It’s been just over a year since David Rubinstein took over as principal owner of the Orioles and the results have been mixed.
Rubinstein’s sunny disposition has brought a modicum of excitement around Camden Yards. There’s a feeling that the billionaire attorney and investor will do what his predecessors, the Angelos family, wouldn’t, namely spend money to make the Birds better.
Inside Oriole Park, however, things have been a little cloudier. The team sputtered down the stretch last season and into a quick exit from the playoffs.
The first month of the 2025 season didn’t look much better with scattered calls for manager Brandon Hyde and general manager Mike Elias to be fired.
Rubinstein has been largely silent, but at some point, if the Orioles don’t show sustained improvement, he’s going to need to say something, or even do something.
Meanwhile, down 295, it’s been said that it’s nearly impossible to find agreement on just about anything of importance in Washington.
But there is one issue where Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives can find rapprochement; everybody loves Josh Harris.
Harris is the principal owner of the NFL’s Washington Commanders, and, for now, he is as popular in DC as Rubinstein is in Charm City, for who he isn’t and for what he can do.
Harris, who also owns the NHL’s New Jersey Devils as well as the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA, took over the helm of the Commanders just over two years ago, buying the club from Daniel Snyder for a then-record $6 billion.
To say that the city’s long suffering football fans were elated to see the franchise pass from the loathsome Snyder to anyone with a pulse would be an understatement. That Harris, who grew up in the Washington area as a football fan, was the man was an even bigger bonus.
But money, hometown presence and a sense of nostalgia aren’t enough to make a team flourish. Angelos and Snyder, both natives of their respective areas, could attest to that, as they largely flopped as caretakers of the beloved local team.
Nowadays, the successful professional franchise owner has to be wise with their expenditures, but also smart enough to let professionals spend the money, with a bit of luck thrown in.
So far, Harris has found the formula. After a tough introductory season, the new Commanders’ boss struck gold in 2024.
Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels led Washington to its best season in years, reaching the playoffs where they lost narrowly to the eventual champion Eagles, spreading joy and hope all over the DMV.
And Harris moved to consolidate that happiness, announcing last week that the Commanders will leave their dreary Landover stadium in 2030 for a new park on the site of their old triumphs, RFK Stadium, in the city.
It’s remarkable the effect that one person can have on an area’s sports fortunes, even if that person doesn’t actually take the field or court or ice. It remains to be seen whether David Rubinstein and Josh Harris can sustain their hometown magic.
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on BlueSky, Threads and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Lisa Morgan, I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening and enjoy the games.
