Baseball Musings: Restricting Radio

February 24, 2007

Restricting Radio

The Orioles are making it harder for radio stations other than their flagship to host club officials:

As Davis posted on the station's Web site today, the club has instituted a policy prohibiting members of team management -- such as vice president Jim Duquette or manager Sam Perlozzo -- from taking callers' questions when they appear on his nightly talk show.
The Orioles say the policy is designed to enhance the programming for its radio rights-holder, CBS Radio. On flagship station WHFS (105.7 FM) and CBS' all-sports ESPN Radio 1300 (WJFK, 1300 AM), no such prohibition would apply, the Orioles say.

This is a policy they never enforced before:

''The club has always had its policy,'' said Greg Bader, Orioles director of communications.
Not so, said Jeff Beauchamp, vice president and station manager of WBAL, which was the Orioles flagship for the previous 19 years.

''It's never been the case for the past 20 years,'' Beauchamp said.

Stan Charles, a regular sports talk host in Baltimore on five radio stations from 1981 to 2001 -- with only four of those years on the Orioles flagship -- said he never experienced such a restriction during his time on the air.

The more I read about the Orioles, the more I'm convinced they're one of the worst run businesses in baseball. It's only the fact that they are able to afford some good players that they're not at the level of Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

Posted by David Pinto at 09:45 AM | Broadcasts | TrackBack (0)

Comments

This probably also has something to do with the walkout WNST staged during last season.

Posted by: me at February 24, 2007 07:55 PM

Why do you think that PR standout Rick Vaughn left Orioles years ago for Redskins and then Tampa Bay.

Posted by: Bob S at February 24, 2007 11:21 PM

Too bad about the Orioles being run into the ground. They were for the longest the very model of a hard working, if not successful, franchise.

Posted by: Mark at February 25, 2007 05:03 AM

This francise's decline really started with the onset of free agency. They still had some success post free agency, due mostly to the fact that thier minor league system was built up so incredibly well that it sustained them for quite a while.

Edward Bennet Williams, Eli Jacobs and now Peter Angelos have given O's fan little to be proud of over the last 25 years.

Ofcourse all of this could be fixed simply by putting Baltimore back on the road jerseys.

Posted by: Tito Landrum at February 25, 2007 02:59 PM

cmon tito

free agency didn't have nothing to do with the orioles collapse

the orioles had success until 1997 - a LONG time after FA

looks to me like angelos freaked out with the albert belle injury and decided basically never to get another good FA and not to pay for good player development people OR GMs.

Posted by: lisa gray at February 25, 2007 07:10 PM

lisa,

sure the O's (and I'm an O's fan) have had a few good seasons here and there. Hell, the 89 season has been, by far, my favorite summer as a baseball fan. I'm not blaming free agency as in institution, incase that's what you thought. Peter Angelos is not a good owner, but the O's problems started way before he came to town. I don't think you are an O's fan (Colt 45's right?). I am. I think I might have a bit more perspective on this subject then you. They were a franchise that overall did not adjust well to the age of free agency. By the time they rolled into Camden Yards and Angelos opened up the purse strings their farm system was nothing but tumble weeds, and the "Oriole Way" was looooong gone.

In more recent history, yes, it would seem that the likes of Albert Belle and Scott Erickson totally freaked out Angelos. But they did sign Tejada to a contract, that at the time was considered overpaying. They also signed Javy Lopez that offseason, which made waves at the time. Although, Vlad Guerrero's iffy back allowed him to fall into Anahiem's lap and the following offseason they dicked around with Carlos Delgado because of health concerns. In both of these cases the O's were considered front runners for these players' services and in both cases they blew it.

Posted by: Tito Landrum at February 26, 2007 01:56 AM