what he would have the resources to do in a dozen other places. If you had the Giants job, the Padres job, the Dodgers job. The Yankees met just Phillies go through all the teams that have money, the Red Sox, the Cubs, the White Sox, I’m no I’m the Braves I’m leaving Astros cardinals, Cardinals signed our opening day started for 29 million. I mean, I’m not saying we can’t do better than him. But I’m saying to the Cardinals, he’s a leader and he’s the guy they want. He’s the guy they invested in. And if we’re not going to do better than that between now and opening day. I mean, I should say we should rattle cages and all of that. But I I’ve been doing that for 30 years. I mean, it’s how badly do they want to win? Do they want to win as badly as their fans want to win? Or do they want to make over on a lease? And get out of this with $3 billion instead of $2 billion? I mean, that literally I don’t know what else to say. Because they’re not saying anything.
Dennis Koulatsos 22:37
with them. It’s always been about the bottom line. So you know that as long as you’re making money that they can care less who goes who spends is my bottom line, where I expected it to be. We’ve seen this movie before. And it has a very unhappy ending.
Nestor J. Aparicio 22:54
We’ve seen it. I don’t know they might get lucky and when I really thought that
8Dennis Koulatsos 22:59
this is shades of Pat Gillick and Davey Johnson. Unfortunately, what
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:05
that’s what I don’t see any signs that you’re wrong, right. I mean, I don’t see any signs of life from the franchise after winning under one games, because I don’t see any leadership. I mean, the organization the franchise is focused on one thing, bending over the citizens via Westmore, and via the legislation and via some sort of threat of something. What’s the threat? John, you’re moving the team to Nashville. Try it. As I wrote back in July, just try it. Try it with your own partners. Go to your own partners, get your lawyers together, go up the Park Avenue and talk about moving that franchise to Nashville. Seriously, go do that. Otherwise, take the $600 million that you asked for. And do something new work with people work with people
Dennis Koulatsos 23:52
100% Nestor always great having you on. I know you’re busy with the crabcake tour. We look forward to spending some time hanging out with you at State Fair next week.
Nestor J. Aparicio 24:01
8You know, the crabcakes are awesome, but the conversations even better. I mean, I’ve just had such great rich experiences do I mean? I’m doing four and six days this week? Right? So I’m just out all parts of town. I’m gonna be up Cecil County. We’re going to be over Catonsville, you’re going to be joining us. It’s just It’s been nice to just sit with people and talk with people, you know, during the spy week, so and it’s holidays too. So, I mean, first things first, I’m over Coco’s, and I think Marcel is gonna sit down I’m gonna get a crab cake at she sits down with like a big thing of eggnog and I’m like, you know me if you said it, because you can bring whiskey or, like I like or whatever. You bring me eggnog on November the 29th. And you love me,
Dennis Koulatsos 24:42
it’s like, nothing like eggnog for breakfast.
Nestor J. Aparicio 24:45
I’ll see you on Monday. You know, we got three other teams in the division that could lose this weekend, right. Joe
Dennis Koulatsos 24:49
Flacco Joe Flacco by play so there’s some intrigue there for sure.
8Nestor J. Aparicio 24:53
Yeah, it’s a good it’s. It’s gonna be good to sit on the couch. I’m working real hard. I’m very inspired right now. All the work I’m doing I’m seeing Geddy Lee in Toronto next week. So I’m excited about that. And and holidays are here and we just got great stuff going on. We’d love to be thankful for post Thanksgiving.
Dennis Koulatsos 25:07
He see Geddy Lee, I’m seeing the temptations. And the Four Tops. Yes, sir. work out that way. So
Nestor J. Aparicio 25:15
mga grant, Dennis reach out, reach out. They’re always there. He’s
Dennis Koulatsos 25:21
there for our community Nestor J. Appreciate here for several decades now. We’ll take a quick break. We’ll take a quick break. back right after this
