MLB approves Rubenstein as new Orioles owner
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
Major League Baseball’s owners have unanimously approved private-equity billionaire David Rubenstein as the new owner of the Baltimore Orioles.
The accelerated sale, which will eventually give Rubenstein and his ownership group 70% of the Orioles, transferred control of the team to him less than two months after he agreed to buy it from the Angelos family.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I thank the Angelos family for their many years of service to the game and the communities of Baltimore,” said Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. in a statement. “Peter Angelos loved Baseball, loved Baltimore and was an important part of MLB for more than three decades.
“I congratulate David Rubenstein on receiving approval from the Major League Clubs as the new control person of the Orioles. As a Baltimore native and a lifelong fan of the team, David is uniquely suited to lead the Orioles moving forward. We welcome David and his partners as the new stewards of the franchise.”
The $1.725 billion valuation for the Orioles is the third highest for the sale of a baseball team, behind Steve Cohen’s $2.4 billion deal for the New York Mets in 2020 and the $2.15 billion purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers by a group led by Mark Walter in 2012. Peter Angelos bought the Orioles in 1993 for $173 million.
Rubenstein will oversee a team that won an American League-best 101 regular-season games last year and features arguably the best young core in baseball, with franchise-level players at catcher (Adley Rutschman) and shortstop (Gunnar Henderson), plus another waiting in the wings at Triple-A (second baseman Jackson Holliday). Though the Orioles enter the season with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball at $96.6 million, Rubenstein is expected to infuse the team with cash, either to bring in marquee free agents or lock up young players on long-term deals.
The 74-year-old brings with him not only a gaudy list of investors — including Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, CEO of the Ares Management investment firm Michael Arougheti, Basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill, and former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke — but a deep connection to the team. He grew up in Baltimore and is a lifelong Orioles fan, and he told Bloomberg TV he sees the franchise as “a very good investment opportunity.”
In December, the Orioles signed a 30-year lease to remain at Camden Yards, which includes a provision allowing the team to develop land around the stadium. John Angelos, who took control of the team in 2020 because of the the failing health of his father, Peter, who died on Saturday, had sought to build a mixed-use development like The Battery around Atlanta’s Truist Park.
Rubenstein’s group will own 40% of the Orioles for now with a plan to purchase an additional 30% of the team from the Angelos family in the future.
LSU football has a high-profile coaching vacancy, and a familiar face has thrown his hat into the ring.
Ed Orgeron, who was ousted by LSU less than two years after coaching the Tigers to a national championship, said he “would love” to return to the school as Brian Kelly’s replacement.
LSU fired Kelly in stunning fashion Sunday, citing the “high hopes” that the program failed to reach under his leadership and announcing that a “national search” was underway for the Tigers’ new coach.
Three days later, during an interview Wednesday with ESPN’s “UnSportsmanLike,” Orgeron was asked whether he wanted his old job back.
“I’d love to,” Orgeron responded. “Are you kidding me? Hey, I’m one phone call away. I just gotta get in my truck; I could be there today.”
One of the top coaches currently linked to the LSU job is Ole Miss‘ Lane Kiffin, who also worked with Orgeron at USC.
Orgeron, who has been out of coaching since leaving LSU in 2021, was asked Wednesday if he would consider returning to the program as an assistant under Kiffin.
“Yeah, I’d consider it,” he said. “I love LSU. I still got my home in Baton Rouge. I loved when I was coaching for Coach Miles being the defensive line coach. I love the Tigers, and if I’m getting back into coaching, for sure I’d consider it. No doubt.”
Orgeron’s tenure as LSU’s head coach ended after the 2021 season in what he described as a mutual decision between himself and the school. He went 51-20 in his six years at LSU, highlighted by the Tigers’ 15-0 run in a 2019 season punctuated by an NCAA championship.
Orgeron, who grew up rooting for the Tigers in nearby Larose, Louisiana, said LSU’s next head coach must embrace being a part of the state’s culture — something he says Kelly never did.
“I think that’s one of the things — whether it’s true or not — the look from the outside, Brian Kelly never embraced the state of Louisiana,” he said. “When you get those guys on your side, it’s very powerful. I think getting everybody to pull in the same direction, like Pete Carroll did, like we did, one team, one heartbeat, is gonna be the key for the next coach.”
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