Angelos, Lerner and Snyder: The Tri-Force of Sports Mediocrity

Well, not only can the Baltimore-Washington area lay claim to cultural diversity, great seafood, and the heart of American government, but it is also home to three of the worst owners in professional sports.

Peter Angelos, Ted Lerner and Daniel Snyder (not surprisingly) - are the worst owners in all of pro sports as compiled by Sports Illustrated.

But when you look at the formula for determining their universal ineptitude at running a franchise, you realize that some things, they actually do right.

Team’s success or failure on the field.

• Willingness to spend money to improve the team.
• Stability and capabilities of the front office and management.
• Amenities at the team’s venue.
• Club’s culture and interactivity with fans.

Each of these squads revel in their mediocrity, and have done so for extended periods of time. And where Angelos and Lerner have been extraordinarily cheap, Snyder has spent money to drive his team into the ground.

The Orioles and Nationals have fluid front offices, while the Redskins have been remarkably stable in their avalanche of bad signings and draftees.

All three teams have remarkable stadiums, and with the exception of the Nationals, they all have generational legions of fans who hold fast to successes of the past, in spite of their present and glaringly apparent failures of the future.

So, at some things Angelos, Snyder and Lerner do well, and at some things they suck. What separates them to be among the worst, is that the things they do well aren’t enough to hide the ways they sabotage their own franchises.

Angelos can’t hide the fact that he won’t sign great talent for big money at the right time in their careers. Lerner can’t hide that he doesn’t know how to hire people who know something about baseball.

And Snyder can’t hide the fact that he’s greedy, impatient and starved for attention.

Congratulations, gentlemen. The world knows you all too well.