My impromptu meeting with Dave Rubenstein, the new owner of the Baltimore Orioles

New Baltimore Orioles principal owner David Rubenstein, a private equity billionaire, has already made an impact at Camden Yards with his accessibility to Orioles fans.

On a recent trip to see the Orioles battle the Minnesota Twins, I confirmed that accessibility with a sit-down meeting with Rubenstein.

Ok, honestly, we were both standing, so technically it wasn’t a sit-down meeting.

And in addition, it wasn’t a meeting.

It was me walking down to where Rubenstein was standing and introducing myself.

But not before getting the wink from Rubenstein to his security team to allow such an introduction.

After those formalities, I had a very pleasant five-minute discussion with Rubenstein.

Again, to be honest it was more like two minutes, but it felt like five.

But those two minutes were eye-opening.

I’ve never met a multi-billionaire, but I wanted to sound as though I had.

I failed.

I introduced myself, told him I lived in the Charlottesville area and made as many as a dozen trips or more every season.

Dave (he asked me to call him “Dave”) said he had been to Charlottesville many times to speak at UVA.

“What a beautiful campus, oh, excuse me. I mean grounds,” said Rubenstein.

I found the new Orioles owner to be as engaging and sincere about owning the team as I have been reading about for the past several months.

The previous ownership of the franchise, the Peter Angelos family, was primarily known for its reclusiveness, often going months without attending games.

I thanked Rubenstein, err, Dave, for purchasing the Orioles and his intention of being actively involved with the club and fans.

“I love baseball, I love this team, and this city.  I don’t want to be considered as just another owner. I’m more the caretaker for this team and the relationship it has with Baltimore,” said Rubenstein.

When he said “Bal-da-more,” I knew he was a local, he spoke “Bawlmerese.”

Rubenstein then asked me where I was sitting. I turned and pointed about 20 rows behind home plate. “Great seats,” he replied.

I told Rubenstein I had been an Orioles fan since my dad took me to my first game at about age 6.

He gave me a nice smile and replied, “That’s special. My father took me to my first Orioles game when I was 7. We won. Who won when you went?”

My answer?

“I don’t remember.”

Rubenstein said, “That’s OK, you were there.”

Feeling I was overstaying my welcome, I thanked him for speaking with me.

Rubenstein said, “Thank you for being such a great fan. I’ll be here most games, unless I have to conduct a meeting, then I’ll have to go upstairs.”

I said I understood.

You know how those meetings work.