Cal Ripken Jr., Grant Hill Part of New Orioles Ownership Group Led by Rubenstein

Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. announced on Wednesday that he will be part of the organization's new ownership group headlined by David Rubenstein.

On Tuesday, team owner John Angelos agreed to sell the team to the group led by Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder Rubenstein for $1.7 billion. The incoming ownership group also includes Ares co-founder Michael Arougheti, NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill and Mike Bloomberg, among others.

Since 1993, the Angelos family has served as the Orioles' owners, when Peter Angelos—the father of current chair and managing partner John Angelos—purchased the organization for $173 million. Under the Angelos tenure, the Orioles have made just six playoff appearances without a title, only winning four playoff series in total.

The Angelos family regularly kept the team's payroll low, and the team's excellent, 101-win season in 2023 was fueled by a number of up-and-coming stars that were developed in a robust farm system.

The hope for Orioles fans, however, is that the new ownership group will inject more resources into the team, making it a free-agent destination going forward.

"I look forward to working with all the Orioles owners, players and staff to build upon the incredible success the team has achieved in recent seasons," Rubenstein said in a statement. "Our collective goal will be to bring a World Series Trophy back to the City of Baltimore. To the fans I say: We do it for you and can't do it without you. Thank you for your support."

Ripken will be a welcome face. The Hall of Famer spent his entire 21-year career with the Orioles, earning 19 All-Star Game bids, winning two MVP awards and setting MLB's consecutive games streak at 2,632, surpassing Lou Gehrig by more than 500 games. It is a record unlikely to be broken.

He also led the Orioles to their last World Series title in 1983, winning the first of his two MVPs that season. Now, he'll try to help the organization get back to those heights.