The Aberdeen IronBirds may be swinging for the fences, but off the field, there is major chaos brewing. Things are so bad that the Baltimore Orioles High-A affiliate could find itself homeless! This is because the team owners and city officials are busy chasing over the revenue issues and the very ballpark itself.

Mayor Patrick McGrady didn’t sugarcoat it and said Ripken Stadium may not be fit for professional baseball itself. Now the major clash is the renewal fee tied to the second 20-year phase of the concession deal, which was signed way back in the early 2000s. The city and the owners of Attain Sports are in a fix calculating it and have been squabbling for three years over it.

Finally, last summer, a retired federal judge gave a partial ruling and sent both parties back to the drawing board. Now there is no clear timeline, and everyone is in limbo, which is what McGrady has such strong views about.

McGrady said to Baltimore Sun, “I think Aberdeen Stadium does not meet the Major League Baseball requirements for the Player Development League Standards, and the Major League Baseball folks, from what I understand, are not willing to let their players play in a stadium that doesn’t meet the standards. So, it’s likely Class-A ball won’t be in Aberdeen for much longer.” But that’s not all.

Adding to the chaos is the fact that Cal Ripken Jr. and his brother quietly sold off their majority stake in the IronBirds last fall to Attain Sports. Ripken, who moved to Aberdeen after his MLB stint, is now back at it again, except this time in the owner’s box. He is joining David Rubenstein’s $1.7 billion Orioles ownership group.

However, for the fans, if the team were to leave Aberdeen, then Unrivaled Sports is already warming up to do something bigger there. They want to turn the stadium into something big, like an athletic field, a hotel, retail shops, and more. And even the mayor is excited about this, saying, “We look forward to working with them in their existing facility and whatever else they are interested in doing in Aberdeen.” One thing is for sure—right now the future of the Baltimore Orioles affiliate is hanging in between.

Baltimore Orioles High-A affiliate struggles on and off the field

Not only is the off-field situation of the Baltimore Orioles affiliate – Aberdeen IronBirds in a puddle, but their on-the-field action isn’t going well either. The Wilmington Blue Rocks defeated the IronBirds 2-1 on Wednesday at the Frawley Stadium, and that was their third consecutive win. After the game, Murphy Stehly said, “We lost all our games in Hudson Valley. So our backs are up against the wall, and we are rallying the troops. We are having fun now. We’ll see how many wins we can get.”

The Blue Rocks had the chance to score early on in the first inning. That’s when Johnathon Thomas doubled and Caleb Lomavita was hit by a pitch. But the innings then fizzled out when Thomas was caught in a pickup attempt. Then it wasn’t till the fourth inning that the IronBirds even broke the deadlock. First Ethan Anderson and then Vance Honeycutt’s efforts paid off. Ryan Stafford’s fly ball to right field brought Anderson home and gave Aberdeen a 1-0 lead.

But Wilmington tied the game in the fifth when Matt Suggs and Murphy Stehly hit back-to-back doubles. Finally, in the seventh inning, Wilmington took the lead for good, and their pitchers Yeuris Jimenez and Thomas Scultz held strong innings, and they sealed the win.

For now, though, Baltimore Orioles affiliate Aberdeen IronBirds needs to buckle up in every which way. Don’t you feel? Let us know.