Orioles Owner: Dramatic Price Hikes Needed For Extensions
The Baltimore Orioles have the best record in the American League, but owner John Angelos is already throwing some cold water on their future.
In a New York Times article, Angelos indicated that the club won\'t be able to afford to retain their young stars long-term.
\"The hardest thing to do in sports is be a small-market team in baseball and be competitive, because everything is stacked against you -- everything,\" he said.
The players in question, right now, are catcher Adley Rutschman, infielder Gunnar Henderson and likely starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, possibly extending to the likes of Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser, eventually.
\"We\'re going to have to raise prices here -- dramatically,\" Angelos continued, \"Let\'s say we sat down and showed you the financials for the Orioles. You will quickly see that when people talk about giving this player $200 million, that player $150 million, we would be so financially underwater that you\'d have to raise the prices massively. Now, are people going to come and pay that? I don\'t know if we\'re at the limit, to your point. I don\'t know if we\'re in equilibrium elasticity, supply and demand. Maybe we are. But really that\'s just one team. What I\'m really trying to think about is macro.\"