It's hard to imagine a time to buy the Baltimore Orioles that would offer new owners more growth potential in their pending purchase -- or a more willing fan base to woo. Assuming the sale by the Angelos family is approved by other owners, the hero potential is enormous for David Rubenstein and his group of minority owners.
The team is already loaded with some of the best stars of baseball's youngest generation, from Adley Rutschman to Jackson Holliday. Following years of tanking, the Orioles still have no long-term financial commitments. And Rubenstein & Co. will ride into Camden Yards wholly welcomed by a passionate fan base that has endured despite years of angry frustration with the ownership of Peter Angelos, who bought the franchise for $173 million in 1993, and in more recent years, with Angelos' son John.
The bar of leadership has been so low that all the new owners have to do to distinguish themselves is to sign just one of the organization's core youngsters to a long-term deal. If they manage to lock up Rutschman, Holliday and Gunnar Henderson into the future, the good folks of Charm City might rename roads for the new owners, with Calvert Street giving way to Rubenstein Way.