{"id":34441,"date":"2026-08-09T11:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T06:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34441"},"modified":"2026-08-09T11:30:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T06:30:33","slug":"former-orioles-gm-takes-offense-to-report-writes-letter-to-editor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34441","title":{"rendered":"Former Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Writes Letter to Editor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"0\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">The former general manager of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/sports-mlb-orioles\">Baltimore Orioles<\/a> took offense to one word in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2026\/08\/05\/orioles-5-things-we-learned-mike-elias-mlb-trade-deadline-adley-rutschman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">a report this week in the <em>Baltimore Sun<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"1\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">He wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/ravioliripple.bsky.social\/post\/3mslxnncnvc2w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">a 355-word letter to the newspaper<\/a> in response.<\/p>\n<section class=\"RelatedStoriesV2-module-scss-module__Hqo30W__container\" data-gtm-action=\"Read_More\" data-variant=\"v2\" data-loading=\"true\" aria-busy=\"true\" aria-label=\"Loading related stories\">\n<p><h4 class=\"RelatedStoriesV2-module-scss-module__Hqo30W__headlineText\"><span class=\"RelatedStoriesV2-module-scss-module__Hqo30W__headlinePrefix\">Read More<!-- --> on <\/span><span>MLB<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"3\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">Mike Elias, the Orioles&#8217; current president of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/baseball\">baseball<\/a> operations, spoke with reporters after the team made a flurry of moves leading up to the Aug. 3 trade deadline. The Orioles surprisingly traded several key players, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/sports\/mlb\/orioles-stars-reveal-awkward-story-behind-adley-rutschman-trade-12288401\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">notably<\/a> former first-round draft pick Adley Rutschman.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageBlock-module-scss-module__rUGLEG__container\">\n<div class=\"ImageBlock-module-scss-module__rUGLEG__imageContainer\" style=\"padding-bottom:66.6667%\"><img id=\"12301215\" alt=\"Baltimore Orioles Mike Elias Angelos\" caption=\"Louis Angelos (L) and John Angelos (R) of the Baltimore Orioles look on after introducing Mike Elias (C) to the media as the Orioles Executive Vice President and General Manager during a news conference at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on November 19, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr\/Getty Images)\" src=\"Rob Carr\/Getty Images\" sourcealt=\"\" sourceimage=\"Getty Images\" sources=\"[]\" blockindex=\"4\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"5472\" height=\"3648\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 640px) 680px, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1063546410.jpg?w=640&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 640w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1063546410.jpg?w=750&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 750w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1063546410.jpg?w=1000&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1000w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1063546410.jpg?w=1200&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1200w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1063546410.jpg?w=1360&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1360w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1063546410.jpg?w=1600&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1600w\" bad-src=\"https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1063546410.jpg?w=1600&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"5\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">The <em>Sun<\/em>&#8216;s story about Elias&#8217; comments included one line that irked Dan Duquette, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/o-s-to-dismiss-buck-showalter-dan-duquette-c296967586\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">whose contract was not renewed<\/a> by the Orioles at the end of the 2018 season: &#8220;(Elias) took over a mess of an organization, tore it down to its studs, built it back up and turned it into a contender quicker than expected,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2026\/08\/05\/orioles-5-things-we-learned-mike-elias-mlb-trade-deadline-adley-rutschman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Jacob Calvin Meyer wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"6\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">Duquette&#8217;s letter made his intention clear: &#8220;I have to set the record straight regarding Jacob Calvin Meyer&#8217;s charge that Mike Elias &#8216;took over a mess of an organization&#8217; when he was hired as the Orioles&#8217; general manager in 2018.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"7\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\"><strong>More news:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/sports\/mlb\/mlb-trade-deadline-winners-losers-12275863\">Grading the Trade Deadline: MLB\u2019s Biggest Winners and Losers<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"8\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">Duquette went on to offer a multi-pronged defense of his seven seasons in charge of the Orioles&#8217; baseball operations department. Among the facts he highlighted:<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"9\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">\u2022 The team had a losing record in 14 consecutive seasons when he took over.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"11\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">\u2022 The Orioles made the postseason in his second year in charge, and reached the American League Championship Series two years after that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"12\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">\u2022 During Duquette&#8217;s first five seasons in charge, Baltimore had the best regular-season record in the AL.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"13\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">\u2022 The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baltimorebaseball.com\/sports\/orioles-mlb\/2025\/11\/09\/ten-years-later-davis-contract-still-largest-orioles-history-richdubroff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">failed<\/a> seven-year, $161 million contract for first baseman Chris Davis was offered against Duquette&#8217;s advice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"14\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">&#8220;Yes, there was a somewhat messy transition in ownership related to our principal&#8217;s health, but our intellectual infrastructure was strong \u2014 though only some of it was retained,&#8221; Duquette wrote. &#8220;My director of analytics (Sarah Gelles), for example, is now assistant general manager in Pittsburgh while one of my statistical analysts (Kevin Tenenbaum) is now director of research and development there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"15\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\"><strong>More news:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/sports\/mlb\/rays-send-message-to-yankees-with-freddy-peralta-trade-12275440\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Who Won the Dodgers-Tigers Blockbuster Tarik Skubal Trade?<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"16\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">Duquette concluded by noting a handful of players he bequeathed to Elias: Felix Bautista, Austin Hays, Dean Kremer, Trey Mancini, John Means, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Grayson Rodriguez, Anthony Santander, Tanner Scott and Mike Yastrzemski. <\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"17\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">&#8220;This was one reason the 2019-21 tear-down, during which the team won only 34% of its games, was blessedly shorter than everyone expected,&#8221; Duquette wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"18\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\"><strong>More news:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/sports\/mlb\/giants-make-decision-about-harrison-bader-after-scooter-injury-12273251\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Giants Make Decision About Harrison Bader After Scooter Injury<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"19\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">Even if your definition of the word &#8220;mess&#8221; doesn&#8217;t comport with Meyer&#8217;s, his description comports with others that surrounded the organization Elias inherited from Duquette.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"20\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">In November 2018, the Orioles were coming off a 115-loss season. The Orioles received many &#8220;D&#8221;s and &#8220;F&#8221;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/640561\/2018\/11\/08\/analyzing-the-orioles-rebuild-where-they-went-wrong-and-how-bad-is-it\/?source=player\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">when The Athletic graded<\/a> the various components of the team&#8217;s operations at the time. Some of those failures were ownership-induced, or imposed on Duquette as Peter Angelos handed off control of the team to his family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"21\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\"><strong>More news:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/sports\/mlb\/mark-mcgwires-former-team-signs-sluggers-son-12272636\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mark McGwire\u2019s Former Team Signs Slugger\u2019s Son<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"22\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">Change was swift after Elias replaced Duquette. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/orioles-rebuilding-under-mike-elias\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">According to MLB.com<\/a>, &#8220;under Elias, the Orioles\u2019 previously bare analytics and international scouting departments (grew) tenfold and fivefold, respectively. Their domestic scouting operations are in the process of drastic restructuring, and overhaul on the player development side, from philosophy to personnel, will soon be plain to see.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"23\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">The change in ownership was no less dramatic, albeit for different reasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"24\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\"><strong>More news:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/sports\/mlb\/former-yankees-as-pitcher-gil-blanco-dies-12271695\">Former Yankees, A\u2019s Pitcher Dies<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"26\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">In January 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/baltimore\/news\/louis-angelos-alleges-brother-mother-drained-65-million-from-peter-angelos-account-the-baltimore-banner-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Louis Angelos accused his brother<\/a> John, and mother, Georgia, of draining $65 million from a bank account that belonged to Peter Angelos, the majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles, and secretly buying additional shares of the team. It was, in a word, messy. Billionaire David Rubenstein <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/story\/_\/id\/39820434\/david-rubenstein-unanimously-approved-new-orioles-owner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bought the Orioles<\/a> from the Angelos family in November 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"27\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\">Perhaps there was plenty of blame to go around \u2014 then and now, with the team on track to miss the playoffs and finish below .500 for the second consecutive year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"28\" articletitle=\"Ex-Orioles GM Takes Offense to Report, Defends Track Record\" id=\"artend_links\">For more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/sports-mlb\">MLB<\/a> news, visit <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/sports\/mlb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Newsweek Sports<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former general manager of the Baltimore Orioles took offense to one word in a report this week in the Baltimore Sun. He wrote a 355-word letter to the newspaper in response. Read More on MLB Mike Elias, the Orioles&#8217; current president of baseball operations, spoke with reporters after the team made a flurry of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1063546410.jpg?w=1200&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}