By admin 
BALTIMORE – Bryan Baker closed out a playoff sweep of the New York Yankees for the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night, all while his former organization made national headlines over layoffs involving Mr. Splash and the Oriole Bird.
If you’re an Orioles fan, where do you even begin?
This week’s layoffs across the organization’s business operations affected more than a dozen employees, including staff who portrayed Mr. Splash and the Oriole Bird. A source told The Baltimore Sun that the team will backfill the roles internally.
I’ve always found the Bird Bath section in left-center field a little goofy. Mr. Splash douses fans after extra-base hits, and the team’s directory lists him as Chief Hydration Officer. But the layoffs involving Mr. Splash and the Oriole Bird became another self-inflicted headache for the organization, drawing coverage even from People magazine.
Good people throughout the Orioles organization take pride in their work and treat others well. They deserve better than to keep having to answer for decisions made above them.
“Today we made difficult changes to our business, reshaping some roles and reporting lines and saying goodbye to colleagues,” Catie Griggs, president of business operations, wrote in an internal memo.
She acknowledged that some departing employees had worked for the Orioles for more than a decade and that their colleagues might feel they were losing part of the organization’s history.
“These decisions were about making sure our teams are built and staffed for the work ahead, not about reducing headcount,” Griggs wrote. “We’re continuing to recruit for critical roles and will add talent in areas where we have clear needs.”
If controlling owner David Rubenstein supports sweeping changes under Griggs, what convinces him that Mike Elias remains the right executive to direct baseball operations?
That question deserves considerably more attention than who holds the club’s garden hose next summer in sections 84 and 86.
Baker, traded for a competitive balance draft pick last year, tied for the major league lead with 41 saves this season. The Orioles used that pick on outfielder Slater de Brun, whom they later shipped to – you guessed it – Tampa Bay as part of the Shane Baz deal. Watching Baker close all three divisional contests should prompt uncomfortable conversations about Baltimore’s ability to recognize and develop talent. It’s a painful viewing experience for those emotionally attached to some of these former Orioles competing on the biggest stage.
The Rays are chasing their second World Series appearance in six years. Since Elias was hired as general manager in November 2018, the Yankees have won 25 postseason games, the Rays 18, the Blue Jays 10 and the Red Sox seven.
The Orioles haven’t won one.
Baltimore’s last playoff victory came in 2014, and its fans just watched three AL East rivals enter another postseason without them.
Somehow, this became the backdrop for a book tour about sports leadership.
Rubenstein has been touting his book, released Sept. 22, as his team limped toward another losing finish. A day after the Orioles were eliminated from playoff contention, Rubenstein appeared in New York with Cal Ripken Jr. for a book conversation. Live questions weren’t taken, but Rubenstein found room to mention a recent Orioles win while discussing the team’s elimination.
Quite the consolation for a fan base weary of watching everyone else celebrate.
Last week brought public friction between Jim Palmer and Craig Albernaz, with Palmer saying the first-year manager ignored his text offering hitting advice and later brushed him off.
This week, warehouse employees are clearing out their desks. All told, the past few weeks have been miserable for the Orioles.
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How different might this situation look if the Orioles had delivered a team that kept fans coming back?
Baltimore drew 1,829,252 fans this season, falling short of two million for a second consecutive year. That modest improvement followed a loss of nearly 477,500 fans in 2025, the club’s steepest attendance decline in a full, unrestricted season.
Winning would give those employees something much easier to sell. More customers mean more opportunities to generate revenue, and home playoff games bring additional ticket, concession and merchandise business. The financial rewards can extend to staff members awarded postseason shares.
Would that have saved these particular jobs? We can’t establish that.
But why do employees who suit up as the team mascots lose their jobs while the executive whose teams have repeatedly fallen short retains ownership’s confidence?
Griggs said these changes aren’t preparation for a possible lockout after the current labor agreement expires Dec. 1. Still, many across the industry know how quickly uncertainty can threaten their livelihoods. The pandemic prompted layoffs and furloughs in 2020, while a separate, 99-day labor lockout followed in 2021-22.
Another contentious winter appears to be looming. Against that uncertainty, the Orioles are promoting a new gathering space at Camden Yards.
I support improving the ballpark experience and replacing sparsely occupied upper-deck seats in left field with a social gathering space. It’s a sensible use of the ballpark. But these renovations are part of a publicly financed improvement program supported by state-authorized bonds.
Fans shouldn’t confuse that investment with a personal gift from Rubenstein’s ownership, and a fine view from some swanky bar won’t make another losing season any easier to swallow.
Even Mayor Brandon Scott found similar frustration when asked about the layoffs at a news conference Wednesday.
“Baltimoreans will be the mascot if necessary. We have unofficial mascots in the stands anyway,” Scott said. “But, more importantly, I want to know: Are we going to win next year?”
Rubenstein ought to explain why anyone should believe they will.
Rubenstein, worth more than $4.1 million, according to Forbes, made his fortune in private equity and co-founded and co-chairs the Carlyle Group. Surely he understands that evaluating an organization requires examining the people making its most consequential decisions.
Rubenstein’s book tour offered ample opportunities for national media outlets, but he failed to sit down with the local reporters who cover his team daily and answer important questions about the dysfunction surrounding his franchise.
Instead, he’s been available only at contract-extension news conferences, with players and coaches gathered in celebration, hardly the setting for a candid discussion.
Rubenstein has shown he can write roughly 300 pages about owning a baseball team. Orioles fans at least deserve an explanation for why his ownership has produced embarrassing missteps and steadily eroded the goodwill that greeted his arrival.
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This story was originally published October 9, 2026 at 2:46 AM.