One year later, Birds still not free

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Nestor Aparicio said he has no desire to be an army of one.

Nearly a year ago, the owner of local sports radio station WNST organized the national attention-grabbing “Free The Birds,” a rally and protest of the plight of the Baltimore Orioles.

A crowd between 1,000 to 2,000 fans cheered loudly for two hours in the left-field upper deck of Oriole Park at Camden Yards before walking out en masse at 5:08 p.m., a nod to the jersey numbers of organization legends Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken Jr.

Team owner Peter Angelos reacted by saying Aparicio had “delusions of grandeur.”

With the Orioles 52-60 and rapidly approaching a 10th consecutive losing season, Aparicio has been inquiring his station’s listeners if it’s time for a sequel: “Free The Birds 2.”

Reaction has been surprisingly tepid. Some fans stated they are reluctant to walk out on the team again, while others just don’t believe what they have to say about their favorite team matters at all.

But there is another caveat. Angelos hired Andy MacPhail to be the team’s president in June — a move that gave the man who crafted two World Series champions in Minnesota in a span of five years full control of the Orioles.

Meantime, Aparicio has warned listeners the sequel is on “life support.”

“I’m absolutely helpless without the people,” Aparicio said. “I’m not going out there and marching alone.”

A strange dichotomy is at play. Two weeks ago, Baltimore fans flocked to Cooperstown, N.Y. for Ripken’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Nearly 80 percent of the 75,000 fans that weekend were wearing Orioles’ orange and black.

Baltimore owned that town.

A few hundred miles south, Camden Yards resembled the Bronx, as Yankees fans took over the stadium, just as they’ve consistently done in recent years. This weekend, New England accents will fill the air, as Red Sox fans cheer on their American East Division-leading team against the downtrodden Orioles and their dwindling fan base.

How can a town so passionate for the team’s heritage and colors two weeks ago be so listless about the current product?

“I think people feel helpless,” Aparicio said.

A year later, there is still a palpable disconnect between the town and the team, with no freedom in sight.

mpalmer@baltimoreexaminer.com.