A New Owner and a New Day for Baltimore Orioles Fans

Orioles fans have a new owner and a young, exciting team. They've earned it.

Washington Nationals v Baltimore Orioles / Rob Carr/GettyImages

On Wednesday, Major League Baseball's owners unanimously approved billionaire David Rubenstein's purchase of the Baltimore Orioles. Out are the Angelos family, whose ownership of the team had angered fans for years. Now, with a new owner and an exciting young team, those same supporters finally have a fresh start.

The Orioles surprised the rest of baseball in 2023. They finished with baseball's second-best record (101-61), and won the American League East. But they didn't just win games. They were fun. With a young nucleus led by catcher Adley Rutschman and American League Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore was a joy to watch.

The 26-year-old Rutschman was the No. 1 pick in the 2019 MLB Draft and rose through the organization quickly. He made his big league debut in 2022 and acclimated himself well. He's excellent behind the plate and posted an OPS of .806 and a 5.2 WAR as a rookie. In 2023, he took things to another level, firmly establishing himself as baseball's best catcher. He was excellent behind the plate again, and posted an .809 OPS with 20 home runs, 80 RBIs, and 92 walks against 101 strikeouts. He made his first All-Star appearance, was named All-MLB First Team, and won the Silver Slugger Award at catcher. He is the centerpiece of the franchise.

At 22 years-old, Henderson is already a budding star. An athletic shortstop who has light-tower power, the former second-round pick won a Silver Slugger Award during his first full season in 2023. He finished the campaign with an .814 OPS, 28 home runs, 82 RBIs and a team-best 6.3 WAR while splitting time between third base and shortstop. Along with Rutschman he forms what might be the best young duo in the sport. If that wasn't enough, there's more on the way.

While the Orioles' major league roster is excellent and is already a proven winner, the best is likely still ahead. The consensus top prospect in baseball, Jackson Holliday, was inexplicably left off the team's Opening Day roster. Holliday was excellent in spring training, slashing .311/.354/.600 after dominating minor league baseball in 2023. He's the team's starting shortstop of the future, and that future isn't far off.

Aside from Holliday, the Orioles have one of the top prospect groups in baseball. According to MLB Pipeline, Baltimore has the top farm system in baseball and their evaluators have catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo, outfielder Colton Cowser, corner infielder Coby Mayo and outfielder Heston Kjerstad all among their top 32 prospects. The talent will continue to come in waves.

The position player group is obviously in great hands, but the Orioles also made moves to improve their pitching this offseason. Baltimore worked a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers to land 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to lead the rotation. The Orioles also signed veteran closer Craig Kimbrel to a one-year, $13 million deal. Those are the moves a franchise makes when it is planning to make a World Series run.

It's about time Baltimore saw this kind of fire from its ownership and front office. While the Orioles reached the postseason in 2023, they didn't win a game, as they were swept by the Texas Rangers in the ALDS. Making the playoffs last season ended a six-year drought. During that stretch the Orioles finished in last place in the AL East four times and fourth twice. In 2023, the Orioles won 101 games, that matched the total number of wins they had in 2018 and 2019 combined. So yeah, things weren't great for a long time.

Baltimore's franchise should never be as bad as it was for so long. The Orioles have a rich history, passionate fan base and an iconic ballpark. The bones of a top organization have been there all along, it's about time they turned things around.

Given what they've suffered through, the team's fans have earned this reversal of the team's fortunes and change in ownership. They've earned the dawn of a new day.

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer at The Big Lead.