Boswell: MLB Committee will issue a valuation of Nat's MASN rights fees on June 1

[Gurgi]

Look. Angelos took the bribe that MLB gave him to take away a quarter of our fan base. The Nats can take a flying leap. They should be thanking their lucky stars they arent having their games broadcast in the dead language known as French.

[weams]

Look. Angelos took the bribe that MLB gave him to take away a quarter of our fan base. The Nats can take a flying leap. They should be thanking their lucky stars they arent having their games broadcast in the dead language known as French.

This is my exact sentiment. Though French is not particularly dead in France.

[Frobby]

Look. Angelos took the bribe that MLB gave him to take away a quarter of our fan base. The Nats can take a flying leap. They should be thanking their lucky stars they arent having their games broadcast in the dead language known as French.

You know Im a diehard Orioles fan but as a DC native this really irks me. You realize that Baltimore would have no team if the Senators hadnt waived their territorial rights don't you?

[weams]

You know Im a diehard Orioles fan but as a DC native this really irks me. You realize that Baltimore would have no team if the Senators hadnt waived their territorial rights don't you?

I never knew that.

[Satyr3206]

You know Im a diehard Orioles fan but as a DC native this really irks me. You realize that Baltimore would have no team if the Senators hadnt waived their territorial rights don't you?

The Senators are in Texas now.

[weams]

The Senators are in Texas now.

Still, I think I got carried away if that is the case. I just always thought that D.C. was not a baseball town and could not keep a team. I am glad Baltimore was allowed to have a team. My apologies to all of our D.C. faithful.

[Satyr3206]

Still, I think I got carried away if that is the case. I just always thought that D.C. was not a baseball town and could not keep a team. I am glad Baltimore was allowed to have a team. My apologies to all of our D.C. faithful.

An earlier version moved to Minnesota. DC has had 3 teams and 2 left.

[Satyr3206]

I'm just pointing out a little DC history. I don't mind that they have a team but DC has proven to a degree that supporting a team isn't a constant. I don't know if MASN is so profitable that they can increase the Nats fees so drastically. If they can then Angelos has some explaining to do.

[Frobby]

An earlier version moved to Minnesota. DC has had 3 teams and 2 left.

Doesn't really change my point. The original Senators allowed the Browns to move to Baltimore and got no compensation even though the two teams played in the same league. So don't act like the DC fan base "belongs" to Baltimore. Because the teams were in the same league, the Senators had an absolute right under MLB rules to veto the Browns move, whereas the Orioles had no such rights to veto the Expos move. Angelos parlayed a debatable legal argument into the deal he got from MLB. Good for him but let's not claim he had the high ground.

[Satyr3206]

Doesn't really change my point. The original Senators allowed the Browns to move to Baltimore and got no compensation even though the two teams played in the same league. So don't act like the DC fan base "belongs" to Baltimore. Because the teams were in the same league, the Senators had an absolute right under MLB rules to veto the Browns move, whereas the Orioles had no such rights to veto the Expos move. Angelos parlayed a debatable legal argument into the deal he got from MLB. Good for him but let's not claim he had the high ground.

I don't think Angelos has ever had the high ground. In a way I'm hoping the Nats get the fee increase because it might force him to explain why the O's aren't increasing payroll. BTW I was growing up when the Senators were in DC and went to a couple of games at RFK. I'm not anti Nats.

[TonySoprano]

Doesn't really change my point. The original Senators allowed the Browns to move to Baltimore and got no compensation even though the two teams played in the same league. So don't act like the DC fan base "belongs" to Baltimore. Because the teams were in the same league, the Senators had an absolute right under MLB rules to veto the Browns move, whereas the Orioles had no such rights to veto the Expos move. Angelos parlayed a debatable legal argument into the deal he got from MLB. Good for him but let's not claim he had the high ground.

The Senators agreed because of Natty Boh and the Lone Ranger.

When Griffith's birthday, Nov. 20, rolled around, Mr. Farber arranged to have a real silver bullet, the Lone Ranger's trademark, sent to Griffith.

Griffith appreciated the gesture, according to Mr. Farber, and soon was ready to make an arrangement with the Baltimore brewer. Griffith agreed to let the Orioles set up shop in Baltimore. In return, Mr. Hoffberger's National Brewing Company agreed to sponsor television broadcasts of Griffith's Washington Senators games.

source - The Sun.

Angelos drove a much tougher deal in 2005.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Doesn't really change my point. The original Senators allowed the Browns to move to Baltimore and got no compensation even though the two teams played in the same league. So don't act like the DC fan base "belongs" to Baltimore. Because the teams were in the same league, the Senators had an absolute right under MLB rules to veto the Browns move, whereas the Orioles had no such rights to veto the Expos move. Angelos parlayed a debatable legal argument into the deal he got from MLB. Good for him but let's not claim he had the high ground.

There were a huge number of changes over that 50-year stretch. Baltimore and Washington were far more distinct regions back then. Even though DC's civic population was at ~800,000, Baltimore still outpaced them by ~150,000. There wasn't any real radio money, let alone TV money, affecting where teams would play. There wasn't any real Senators' fan base in Baltimore, either.

There is far more to it than simply one team had veto rights and the other didn't.

[Gurgi]

Doesn't really change my point. The original Senators allowed the Browns to move to Baltimore and got no compensation even though the two teams played in the same league. So don't act like the DC fan base "belongs" to Baltimore. Because the teams were in the same league, the Senators had an absolute right under MLB rules to veto the Browns move, whereas the Orioles had no such rights to veto the Expos move. Angelos parlayed a debatable legal argument into the deal he got from MLB. Good for him but let's not claim he had the high ground.

There were NO interstate roads back then and Memorial Stadium was basically almost in Towson. I dont think we took much fans away from them.

The Nats are playing in Maryland.

I would be less annoyed at them if they had built the stadium in Alexandria.

[TonySoprano]

There were a huge number of changes over that 50-year stretch. Baltimore and Washington were far more distinct regions back then. Even though DC's civic population was at ~800,000, Baltimore still outpaced them by ~150,000. There wasn't any real radio money, let alone TV money, affecting where teams would play. There wasn't any real Senators' fan base in Baltimore, either.

There is far more to it than simply one team had veto rights and the other didn't.

You're off on an irrelevant tangent. From the same article that I quoted above

According to the business practices of Major League Baseball, no team could move within 50 miles of an existing franchise without the approval of the owner of the existing franchise. This meant Clark Griffith, owner of the Washington Senators, some 30 miles south of Baltimore, had to agree.

After the Senators left, MLB supposedly awarded their former territory to Baltimore, and that's the part that is debatable.

[HarlowFan]

The Nats are playing in Maryland.

I saw something like this last night and thought I'd get this straight: The Nats are not playing in Maryland; they are playing in DC. Their stadium is in southeast DC.