Baltimore Orioles will not play exhibition at Naval Academy in 2019

[Going Underground]

The Orioles got a ruling about territorial rights and got the Nationals to cancel the exhibition games for 2018 and 2019 and the Orioles could not find an  opponent? Really?

 

Naval Academy athletics officials have confirmed to The Capital the Baltimore Orioles will not play an exhibition game against another Major League Baseball team at Max Bishop Stadium as originally announced.

Navy athletics spokesman Scott Strasemeier said the Orioles were unable to find an opponent to play the proposed March exhibition this year. Strasemeier said the Orioles are “actively seeking” another major league team willing to play an exhibition at the Naval Academy in 2020.

“The Orioles and Naval Academy regularly converse about ways in which to execute upon and ultimately grow our multi-platform marketing partnership, which began last year with a Navy-Army Baseball doubleheader at Camden Yards,” Bader said. “We have had several discussions with other MLB teams about holding an exhibition game in Annapolis and are optimistic that such a game will take place in 2020.”

 

The Washington Nationals played the Boston Red Sox at Max Bishop Stadium on the campus of the Naval Academy on April 1, 2017. Approximately 800 members of the Brigade of Midshipmen comprised a crowd of 1,000 that crammed into the facility for what was dubbed the inaugural Naval Academy Baseball Classic.

It marked the first time since May 4, 1987 that a Major League Baseball exhibition had been played at Bishop Stadium. Prior to the exhibition, which ended in a 4-4 tie, the Nationals ate breakfast at King Hall then joined the Red Sox for a tour of the academy grounds.

That event led the Baltimore Orioles to file a complaint with Major League Baseball citing a territorial violation. In 2005, the MLB Constitution was amended to state that every county in Maryland, including Anne Arundel, was Orioles territory.

 

https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/ac-cs-orioles-exhibition-navy-20190116-story.html

[MurphDogg]

Seems like the Nats might be interested in playing there in 2019. Maybe the Orioles should ask them.

[Can_of_corn]

I guess they are afraid to play the Midshipmen.

[scbalt52]

6 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

Seems like the Nats might be interested in playing there in 2019. Maybe the Orioles should ask them.

Would've been another great 'new era of the Orioles' feel if they did that. Whether we like it or not, we need to view the Nats more as a friend than an enemy. Not on the field but as a geographical partner and as promoters of baseball in this area. I think it was a shame that the Orioles called them on this and now even more so that we aren't even going to do anything with it.

[Cumberbundy]

They once had the best QB coach in all the land.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

2 hours ago, scbalt52 said:

Would've been another great 'new era of the Orioles' feel if they did that. Whether we like it or not, we need to view the Nats more as a friend than an enemy. Not on the field but as a geographical partner and as promoters of baseball in this area. I think it was a shame that the Orioles called them on this and now even more so that we aren't even going to do anything with it.

The move to strike the Nationals from this completely was wrong.  Yeah, i get territories and all, but this came together from their partnership with the Navy because of their stadium's proximity to the Navy Yard in SE DC.  I was at the game as a vendor, and let me tell you, it was one heck of an experience for the mids that were selected to be there, and the teams got a tour of the Academy and got to spend a lot of time with the mids.  Not only did the Nationals agree to this game, they were also putting in money to help make improvements to the stadium.  

The Orioles had every right to come in and demand some share of partnership because of it being their territory.  But to cut the Nats out completely, especially when their relationship with the US Navy didn't even have anything to do with the Academy to begin with, is dumb.  

[Going Underground]

24 minutes ago, ThomasTomasz said:

The move to strike the Nationals from this completely was wrong.  Yeah, i get territories and all, but this came together from their partnership with the Navy because of their stadium's proximity to the Navy Yard in SE DC.  I was at the game as a vendor, and let me tell you, it was one heck of an experience for the mids that were selected to be there, and the teams got a tour of the Academy and got to spend a lot of time with the mids.  Not only did the Nationals agree to this game, they were also putting in money to help make improvements to the stadium.  

The Orioles had every right to come in and demand some share of partnership because of it being their territory.  But to cut the Nats out completely, especially when their relationship with the US Navy didn't even have anything to do with the Academy to begin with, is dumb.  

The thing is the Orioles had two years to play a game in 2019.They stopped the Nationals who were going to actually play a game in 2018 at the Naval Academy.Then Bader comes out and says,  hopefully we will play at the Naval Academy in 2020. Seems like how the old Orioles were run 

[atomic]

Man the Orioles suck as an organization. 

[DrungoHazewood]

1 hour ago, ThomasTomasz said:

Yeah, i get territories and all...

There's nothing good about territorial rights unless you're a monopolist benefiting from it.  And even then you're not really benefiting from it, you're being shielded from competition that would likely push you to improve your product.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

I don't see why the Orioles and Nats couldn't just play in 2019 and 2020 there. The money (if any) would of gone to the school, both could of made donations, and one year the Orioles are the home team, then next it's the Nats.