Cal Ripken Jr. sat in the first row this morning during the introductory press conference for new Orioles control person David Rubenstein, watching a video chronicling the team’s history, including the numbers 2,131 dropping from the warehouse on the night that he set baseball’s consecutive-games record, and catching a glimpse of his future.

The Hall of Famer is back in the organization in an official role as a member of the ownership group. He’s become more visible at the ballpark over the last few seasons, but the organization is making its boldest move to embrace him in post-retirement.

“It’s a different Opening Day for me, for sure,” he said. “I had all those wonderful years as a player, then as a fan for the next so many years. I always had that feeling right around Opening Day that things were starting, baseball’s coming back. But this is slightly different. It feels really good to be back in a formal capacity.

“Many times in life, it’s a matter of timing, and the timing feels really good right now to come back and be able to contribute.”

Ripken has known Rubenstein for a long time and they’d talk occasionally about their friendship progressing to a baseball relationship.

There is always excitement for Opening Day and that is being felt today in Baltimore. But it’s more than one-day excitement here and players say they feel it from the local fans.

Birdland as a whole and fans in Baltimore and beyond are fired up for the 2024 season, eager to see if the Orioles can repeat as American League East champs.

“Positivity is really high right now,” outfielder Austin Hays said this morning in the clubhouse. “There is a different buzz in the city. Social media, just anywhere you go. You go to the grocery store right now and there a lot of people excited for the season to start. It is really great to feel that positivity from the city behind us.”

As the Orioles begin their 71^st season today, Hays said the organization is very healthy and talented, from the majors to the farm.

“I think the most impressive thing about our spring training is when you didn’t have our starters, you had a lot of guys not on the road and young guys that hadn’t seen a whole lot. But there just wasn’t a huge gap between your starters and maybe your B squad or whatever people like to call it.

Ownership of the Baltimore Orioles has officially changed hands.

Major League Baseball owners voted unanimously today, as expected, on David Rubenstein’s purchase of the team two months after the wheels were set in motion. And about 24 hours before the Orioles begin their pursuit of a second consecutive playoff berth.

Camden Yards will be packed on Thursday for Opening Day. Rubenstein will be watching as the control person.

“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,” commissioner Rob Manfred said 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.” 

SARASOTA, Fla. – Peter G. Angelos, the longtime Orioles owner, famed class-action attorney and political activist in the city of Baltimore, died earlier today. He was 94.

Angelos has been in poor healthy for many years, with son John taking control of the team and running the daily operations in 2018.

The club issued a statement on behalf of the Angelos family that read:

“Today, Peter G. Angelos passed away quietly at the age of 94. Mr. Angelos had been ill for several years, and the family thanks the doctors, nurses and caregivers who brought comfort to him in his final years. It was Mr. Angelos’ wish to have a private burial, and the family asks for understanding as they honor that request. Donations may be sent to charity in lieu of flowers.”

According to a lawsuit involving his sons in 2022, Angelos had surgery after his aortic valve failed in 2017.

When the sale of the Orioles, for $1.725 billion, becomes official through Major League Baseball, Baltimore native David M. Rubenstein will become the fifth owner of the Orioles in team history that, of course, dates to 1954.

It will be a new era of Orioles baseball.

Maybe the best news for the new ownership group, which will include Oriole Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., is that they take over a team and organization on the rise.

There is no rebuilding to do, it’s rebuilt.

The task now is to build on that, try to stay on top and make all of the above better. As Rubenstein stated, bringing the first World Series title to Baltimore and the fans since 1983 tops the wish list.

The Angelos family, majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles, has agreed to sell a control stake in the club to Baltimore native, philanthropist and investor David M. Rubenstein for $1.725 billion. The Angelos family will continue to hold a sizable investment in the Orioles, and John Angelos will serve as a senior advisor to the organization.

The transaction is subject to review and approval by Major League Baseball’s Ownership Committee and a full vote of MLB ownership.

Rubenstein is co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group and will become the controlling owner of the Orioles upon the close of the transaction. He is joined in the investment by Michael Arougheti, co-founder and chief executive officer of Ares Management; Mitchell Goldstein and Michael Smith, co-heads of the Ares Credit Group; Orioles legend and baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.; former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke; basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill; Mike Bloomberg, entrepreneur and philanthropist; Michele Kang, business leader; and other investors.

John Angelos said, “When I took on the role of chair and CEO of the Orioles, we had the objective of restoring the franchise to elite status in major league sports, keeping the team in Baltimore for years to come, and revitalizing our partnership group. This relationship with David Rubenstein and his partners validates that we have not only met but exceeded our goals.”

The Angelos family will remain a major investor in the Orioles after the close of the investment.