{"id":920201,"date":"2026-10-08T04:14:34","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/920201\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:14:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:14:34","slug":"orioles-lay-off-staff-including-mr-splash-and-oriole-bird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/920201\/","title":{"rendered":"Orioles lay off staff, including Mr. Splash and Oriole Bird"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tori<\/a>BALTIMORE \u2014<\/p>\n

The Baltimore Orioles have laid off 16 employees within their business operations, including Mr. Splash and Oriole Bird, prompting mixed reactions from fans and officials.<\/p>\n

Madison Lester, manager of Pickles Pub and a die-hard Orioles fan, shared her disappointment about the news. <\/p>\n

“It’s actually really sad and unfortunate, it makes me feel like the lockout is going to be real this year,” Lester said. <\/p>\n

She added, “And that’s something we don’t want to happen as Oriole fans, so it’s a little disappointing.” <\/p>\n

The layoffs have drawn national attention, with fans expressing their concerns. <\/p>\n

“Oh no, we don’t need no cuts out here, ma’am, we need to keep them people here,” said Lamar Gillespie, an Orioles fan. <\/p>\n

Another fan, Kyle Umstead, said, “It sucks definitely, you hate to see anybody lose their job.” <\/p>\n

The Orioles confirmed the layoffs but declined to comment on specific employees. A team spokesperson assured fans that the Oriole Bird mascot, portrayed by multiple individuals, will remain part of the team. <\/p>\n

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott also weighed in on the situation. <\/p>\n

“We know how big of a deal the Bird and Mr. Splash is,” Scott said. “You see the Bird at school events, you see all of that. But I think more importantly, I want to know are we going to win next year, that’s what I want to know.” <\/p>\n

With the 2026 season behind them, fans are hoping for a resolution that brings back key figures off the field. <\/p>\n

Umstead shared his thoughts, saying, “With the lockout coming up, kind of, you know, you’re going to see a lot of MLB teams I think cut ties until at least it’s over. I think a lot of people will come back after that.” <\/p>\n

Lester added, “If it’s a short time, that’s one thing, but if it’s not back by next year I’ll probably be upset.” <\/p>\n

The Orioles confirmed that the Bird Bath will return next season, as the expected lockout approaches in December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BALTIMORE \u2014 The Baltimore Orioles have laid off 16 employees within their business operations, including Mr. Splash and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":920202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,613,1186,488120,488117,166940,488126,488130,13301,69844,488122,488131,12871,14294,488129,35485,395,488123,591,257230,488115,488124,488116,488128,488119,5129,488114,1861,488118,85,11457,3018,488121,488127,488125,1547],"class_list":["post-920201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-baltimore","tag-baltimore-orioles","tag-bird-bath","tag-brandon-scott","tag-business-operations","tag-december-lockout","tag-die-hard-orioles-fan","tag-employee","tag-fan","tag-fan-reaction","tag-kyle-umstead","tag-layoff","tag-lot","tag-madison-lester","tag-manager","tag-maryland","tag-mascot-staff","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-lockout","tag-mr-splash","tag-national-attention","tag-oriole-bird","tag-oriole-bird-mascot","tag-oriole-fans","tag-orioles","tag-orioles-layoffs","tag-people","tag-pickles-pub","tag-sports","tag-staff","tag-team","tag-team-layoffs","tag-team-spokesperson","tag-winning-season","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/920202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}