There's been a rivalry between the Orioles and Nationals, all right, but not on the field. It's been in the courtroom in the bitter, drawn-out, and well-documented battle between the Orioles and the Nationals over shared television revenue. There is a feeling, though, that the legal rivalry, at least, may soon be at an end.
I asked Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez, who has seen seven seasons of these “Battles of the Beltway” with the Baltimore Orioles, if after all this time, the series had actually developed into a rivalry.As of Wednesday, they’ve played 95 games against each other – some of them entertaining, but few of them passionate.
How can there be a rivalry when the teams partnered up by wearing their respective “City Connect” uniforms, in a promotion called “Cities Connected?” When each team pledged a contribution to youth programs in the other’s city?There’s been a rivalry between the two teams, all right, but not on the field.
“It’s been going on for a long time but I think the commissioner of baseball would like to get this resolved,” he said. “I think all the owners would like to get this resolved, and I would like to get it resolved. But I don’t have an easy answer yet. If it was easy, it would have been resolved, of course, but I think it’s something I am really focused on and I think I have reason to believe that we can get something done.
But I don’t believe he’s welcomed his new neighbors and written any checks yet to the Nationals for the $100-plus million already due — and settled upon, according to reports — in MASN revenue from 2012 to 2022. According to sources, the Nationals have not gotten those payments yet, unless the Lerners are keeping it quiet — or maybe, with MASN hemorrhaging subscribers for years now like the rest of the cable television business, the money may not be there.
Then again, it is in the best interest of the Lerners to have the MASN dispute resolved, if this team is put back on the market for sale.
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