Does anyone think this is relevant in the least to the O's/Nats MASN saga? I'm sure Angelos is rooting for the Giants here.
The difference is the history involved.
MLB (really, the Senators/Rangers) abandoned Washington in the early-1970s. They left it to the Orioles and allowed them to build a market around both cities for thirty years, then tried to reclaim it as an open market which the Orioles balked at.
San Jose was originally part of Oakland's territory. In the early 1990s, the A's were doing very well while the Giants were desperately trying to build a new stadium before their owner felt the need to sell to an out-of-town group*. The A's gave up those rights so the Giants could hold a referendum for a stadium in the city, which ultimately failed. But now that the A's are struggling and the Giants are the strong, secure club, they won't offer the same courtesy in return.
<i>*Which almost happened. The Giants were finalizing a deal with an owner ready to move to St. Petersburg when Peter Magowon swooped in and outbid (with MLB's support) to keep the team in San Francisco. After already losing the White Sox thanks to Illinois politics, the city was so pissed off that MLB offered them a club in the next expansion to keep them from doing something drastic.</i>
), but also that was the California equivalent to building a stadium/arena in Columbia or Laurel to draw from both Baltimore and Washington. It wouldn't make anybody happy.
