"Hopefully that will lead us to another World Series" - New Orioles owner David M. Rubenstein urges fans to support club as it ushers in new era

The Baltimore Orioles fans' long-awaited wait is over. The ownership of the baseball team transferred to billionaire investor David Rubenstein on Wednesday. In a heartfelt video message, he shared his plans for the team's future and a deep appreciation for Baltimore's baseball history.

“I’m David Rubenstein, and I’m pleased to be the new owner of the Baltimore Orioles," Rubenstein said. "I’m excited because I’m a native of Baltimore and have been a lifelong fan of the Orioles, and I’m really looking forward to doing what we can together with the community to make the best team in baseball.”

The Angelos family will remain a part of the team as investors, and John Angelos will serve as the senior advisor for Rubenstein.

“I want to thank the Angelos family for what they have done over the last 30 years to provide stewardship of the Orioles,” Rubenstein said.

The video message ended with a note of positivity. Rubenstein is confident in the team's future success, both on and off the field.

“The owner of any baseball team can only do so much," Rubenstein said. "Everything depends on the fans. So, I hope you will come to games and support the team and do everything we can to bring us the next chapter of the Baltimore Orioles, and hopefully that will lead us to another World Series Championship in the very near future.”

The start of the Orioles era under former owner

Before David Rubenstein became the majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Peter Angelos owned the team. Angelos died last week.

In 1993, Angelos, with some investors such as author Tom Clancy, filmmaker Barry Levinson and tennis player Pam Shriver, bought the team from Eli Jacobs, who was on the verge of bankruptcy.

The team was bought for $173 million, which was a large sum of money for a sports team purchase at the time.