The Baltimore Orioles have a new owner and put the best spring training record of any team in baseball. But Opening Day is bittersweet in a town still reeling from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this week.
A few hours before first pitch at 3:05 against the Los Angeles Angels, Gov. Wes Moore stood alongside new team owner David Rubenstein in the team’s Camden Yards offices.
Baltimore has closer ties to its baseball team than most cities do, Rubenstein, who grew up in the Fallstaff neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, told the crowd. “The team really represents the character, the soul, the grit, the personality of the city.” Rubenstein’s ownership group was just approved Wednesday by the other owners in Major League Baseball to take over the team.
“The Orioles are the soul of Baltimore, and knowing that, the city is going to need you now more than ever,” Moore said. “We need every single Baltimorean and we need every single Marylander to join us in this work to rebuild this bridge and rebuild this city.”
The governor warned that rebuilding the Key Bridge is going to be a long process. But one day, he said, there will be a “reopening day.”
“And that will be the reopening of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” Moore said. “And you can bet on that.”