Fans want Angelos out

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BALTIMORE -- Peter Angelos was the toast of the town 10 years ago, the owner of a Baltimore Orioles franchise battling back to respectability and the team's first playoff appearance in 13 seasons.

Yesterday, Mr. Angelos was the villain at the team's ballpark. About 1,000 fans rose en masse and exited Camden Yards during a game against the Detroit Tigers in protest of the ninth consecutive losing season by the Orioles.

"We've been losing for 10 years, and nothing looks like it is getting any better," said John Logue, a fan from Essex, Md. "I want to see Camden Yards filled again -- and not with Red Sox and Yankee fans."

In an embarrassing display for Mr. Angelos, the fans -- many wearing black T-shirts that read, "Free the Birds" -- rose from their seats in the upper deck above left field at 5:08 p.m. The time was a reference to the jersey numbers of past Orioles icons Brooks Robinson (5) and Cal Ripken (8).

The fans filed out of the exits in the middle of a two-run rally in the fourth inning and emerged seven minutes later on the field-level section, walking through the ballpark in a long line, waving signs and chanting, "Free the Birds."

The procession lasted about 20 minutes, then the fans exited the stadium for more protests.

That left, for the most part, a few thousand fans in the ballpark for the makeup game between the Orioles and Tigers, a 4-3 Baltimore victory. Most of the remaining people appeared to be Tigers fans.

The demonstration was organized by Nestor Aparicio, the owner of sports-talk radio station WNST, in protest of the long losing streak and of the manner in which Mr. Angelos has operated the franchise.

"We have a chance to make a memorable civic statement about how we, as fans, are fed up with the embarrassment that the Orioles have become," Mr. Aparicio told the Associated Press.

Mike Flanagan, former Orioles Cy Young winner and now executive vice president of baseball operations, said after the game that the protest "frankly, reminded me a lot of the 1970s and 1980s when I played. They were into every pitch. I guess in some respects, I wish it would continue on for nine innings with that passion and exuberance."