The former general manager of the Baltimore Orioles, Dan Duquette, expressed displeasure about a specific term used in a Baltimore Sun report. He responded with a 355-word letter to the publication. The incident followed comments from Mike Elias, the Orioles’ president of baseball operations, who addressed the media after a series of trades before the August 3 trade deadline. These trades included the unexpected dealing of notable players like former first-round pick Adley Rutschman.
One line in the report, written by Jacob Calvin Meyer, which stated, “(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,” particularly irked Duquette. In response, he clarified his position: “I have to set the record straight regarding Jacob Calvin Meyer’s charge that Mike Elias ‘took over a mess of an organization’ when he was hired as the Orioles’ general manager in 2018.”
Duquette defended his role with several points:
- The Orioles had endured 14 consecutive losing seasons before his tenure began.
- The team reached the postseason in his second year and advanced to the American League Championship Series two years later.
- During Duquette’s first five seasons, Baltimore held the best regular-season record in the American League.
- The seven-year, $161 million contract for Chris Davis was not recommended by Duquette.
He emphasized that despite a complicated ownership transition, the organization’s intellectual infrastructure remained robust, though some talent moved on. For instance, Sarah Gelles, his former director of analytics, became assistant general manager in Pittsburgh, while Kevin Tenenbaum, a statistical analyst, now leads research and development there.
Duquette also highlighted players he left for Elias, such as Felix Bautista, Austin Hays, Dean Kremer, and others, attributing the shortened rebuild period between 2019 and 2021, when the team won 34% of their games, to these inherited players.
Even if “mess” seems contentious, it’s a term echoed in other descriptions of the Orioles circa 2018. That year, the team concluded a season with 115 losses, and reviews from The Athletic rated various operations poorly. Some shortcomings stemmed from ownership decisions as Peter Angelos passed control to his family.
Significant transformations accompanied Elias’s arrival. MLB.com noted vast expansions in analytics and international scouting departments, while the domestic scouting and player development areas underwent significant restructuring.
Ownership changes mirrored this organizational overhaul. By November 2024, billionaire David Rubenstein acquired the Orioles from the Angelos family, amid allegations of financial misconduct among family members in January 2023.
Blame seemed shared between past and present, especially as the team faced the prospect of finishing below .500 and missing the playoffs for a second straight year.
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