This afternoon, Sports Illustrated came out with their list of their five best and worst owners in sports, and three local men — Peter Angelos in Baltimore (owner of the Orioles), Ted Lerner (Nationals) and Dan Snyder (Redskins) — all made the list of some of the worst owners in their respective sport.
Well, Peter Angelos — who has been the object of much scorn and consternation among Oriole fans and the media for years — occupies the “worst owner” tag in baseball. Obviously for those who follow the black and the orange, this is not a surprise.
This is what Sports Illustrated had to say about him:
When the Baltimore lawyer took control of the team in 1993, it was a year removed from its Camden Yards debut with a stacked roster Angelos allowed former GM Pat Gillick to build. The O’s went on to make the first of two consecutive ALCS appearances just three years later. Then Angelos began his notorious meddling, firing popular manager Davey Johnson, burning through another five managers, killing trades proposed by his GMs and stripping down one of baseball’s proudest franchises. The O’s haven’t finished above .500 in 11 seasons since their last playoff appearance.
While it may be a little beyond the pale to blame the slide of the Orioles only on Angelos, a lot of it is due to bad drafts, young players who didn’t work, signing free agents past their prime, as well as just plain bad luck; however, Angelos owns the team — therefore, he’s captain of the ship, so he’ll get the blame.
Think of it this way, if Steinbrenner had been a perennial loser than a winner in New York despite his misdeeds in the past, would he be as honored as he is now? Honestly, if the Orioles were a contender, I’m sure Angelos and the front office would take the credit for being a winner.
It’s surely never a good thing to see your name on the “worst owners” list, but perception is reality; therefore, the tide of losing has to change — and soon.
If Ravens fans need any more good news to be elated about, owner Steve Biscotti was named the 5th Best in the NFL.
