“We lost money in 1996 despite the fact that we had the highest attendance in AL, highest per capita concession sales and highest in stadium revenues. We took in about $120 million and all in all, we lost about $4 million bucks. That’s including the money that we earned from the playoffs. By the way, we earned $5 or $6 million from the playoffs. It [not trading Bonilla and Wells] was also a good business decision as it turned out. We have this very large payroll plus we have a mortgage payment. When we bought this team we paid $173 million for it and we owe approximately $75 or $80 million on it. In other words, we put up about $90 million in cash and the rest of it was mortgaged like you get a mortgage on a business or a home or property you might own. We have to pay roughly $9 or $10 million a year in principal and interest on this franchise. And that hasn’t stopped us from being one of the top-spending clubs in the American League or for that matter Major League Baseball. The reason we are is because, basically, it’s the support of the fans that come to see the Orioles. Now in a way, it’s self-perpetuating. If you give the fans, particularly Orioles fans, a winning team, a team that’s competitive you’re going to get supported completely. I believe in that. Along with that ballpark that’s the gem of all ballparks I believe that if we put a potential winner on that field every year, which is what we intend to do, we will be successful. And eventually we’ll make some money, and also we’ll pay off the mortgage which is also an important proposition.”
As crazy as it sounds, despite all of the general wackiness and dysfunction with the Orioles in the 1996-97 offseason, the issue that the fans still couldn’t mentally adjudicate or forgive was the Jon Miller situation and the root of the issue. After 14 seasons, the syrupy sounds of Miller would be soon gone on summer nights, and the fans wanted answers. Angelos was pressed hard for an explanation for why the long-time broadcaster was never offered a contract.
“Actually what had happened is that Miller had been to talking to a number of clubs on the West Coast long before contract expired with the Orioles. The reason for that was that his wife is from San Francisco, and she apparently wanted to return to San Francisco where her family lives and that was the purpose of Jon inquiring to San Diego, the Padres, as well as the Giants to see if they would be interested in him as an announcer.”
Point blank, he was asked: “Did you want to keep Jon Miller?”
“Well it all depended on what the terms were. Would I have given Jon Miller a 5-year contract at $500,000 a year, particularly in light of the fact that every weekend he left town and went on ESPN. The answer is “no”. I would not give him a 5-year contract at $500,000 per year in light of the fact that he was absent, say, 30% of the time. I was willing to resign him for a year or two years. But I was not happy with the arrangements that were there when we took over the ball club. It thought he did a good job. I thought he was very entertaining and so on, and a good baseball announcer. I had nothing personal against him.”
But, of course, he really did. Listen to the audio. Angelos didn’t even break stride before breaking his own rule and, once again, publicly criticizing a subordinate.
“I was a little bit unhappy with him with his broadcast of the fifth playoff game. And that’s what I meant when I said, ‘He should learn to bleed a little orange and black.’ What he did, during that broadcast, we were losing 6-1 – that was the game when Robbie let the ball go through his legs – and eventually we caught up a little bit…but when we were behind 6-1, I thought that Miller’s handling of the broadcast was such that he wasn’t feeling any pain, he wasn’t feeling any sorrow. And in losing that game we were going to be out of the playoffs. In fact, he spent most of his time praising the Yankee players. Well, I understand you should praise the players on both sides, but I believe that an announcer for a team should have a little bit of – what would you say? – hurt? The announcer for a team should have some hurt, a little pain, and bleed a little bit when the team is getting knocked out of the playoffs or maybe losing a World Series. Now that doesn’t mean that you’re a ‘homer’ – or whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean – it merely means that if you’re getting paid $485,000 a year as far as I’m concerned you’re not a ‘journalist.’ You’re a paid announcer for that ball club and you should be supportive of that ball club.
8
“Now it doesn’t mean that if Cal Ripken is out at second base you’re supposed to lie and tell the listeners that Cal Ripken was safe. If he’s out, he’s out. Nobody asked Jon or anybody else to distort what they’re seeing when they announce the game. What I’m talking about is, if you’re a paid representative of the game you’re no longer an independent journalist. And all this business about ‘homers’ – I don’t buy that. I want him to broadcast the game to tell the way it really is but I want him to believe in the team and to bleed a little bit when the team is getting our brains knocked out.
“That’s all. Real simple…”
There was a smattering of boos at The Barn after that comment, because everyone in the crowd who had ever listened to Jon Miller call an Orioles game had never thought for a nanosecond that the long-time voice of the team wanted anyone but the team in orange to win. That is, except for Angelos, who was convinced Miller was secretly rooting for the Yankees.
Strangely enough, it was widely reported in The Sun several weeks earlier that the team’s hand-picked replacement for Jon Miller that spring was a second generation radio guy from New Jersey, who actually grew up a big fan of the New York Yankees.
Jim Hunter, who came from CBS Radio in New York, had a father named Jim Hunter, who was a radio producer for New York Yankees and often took the lad to Yankee Stadium for games on summer nights where he became a lifelong Yankees fan.
