Peter Angelos passed away today at age 94, as per an official statement from the Orioles and the Angelos family. Angelos had been battling illness for the last few years and had left the public eye, and his son John took over as the Orioles’ chairman and control person in regards to official league business in 2020.
A Baltimore native, Angelos built his fortune through a renowned legal career, most notably a landmark consolidated action case in 1992 representing thousands of workers in various fields who had been exposed to asbestos over the course of their jobs. Angelos led a group of investors that purchased the Orioles in 1993 for $173MM, and quickly established himself as something of a maverick within baseball’s ownership circles during the 1994-95 players’ strike. Though the strike was settled before replacement players took the field for the 1995 season, Angelos’ refusal to use such players (who he viewed as scabs) drew some animosity from his fellow owners and respect from the MLBPA.
On the field, the Orioles went through plenty of ups and downs during Angelos’ tenure as owner. There was little doubt about Angelos’ desire to win, as he immediately increased the team’s payroll and brought several big-name free agents into the fold, helping Baltimore reach the ALCS in both 1996 and 1997. After that last ALCS appearance, however, the Orioles didn’t have another winning season until 2012, as Angelos was often accused of taking a heavy hand in baseball operations. This manifested itself in a revolving door of managers and general managers, until things began to stabilize under Buck Showalter and executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette. The Orioles had five seasons of .500 or better ball from 2012-16, including three postseason appearances and another trip to the ALCS in 2014.
The Orioles’ payrolls tended to fluctuate based on the team’s competitive level, and Baltimore ranked within the top ten of league spending as recently as the 2017 season. Angelos had particular concerns about certain types of baseball-related investments, perhaps most notably a wariness about any kind of long-term guarantee to pitchers (especially pitchers with any sort of injury history). Angelos was also famously critical of baseball’s international signing system, which resulted in the Orioles essentially sitting out for the international amateur market for several years.
John Angelos’ stewardship of the team brought about some changes to the Orioles’ business, as GM Mike Elias was given broad leeway to modernize and revamp the baseball operations department as part of a near-total rebuild. The O’s posted losing records from 2017-21 (the latter three under Elias) before winning 83 games in 2022, and then bursting out to win 101 games and the AL East crown last season. With an incredible core of young talent in place, the Orioles now look like World Series contenders both this season and perhaps for many years to come.
This new era of Orioles baseball will take place somewhat outside of the Angelos family, as it was announced in February that the team had been sold for $1.725 billion to a new ownership group led by David Rubenstein. (John Angelos is still an investor in the Orioles.). The news of the sale followed years of speculation and drama about the future of the franchise, as legal and personal issues within the Angelos family and the Orioles’ expiring lease at Camden Yards in 2023 led to some concerns that the O’s could be sold or moved to another city. As it turned out, the Orioles arranged a new lease to remain at Camden Yards for at least the next 15 years, and Rubenstein’s full purchase of the organization is expected to be approved by the league within a few weeks’ time. Rubenstein was initially slated to take over 40 percent of the team, but now will take full ownership of the club as a result of the elder Angelos’ passing.
We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Angelos’ family, friends, and loved ones.
Aloha folks, wow. I think he’s pleased where the team is now and their future success. RIP. Mahalo
Living to 94 is a good run and he led a successful life. Condolences to his family and friends.
That’s a great run. Rest in peace.
Wow. Condolences to Orioles Nation. RIP.
Hmmmmmm The team was kinda for sale right? Then they announced it was not for sale. I wonder if now it’s going to be for sale anytime soon..
The Orioles have already been sold. For 1.5 billion. Peter held a 51 percent controlling interest which now gets sold off to the new owners as well. Cal ripken Jr, Grant Hill are part of the new ownership
These “celebrity” owners always make me laugh
with their
0.00002% ownership stake ha ha…..
HA Ha ha… Really not that funny or appropriate
Believe the group has 40% ownership.. Makes 0.00 % diff what makes that up.. Its the direction that these new owners are going????
$1.725 billion.
The Angelos family held 70% interest in the team. We know that from the court case that Louis Angelos filed against his mother Georgia and his brother John.
The minority partners already sold their portion to the new ownership group and the Angelos family initially sold 10% interest for $172.5 million, giving Rubenstein and Arougheti’s group 40% interest in the club in total. That sale of 10% interest in the team for $172.5 million is what placed the team’s value at 1.725 billion.
Now that Peter has passed away the Angelos family will sell enough of the rest of the stake to make the new ownership group the majority owner but will still hold a minority stake in the team and John will continue as the control person at least until the other MLB owners can vote to approve the sale. It’s not known when that vote will take place.
When the sale is finalized, the new ownership group will be led by David Rubenstein and Mike Arougheti. Cal Ripken Jr will be one of a group of 21 minority partners with Rubenstein/Arougheti holding the largest ownership share at 40%.
The Angelos family will still hold a significant minority ownership stake in the team. Rubenstein’s group has the ability under the agreement to purchase more of the team ownership from the Angelos over time but there is no specific timeline for them to do so. It has been rumored that John will buy his mother Georgia and his POS brother Louis out when the sale is finalized. Perhaps by giving up his share of ownership in his father’s law firm.
What the hell are you talking about, 78IQ?
PS: The law firm has already been sold, websoulsurfer.
Cite your sources for when “they announced it was not for sale,” 78IQ. We’ll wait.
RIP. Great life and legacy.
This may surprise , but this a very sad day
He lived a full life and may Peter Angelos Rest In Peace
It certainly is Lefty
RIP
Unfortunately his passing will cause even more tension in the family.
Great run and great ballpark. I hope the fans return to that franchise.
The fans will be there. This team, as the article suggested, stunk for a bunch of years but now has one of the strongest farm systems which will keep feeding Baltimore. Sort of the same pattern Houston had when they were racking up 90-100 loss seasons, followed by high drafts and later perrenial 90+ win teams.
Glad the ol’ man got to see the turnaround before he passed. RIP Peter.
Orioles my pick to win it all this yr
They’ll do it For the ol’ owner
Hopefully he can watch his O’s win it all at some point from up above.
E123
He can’t
that’s not how it works
Right.
Idk if you noticed, but he just passed away.
How about saving your hatred for others beliefs for Reddit or something.
Time and place. Neither are now.
Always get a kick out of people who are sure there is no god nor heaven as well as the people who are sure there is and yet feel free to judge other humans. Religion and Politics. Yummy.
In the meantime, thank you Mr. Angelos for your contributions to this great game.
And God knows, Jeter’s fly ball was an out, not a home run.
Congrats today your that guy fili
Filihoc, your comment was fine. It did not offend, any more than others. Hats off to Peter, he lived to see more games than most of us. That is enough.
It was not fine cause an article about someone’s passing is not the time or place to insult someone who just died /point out stuff they did wrong or critique others beliefs about life after death. Didn’t even offer any condolences or empathy of their own which is even worse. It’s times like these why “if you if you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything at all” is a thing.
He insulted no one. Would I choose today, maybe not, but his post did make me chuckle, and it was done in a non-disrespectal manner. No one has the ultimate say as to when or where a person can or cannot make a simple statement. You do not hold a final say. To paraphrase Fili, I too wish it weren’t so, but unfortunately it is. Condolences to the family your dad accomplished a lot.
filihok bringing the cringe as usual lol.
Not insulting, but certainly not necessary as it led to a thread that had nothing to do with the man’s passing.
Not exactly.
E123
Idk if you noticed, but he just passed away.
How about saving YOUR hatred for others’ beliefs for Reddit or something.
Ah, “religious nonsense”.
Because you’re too smart for that.
Tell me, what’s the difference between religious nonsense and nonsense about religion? Hmm?
Right.
Anyways. May Pete Angelos enjoy watching his beloved Orioles from the heavens above. May god almighty bless his loved ones in their time of grieving right now. He lived a good long life and accomplished many things. Hope he enjoys his time up there.
I’ll pray for your soul as well. God bless.
God bless you.
Your retort makes 0 sense. Nobody attacked you yet you want to act like victim cause words not directed at you caused you to go into an unhinged rant about religion. You should be ashamed of yourself. Your parents certainly are.
I’m glad someone called you out on your bs.
“But have you read?”
He doesn’t need you praying for his soul, not that you’re really going to, or that it would accomplish anything.
Well, if you’ve actually read the bible, it says in multiple passages that only a small percentage of people are going there anyway. Just saying.
Yes they attacked him. And he only said 7 words, not exactly an unhinged rant.
Evangelical atheists like filihok are quite possibly the most obnoxious, insufferable people on Earth.
I don’t believe myself but I would rather be around people who do believe any day of the week because they are almost always much better, much more pleasant human beings than the people who never shut up about their atheism.
God bless you too.
John 3:16
God bless.
Attacked him by……wishing peace for Pete’s soul in their own way? Lmao ok. You’re mentally ill too apparently. The unhinged rant came later.
“ YOUR comments an an insult to all the rational people in the world” completely unhinged response.
Hammerin Hank and Filihok need serious mental help.
@Hank
There’s a bit of fault in your logic there from my point of view. You say “he only said 7 words” but you’re ignoring a few extra, very important words…he also tagged his response with an @ to the person who made a mild appeal to their religious beliefs (for what it’s worth, I’m agnostic/atheist myself).
Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to the say it’s the other way around at that fili was the one doing the attacking? Or at the very least, to say they are the one who started it with a comment specifically directed towards Easy?
I think it’s fair to assume that without fili’s original comment that the entire back-and-forth would have never occurred given that Easy was replying to a different person and fili interjected themselves where they were otherwise uninvolved prior.
@spud
To say you’re “paraphrasing fili” is stretching a bit too far, no?
Fili said “he can’t, that’s not how it works”. How is one to intrepret the extra “wish it weren’t so” notion that you seek to imbue their words with? There just isn’t enough source material there to cover the ground between the words they actually said and the underlying meaning you’re seeking to put behind it.
Saying “he insulted no one” is I think, respectfully, being a bit overly charitable to a position you seem inclined to already agree with. Easy basically said “god rest his soul” and fili responded directly to them basically saying “there’s no God.” It was a comment that was unnecessarily combative, inflammatory, and specifically directed at Easy.
In other words, it will insulting and IMO specifically intended to be insulting.
@HTT
But of course fili had to defend sanity and rationality by making a completely irrational attack on someone in a comments section about the passing of Peter Angelos.
Then, to really drive home the “sane/rational” motif, they of course had to make like 5+ replies in a row to make sure everyone who mocked them could see the error in there ways via respectful discourse in the marketplace of ideas.
@fili
Thats your sanity, you wanna feel how you feel go ahead, don’t take a cheap shot at someone else’s beliefs on heaven or religion on a mlbtr post. That’s lame. I am a atheist myself, that’s my belief, so while I may agree with you the comment was just ignorant. But you do you man
BJB
The belief that their irrational belief in a deity is the correct belief was the cheap shot
Very tolerant. God bless.
Nobody was talking to Filihok
Filihok chose to interject themself into the conversation unnecessarily.
They’re rightfully being shamed
And Filihok continues to act like a child. Just an absolute pathetic human being.,
@IBWCW
Precisely said. Them voluntarily engaging with someone and then calling foul is just that…voluntarily engaging with someone and then calling foul.
Dude is on some “atheistic fascist” type stuff…it’s not enough for him to believe it as his truth, it must be forced upon others. Something out of a science fiction dystopia lol.
Right? Filihok is completely unstable and is engaging in similar behavior religion does/has done.
I mean imagine flying into a fit of rage cause someone was having a conversation you weren’t involved in
Didn’t mention religion
Rightfully get called out
Try to play the victim
Then have a tantrum cause you thought it was ok to post your beliefs so they posted theirs.
“I’m right you’re wrong you’re not allowed to believe anything except what I believe and if you do you’re ignorant and stupid”
Yeah. Spanish Catholics treated indigenous people the same way. Germans treated the Jewish the same way. History is full of examples of evil people doing that.
Kind of funny. Filihok is the exact thing he hates. He’s no better than self righteous religious extremists.
Unfortunately Filihok is too stupid to realize this about themself.
@fili
Yeah but don’t lower yourself into taking shots at people’s beliefs. Let people believe what they want, you don’t think you are gonna change their mind do you? Or do you think your opinion is worth more then theirs? Just save that bs for elsewhere, mlbtr is not where people go to debate religion or politics, its Just narcissistic behavior my man
@Easy as 1 2 3
Don’t pay attention to them man. They can say all they want but don’t let them get you down. I guarantee if he was ready to go, he will see them win it all whenever that may happen. I know it and you do too.
Was I talking to you? Mind your business.
How is that arrogant?
Suggesting that someone lives beyond that final breath is a matter of Faith and not arrogance. He has it, and you should.
Orioles vs Padres in WS. You heard it here first.
@surfer
Bec both their owners died this yr?
What I remember most about Peter is that, if I remember correctly, he didn’t want to field a scab team during the strike.
His legacy as a team owner is definitely mixed, but peace to his soul, may his memories be a blessing.
Yeah he was an old union lawyer so it was against what he’d done his whole career.
It also would have led to the end of Cal’s streak if an Orioles team were on the field. But you’re right, it’s mostly that he was a union lawyer.
Anyway….Lets all remember one thing. He denied Cal a job. And destroyed the franchise. Move on…
I feel, whatever he did or didn’t do, was his to do as he pleased. While MASN has been a sore subject, I am glad he had the wherewithal to get it when MLB shoved the Expos down his throat. For better or worse, he was our team’s owner. Hey Pete, thanks for the memories, and keeping the team in Baltimore during your tenure.
I wish his family comfort. I do hope they choose to sell. Enjoy the fruits of dad’s labor on a beach for a few decades. If not, well just please keep us in Camden. Peace to all, go O’s!
Eli Jacobs was the worst Oriole owner, by far.
And it was EBW that destroyed the franchise and its farm system.
Hope his suffering is over and that the O’s find inspiration to win this year from it.
He wanted the O’s to win, and meddled too much as a result. Hard to say if I had the money to own a team that wouldn’t do the same. Sorry he never won a WS as owner.
Re: the article – stability came under Andy McPhail and was then continued by Duquette and Showalter. McPhail started the O’s on the right track with the Bedard deal in particular.
Yea, can’t be said enough. Macphail gets no credit when he deserves so much of it.
That’s not really true. People who know the Orioles well give a lot of credit to McPhail.
Ra, maybe not enough people know.
I don’t know what the right number of people who should know is, but it is a common point of conversation among serious Orioles fans. Basically every Oriole fan who knows who the GMs are credits McPhail. Duquette gets his due also, though he gets crap from some fans for chasing a title and not dealing certain players “soon enough” in their opinion.
A human being passed away, who left quite a legacy in baseball and business in his long life.
Anyone who made such a contribution to society should rest in peace.
God bless his soul
RIP, P.A…
Wow 94 thats impressive Rest in Peace and I wish strength and peace to his family and friends.
Condolences to all of the O’s extended family.
RIP Peter…..
A Sad Day for Oriole fans. RIP Mr Angelos Say Hi to original Angels owner Gene Autry. The Angels open the 2024 season against Orioles. They played their very first game against them in 1961.
Mr Peter Angelos was a giant in Maryland and beyond. His dedication to others is legendary. He will be sorely missed by many. God speed.
As an O’s fan I’m glad to see the Angelos family step aside. Peter put the fans through some lean years, but he also is an important part of the legacy of Baltimore baseball and this still represents a sad day for Orioles baseball. He lived a long life and condolences to his family.
Damn, the timing is pretty crazy in light of the ownership situation/timeline.
RIP Pete, you were not a good baseball team owner but you did a lot of positive stuff for the city aside from the team, which is more important in the grand scheme of things. That is your true legacy.
That is an interesting question. Did MLB approve the sale? I believe the owners are set to vote shortly to make it official but haven’t as of yet. I wonder if that in anyway impacts inheritance taxes and full change of control? I don’t really care if the family has to pay more taxes, but that could impact if the family then decides to go through with the sale at this point.
I’m not a tax attorney but the family had to have anticipated this happening and must’ve taken measures to minimize taxation. I don’t think the timing of this effects anything.
The price we pay for being born is one day we will die. He had a heck of a run. RIP, Mr. Angelos.
Well said.
RIP
Wow. RIP. Now Baltimore will possibly go the route of the Padres
A sad day in Orioles history as we’ve lost two very important pieces of history recently in Brooks Robinson and Peter Angelos.
I am saddened by the news of his passing and of course my condolences go out to his friends and family.
As for his Orioles legacy, I am of a mixed heart on it. When he bought the franchise, the Orioles were in a lurch. They were sort of a joke due to Eli Jacobs’ stewardship and immediately Mr. Angelos set out to get some premium talent and stars. Who would have thought that for a few years, the Orioles would have the highest payroll in baseball? The Orioles were successful, but never won a championship through this short-lived era.
During that run, several things happened. The Scott Erickson contract, The Albert Belle contract, and the season when the Orioles just were not performing well and the management team advised it was time to trade players like David Wells and Bobby Bonilla to retool for the future.
The Scott Erickson deal was a major blow for this team because Peter made him I believe the highest paid pitcher, or near that, and Erickson proceeded to get injured in the first year of his new 5 year deal for big money, and was never the same after that. This is what led to Angelos adopting a position of never paying for premium pitching talent and never signing any pitcher to longer than a 3 year deal because no insurance companies would insure a contract of that length.
In part of Angelos’ zeal for competition, he signed Albert Belle, a player who is about as far away from the Oriole Way as you can get, just to spite Steinbrenner and the Yankees. Albert mashed in his first season, but had trouble in his second O’s season, and then it was found out that he had that hip condition. His albatross contract was cited as a reason for years as to why the Orioles wouldn’t spend any money, because too much was going out to pay Albert.
In that year that he decided not to trade Wells and Bonilla, the team rebounded slightly, and then he held that up to his managers that see, he made the right call. This began the era of the “meddlesome owner” era which lasted for a decade and a half. The Orioles fielded jokes of a team with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. Signing washed up, name recognition players and mediocre talent. There of course was the keystone cops Syd Thrift era. Even as recently as Dan Duquette’s reign, he interfered. The most recent example being Chris Davis. The Orioles were ready to make him the highest paid Oriole ever, and he and Boras turned their nose up at the deal. He languished on the open market with nobody seriously considering him for the price he wanted. He then came crawling back to the Orioles, seeking that same contract offer. Duquette told him that offer was no longer on the table. Boras called Angelos and dealt with Peter directly on the horrendous deal that came to be.
This is not me trying to speak ill of the dead. This is simply what was. After this disastrous era, things turned around as we all know and I believe it was Angelos having his heart in the right place. Wanting this team to be great again. He did stand his ground against MLB and the Expos. I don’t know how that a deal that MLB made with Angelos to bring the Expos into this market is now being battled about and trying to be renegotiated after the fact. MLB made a deal. That was the price to pay. Angelos stood by Cal Ripken during the lockout. On top of this, and something that he also personally liked to keep very close to his vest, Peter was a huge philanthropist.
Did he leave the Orioles in a state better than when he found them? I think everyone could agree that he did. There was a rocky period in the middle, but he spent like crazy to try to win when he got here, and then turned things over to some great baseball minds in his latest run. It is a shame that a world series wasn’t won during his tenure, we had some great teams, but things are looking bright to a championship coming home to Baltimore in the near future.
Rest in peace Mr. Angelos.
He was not paying the Nationals what he agreed to.
bullshtt
Nope fact after decades of litigation and arbitration.
You must be a Pharaoh because you’re sure livin’ on de Nile
Sure he was. The agreement was only for a certain percentage. That’s all it ever was. And they kept wanting more and more and more and it got renegotiated a couple of times already. It never should have been. And it shouldn’t have had anything to do with the Nationals. It should have been through the Orioles and MLB, because that is who signed the original deal.
He would not accept what was judged in arbitration. Get a dictionary and look up what arbitration means. He also ignored decisions from state an federal courts regarding what he owed the Nationals.. He was pond scum.
Because there never should have been an arbitration. MLB made a deal with the Orioles, and then wanted to keep changing the deal.
brooks really hurts.
I went to the only game the Os lost in the 197 series against the Big red Machine… Watching the Reds bounce Homers off the Bullpen was not what I wanted to see that day but my favorite Sparky quote comes from the day before when the Orioles went up 3-0… When a reporter asked Sparky what he was going to do after going down 3-0, Sparky replied [in typical deadpan form “Pray for Rain”
The net day the Orioles finished the fight with Dave McNally hitting the first Grand Slam Ever hit by a pitcher in the World Series for the Cherry one top
mlb.com/video/mcnally-s-grand-slam-c28315259
Brooks was my father’s favorite player. I lost my Dad on April 23rd last year, so learning of Brooks’ passing hit me extra hard. I never got to see Brooks play in person, that was before my time.
I caddied for Brooks at an exclusive club where he was a guest. He was exactly like you have heard: kind, humble, nice and gentlemanly.
Good Riddance.
Condolences to his family. RIP Mr Angelos. He kept the team in Baltimore and that was a great thing for the fans there. Sad to see him go.
Now they can finalize the sale of the team. It couldn’t happen until he did pass or it would have cost the family $372 million.
Do you have a source for this? Just curious.
Federal and state capital gains taxes.
New story from “Trust Me Bro”
Sending Holliday down will be seen as his final act of meddling.
Peter hasn’t had any dealings with the team for a couple of years now. He’s been in extremely poor health. This wasn’t his move.
JFC
RIP Mr. Angelo’s.
Very sad.
RIP.
Believe the new group has 40% ownership.. Makes 0.00 % diff what makes that up.. Its the direction that these new owners are going???
I have to say I have mixed feelings about the Angelos era in Baltimore. He should have listened to Pat Gillick when the GM told him it was time to Cash in the high priced stars like Palmeiro. for top prospects, instead maintaining a limp towards one more playoffs and an extended rebuild.. There is no doubt that his efforts to block the move of the Expos to DC are still a mess in the MASN rights issues that should have bee resolved over a decade ago. In this he was clearly not operating with integrity, both according to MLB and to the courts.
Yet when EBW died after building a team the way it should be- from the bottom up, he gave stability to the Orioles and the family embraced Baltimore [at least in the beginning.. Unlike many DC fans I don’t view Angelos as an evil attacking our franchise but nothing more than a lawyer who sought to maximize his advantage.
I still think the Orioles need their own network as do the Nats. THe only other option for the health of both teams is an equal share in MASN.
As for territory, there is plenty of precedent for teams sharing the same political space. When the teams develop the area cooperatively, Competition is still possible without harming any of the franchises involved but when teams sue each other and fight over the money involved then both will suffer..
Condolences to the Angelos Family and the Orioles organization. Rest in Peace Peter. and may both franchises have success and compete with each other for decades to come
It’s only American sports that abide by this territorial nonsense. There’s numerous soccer teams operating in London (just as one example) and everyone gets along just fine from a financial aspect.
Bring back the estate tax.
It never left.
RIP
94 was a long life!
All respect to an owner with deeply local roots and a commitment to the city. From the anonymous donation to keep the city pools open to Peter Angelos’ not hiring strike replacement players during the players strike, there are certainly positive notes to remember this complicated man. Prayers for his widow, Georgia and the family. May he and all who loved him be comforted in this difficult time.
Peter Angelos did a lot of good for a lot of people as a lawyer with a big heart. May his memory rest in peace knowing he was one of the good guys. May all of us leave as positive a legacy by doing something positive every day as a start. Never said this before, but Go Orioles!