Rubenstein hiring Catie Griggs marks first major move as Orioles owner

The Orioles hiring Catie Griggs as President of Business Operations is the “first major hire” by owner David Rubenstein since he assumed control of the team, according to Matt Weyrich of the BALTIMORE SUN. Rubenstein "expressed his desire" to hire a new exec to handle the business side of the organization in May. Griggs will oversee the business side of the ballclub, responsibilities that fell upon former team Chair & CEO John Angelos before he sold the team. She joins an Orioles front office that also includes assistant GM Eve Rosenbaum -- "one of the few" female assistant GMs in baseball -- and two female SVPs. Griggs resigned from the same role with the Mariners on Friday, "citing a desire to move closer to her family on the East Coast" (BALTIMORE SUN, 7/8).

DIFFERENT CHARACTER: In Baltimore, Jeff Barker wrote Rubenstein has a “penchant for sneaky fun.” He does not drink alcohol or coffee and “rarely, if ever, vacations,” so he “wouldn’t appear to personify ‘fun.’” But since MLB approved the sale March 27, Rubenstein has “strolled the Camden Yards concourses greeting and posing for selfies with surprised fans, autographed baseballs and tossed caps into the stands.” He did his “Mr. Splash” stint in the left field stands May 10 and “danced on the dugout at a later game while pumping his fist to ‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy’ during the seventh-inning stretch.” Barker added with Rubenstein's “white hair and glasses, he reminds some of comedian Steve Martin when Martin is button-downed and playing it straight.” Rubenstein is “far from ducking fans,” as he has been “mingling with them and inviting some season-ticket holders and others to the catered two-level owner’s suite.” On Mother’s Day, the Orioles invited a group of Gold Star Mothers -- "moms who lost a son or daughter serving in the armed forces" -- to the owner’s box for the second year in a row (BALTIMORE SUN, 7/8).