Major League Changes

Oriole Park at Camden Yards (image from here)

I had a mild panic attack when I read the article on ESPN last week- the Orioles' top brass (sons of owner Peter Angelos, who has been incapacitated since 2018) are fighting and- this is the important bit- rumor is that they may move the team. Oh no. Please no. 

One son- John- responded to the move speculation here, saying it isn't true- the Orioles are here to stay. Others believe a move is inevitable. Though the latter article doesn't present compelling arguments, it is enough to keep me worried. The stadium lease is up next year, and attendance is way down. (It would go up if the O's weren't consistently horrible . . . but I digress.) Regardless of the future, it has me thinking about baseball and how remarkably stable its teams have been.

Per that last article, only one MLB team has relocated in the past 50 years (the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005). The only other changes to the League in my lifetime were through expansion:

- 1993: Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies

- 1998: Tampa Bay Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks

That's it. Of course the League went through changes before then- we have had professional baseball since the 1870s in America, after all- but the past two generations hasn't seen much change. I would hate to see any team move. That said, I need to remember that my Orioles spent 50+ years as the St. Louis Browns (1902-1953) . . . and a year before that (1901) as the Milwaukee Brewers. Few alive today would remember them when they wore these caps (source) . . .

. . . but I bet that move to Baltimore devastated a generation or two.

To everything there is a season. But I hope the Orioles have many more right here in Baltimore. Do your part; go see the O's play.