drama and Angelos, ever-the-lawyer, was looking to justify the firing with a specific breach of contract. Wren pressed Angelos on the hiring of a new manager and was told that it was going to be the ownerโs hire. Wren told Angelos that he had lied to him when he hired him about who would be picking the manager of the Orioles.
After being flogged by his owner in Baltimore, Wren would be hired by the Atlanta Braves five days later as their assistant general manager. Angelos would once again be looking for a new GM and manager for the 2000 season.
But the next day, it wasnโt just Wren and Angelos who were trying to do damage control.
Cal Ripken, now four years past the night when he broke Lou Gerhigโs streak and then was forced to watch Angelos drone on while twice getting mercilessly booed on the field at Camden Yards, now had to field questions about his role in his GMโs firing via this series of blood faxes made public via the media. Ripken had spent the last month of the season trying to heal his aching, 38-year old back and now had to play defense for the crazy ramblings of an owner who didnโt have the common sense to see the ripple effect of his petty little game of public shenanigans and shaming with Frank Wren.
Ripken spoke to The Sun and clearly wasnโt happy with how Angelos handled the entire matter.
โI happened to be brought into a situation in a hurricane where I was left behind the day of a game,โ Ripken said matter-of-factly. โThe situation is as simple as that. Am I upset? Iโm uncomfortable and feel I shouldnโt be in the middle of it. Beyond that, Iโm not furious. I wasnโt furious when the plane left and I had to get to Anaheim. I have much greater things to worry about. I had back surgery three weeks ago. Those issues are things I have control of and I worry about. All those other things, I donโt have control of or a say in.
โI wasnโt upset with Frank Wren. Letโs stop with the examination of this issue, because itโs pointless. On the day it happened, I didnโt come to you guys [reporters] and say what happened. I donโt do that. I donโt talk about things in the paper. You didnโt find that out from me. You found out from someone else. It was an issue that was involved in someone elseโs decision and the evaluation of that decision. It had nothing to do with me.โ
It was October 1999. Angelos had ignited the media, indicted and infuriated Ripken and walked away from yet another season without a general manager or a manager.
And it became very apparent that if this is the way an uber-wealthy, 70-year old man was going to conduct himself publicly โ especially in the face of the legendary player of the franchise โ that anything was possible for the future of the Orioles because nothing was changing about the message, muscle or ideology of ownership.
Peter G. Angelos was, by any measure, a bully in every situation. And his lack of respect for his franchise icon was apparent with the petty collateral damage heโd caused to his primary asset with the fan base.
Ken Rosenthal of The Sun wrote:
When Angelos apologists laud his commitment to winning, itโs difficult to argue. But his greater commitment is to chaos, and his inability to treat good people with respect is his biggest failing. Itโs not just the managers and GMs he runs through like a kid trading Pokemon cards. Anyone remember Jon Miller and John Lowenstein? Anyone seen Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson lately?
If the Orioles arenโt embarrassed that they are now working on their fourth GM in six years and their fifth manager in seven, they never will be.โ
Rosenthal also added: โThe only true function of an Angelos GM is to get fired.โ
Meanwhile, the most respected baseball writer of his generation, Thomas Boswell of The Washington Post, penned a classic column of almost Nostradamus foreboding dread, with the headline: โHeavy Mettle Record.โ
Oh, golly. Another blood feud between a competent self-respecting Orioles employee and the teamโs owner. Now thereโs a novel story line. Of course, trying to be the bossโs friend doesnโt always save the old job either. Ask Ray Miller.
In one final delicious twist, Foss noted that Wren had made โextremely negative comments about various personnel. After first rejecting any need to apologize to these people, he agreed to apologize to three of these individuals, but refused to apologize to a fourth.โ
Letโs see if we have this straight. Wren is the boss. Not some flunky, but the GM. He rips four people in the organization during a season in which a team with an $84 million payroll loses 84 games. Wren should have made โextremely negative commentsโ about everybody on the payroll including the Bird. Thatโs his job. Instead, the boss is ordered to apologize?
Sick of being jerked around and distrusted by the owner and management executives, rather than supported by them? Yes. But thatโs often the price of talent. It often demands respect and room to operate. On the Orioles, respect is strictly a one-way street.
Meanwhile, as yesterdayโs shenanigans epitomized, the Orioles have become a situation comedy. Life is just one long sequence of Jerry Springer outtakes. Hardly an October now passes without the same angry โyouโre fired . . . no, I quitโ dialogue reverberating through the Warehouse with only the expletives changed.
One former Orioles general manager said to me this spring, โYou are watching the destruction of one of the great franchises in sports.โ
Many will say that, with no general manager, no manager, little credibility within the sport and a fan base that needs a cast-iron stomach to keep rooting for the team, the Orioles canโt possibly go any lower.
Donโt bet on it.
Of course, that didnโt take long.
Angelos refused to pay Frank Wren the remaining $1,100,000 he was owed from the original 3-year, $1.65 million deal after he fired him. It was reported in The Sun that: โCounsel for the Orioles argued that Wren had been fired โfor cause,โ and was not due any portion of his remaining salary.โ
On May 11, 2000, The Associated Press reported that commissioner Bud Selig ordered the Orioles and Angelos to pay Wren the $400,000 difference between his salary with the club and what he was making in his new role as assistant general manager with the Atlanta Braves.
โI would say the Orioles would respectfully disagree with the commissioner,โ said general counsel Russell Smouse. โWe recognize that the general inclination in league matters is to favor the employee.โ
Wren said he was โglad that we prevailed.โ
(Author note: This is Chapter 9 of my book โThe Peter Principles,โ which I was working to finish in March 2014 when my wife was diagnosed with leukemia the first time. I will be releasing the entire book for free online this summer โ chapter by chapter. These are the true chronicles of the history of Peter G. Angelos and his ownership of the Baltimore Orioles. If you enjoy the journey, please share the links with a friend who loves the team.)